The curriculum and provision at Bluecoat C of E Primary School in the Early Years/Chapter One is based upon these 4 principles which we firmly believe in and therefore implement as we strive for the best possible practice. We continually review our practice, conduct research and explore the research of others to ensure our children have the best possible provision as they continue their learning journey. Holding firm to these 4 principles ensures that we have clear vision and guidance when considering new ideas and research, staying at the forefront of exceptional early years provision without becoming overloaded or losing sight of practice we know to be effective and essential for the well-rounded development and learning of the whole, unique child.
These have been further broken down as follows for effective practice:
The best for every child
High-quality care
The curriculum - what we want children to learn
Pedagogy - helping children learn
Assessment - checking what children have learnt
Self-regulation and executive function
Partnership with parents
| SELF-REGULATION | MANAGING SELF | BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS |
Having respect for other people
Forming positive relationships
Having confidence in your own abilities
Being an individual and belonging to a community
Becoming able to express and manage your feelings
Becoming independent and helping others
Having feelings of wonder and joy
Sharing and celebrating special times and events
Discovering more about self regulation
| GROSS MOTOR SKILLS | FINE MOTOR SKILLS |
Developing co-ordination, control and movement
Building stamina and strength
Learning to move in various ways
Manipulating tools and materials
Making healthy choices with food and exercise
| LISTENING, ATTENTION & UNDERSTANDING | SPEAKING |
Developing confidence and skills in expressing yourself
Talking, listening, discussing and recalling
Play in a rich language environment to develop vocabulary
| COMPREHENSION | WORD READING | WRITING |
Enjoying stories – telling them and making them up
Comprehending and understanding stories - including language comprehension
Enjoying books
Enjoying and noticing patterns in rhymes, poems, songs and word play
Making marks which carry meaning, pre-writing shapes and letter shapes using the Bluecoat Script
Writing for different purposes
Decoding to read (segmenting and blending)
Segmenting to spell
| NUMBER | NUMERICAL PATTERNS |
Understanding and using numbers
Counting, sorting, matching, seeking patterns (including numerical patterns), recognising relationships
Noticing connections
Making simple calculations
Exploring and comparing shapes, quantities, weight etc
Finding ways to solve mathematical problems
Using maths language
Representing mathematical ideas in pictures and drawings as well as with symbols and numbers
| PAST & PRESENT | PEOPLE CULTURE & COMMUNITIES | THE NATURAL WORLD |
Finding out about people, culture, communities, places, technology and the environment
Observing closely the surrounding world and processes
Finding out about the past and present
Exploring, experimenting and having ideas
Experiencing and changing materials
Finding out and experiencing the natural world
| CREATING WITH MATERIALS | BEING IMAGINATIVE & EXPRESSIVE |
Representing and communicating your ideas through music, dance, art, role play, imagination, language
Having original ideas and thoughts
Imagining and creating
Planning, making and designing things
Being imaginative and expressive
At Bluecoat we know the importance of self regulation. As a team of teachers and researchers, we have thought carefully about how to support children in managing these skills. This involves ‘in the moment’ teaching when situations arise and also specific skills teaching at other calmer times.
To support children, and to create a consistent approach, we have developed a number characters to use when talking to children about self regulation, calming and coping strategies.
To find out more about the characters and ways in which you can support your children at home, please see the above file.