EYFS at Hollinwood Academy

The EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE is the gateway to school life for our reception students. We pride ourselves in providing and building strong foundations, creating stimulating and inviting learning environments which inspire and motivate the children in our care.

We follow the Development Matters EYFS curriculum and work towards children achieving their early learning goals (ELG’s). We focus on the 7 key areas of Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

Every child is seen as an individual and we develop bespoke plans for each student based on their needs. We ensure that any barriers to their learning are overcome using a variety of methods and a range of specialist pedagogy to guarantee the best possible outcomes.

We use Attention Autism to develop skills of attention, communication and social interaction, which aims to develop natural and spontaneous communication skills in children who have an ASC diagnosis. This programme is visually motivating and encourages independence, with a goal to increase verbal and non-verbal communication and build a wealth and depth of vocabulary.

The class uses a mixture of continuous provision opportunities, whole class teaching, group work and also 1:1 interventions. The continuous provision offers high quality resources which allow children to explore independently, with their peers or the opportunity to engage with adults who can support and prompt creative thinking and play. We provide a nurturing environment that encourages confidence, and which allows children to feel secure and safe. We have high expectations of all children and trust children to follow the routines and boundaries of the class from the outset.

We have a thematic approach to our curriculum delivery. We have 6 topic themes over the year and these shape the focus for all curriculum subjects throughout the term, ensuring a consistent theme is interwoven through all learning. This approach keeps the students engaged with their education, and this consistency drives a love of learning and creates an atmosphere where all students can thrive and reach their full potential.