Welcome to Heyes Lane EYFS
Hello and welcome to the EYFS section of our website. My name is Miss Irving and I am the EYFS Lead here at Heyes Lane. I am extremely passionate about how young children learn and I understand the importance of ‘getting it right’ in the Early Years as this will help the children leave Reception with the secure building blocks needed to guide them through their time at school.
It is our responsibility in the EYFS to introduce and embed our 5 Heyes Lane Beliefs and Values as well as promoting our 3 Heyes Lane Rules.
This year our Early Years provision for Nursery includes 2 classes. One Full Time class of 26 and a mixed class of 26 AM and Full Time children. Nursery have 2 classrooms in which they are able to free flow between them both as well as a large outside area. In Reception we have 2 Reception classes that take 30 full time children. Our Reception classes each have their own classroom which are connected by a shared area as well as a large outdoor garden.
Both the Nursery and Reception classes have a full time teacher and teaching assistant. If groups of or individual children are identified as working below expectations they will be supported within interventions from an intervention teachers.
We have a team of highly skilled Early Years Teachers and Teaching Assistants, who have a sound understanding of early child development and a great deal of experience working with this age group.
I hope this page answers any questions you might have and gives you an insight into how our wonderful EYFS provision runs.
Miss Olivia Irving
EYFS Lead
Meet the Team
Miss Irving - Teacher
Hello! My name is Miss Irving.
I love working at Heyes Lane and have spent a long time here growing my brain. I started my training here as a student, then I was a TA in Reception for 2 years and then I went back to university to do my PGCE. Our EYFS is SO much fun and we get to learn lots of new and exciting things. We spend our days learning indoors and outdoors. My favourite area in my classroom is the craft area!
I LOVE GLITTER AND SEQUINS!!! A little bit about me … I have a HUGE family and you will get to meet some of them as they also go to Heyes Lane. I am one of 8, 7 girls and 1 boy! I live at home with my partner Alex and my little girl Adorά. I love to go travelling and I love it when it’s sunny! I am a very kind and caring teacher and LOVE lots of cuddles! I can’t wait to meet you all and start our exciting adventures. Lots of Love Miss Irving xxx
A few of my favourite things:
1. Colour: Black and Pink
2. Flower: Gerbera
3. Food: Chinese
4. TV Show: The Chase
5. Film: Cinderella
6. Animal: Ca
Mrs MacDonald - Teaching Assitant
I believe children learn best when they feel safe and happy, and my role in class helps my children feel that. I want to make sure that the children in my class enjoy coming to school every day, are excited to have fun, learn new skills and gain new understanding.
I have two boys, both of whom attended Heyes Lane from Nursery to Year 6. Whilst my boys were at Heyes Lane I enjoyed holding various positions on the school PTA. I loved helping to organise lots of the fun events the school held and my roles with the PTA gave me an excellent understanding of the school community. I love reading and belong to a book club. I really enjoy passing on my love of books to the children and my favourite stories include The Smartest Giant in Town and Shark In The Dark. My favourite colour is green, and I love animals. I don’t currently have any pets, but I would like to get a cat!
Miss Sutcliffe - Teacher
Hello everyone!
My name is Mrs Williams, and I am a teacher here at Heyes Lane. I have been here for a number of years, and I absolutely love teaching at Heyes Lane! One of my favourite areas of the classroom is our outdoor area, I love spending time in the fresh air, thinking of creative ways to get you moving and learning. Inside our classroom, I love spending time in our role play! It’s great getting to play and learn with you. A little bit about me… I love spending time with my husband, Mr Williams and our cat Tilly! I love travelling and exploring new places. I love going for walks and spending time outside with my husband and our friends. I also enjoy reading, and love how I get to share my passion of reading with you all. My favourite author is Julia Donaldson and my favourite book she has written is ‘The Singing Mermaid’.
I can’t wait to meet you all! Lots of love,
Mrs Williams xxx
A few of my favourite things:
1. Colour: Blue
2. Flower: Tulip
3. Food: Pizza
4. TV Show: Friends
5. Film: The Little Mermaid
6. Animal: Elephant
Mrs Thomas - Teaching AssistantHello <br />
Hello – I am Mrs Thomas one of the teaching assistants in Reception.
I enjoy painting and crafts – I can be a bit messy! A little bit about me – I live at home with my husband, our 2 children a girl and a boy & our family cat is Oscar. I enjoy our family time going camping and walking in the sun. I cannot wait to meet you all and look forward to having lots of fun whilst learning. Love Mrs Thomas X
A few of my favourite things:
1. Colour = Pink
2. Food = McDonalds
3. Flower = Lillys
4. TV Show – Im a Celebrity Get me out of here
5. Film – Encanto
6. Animal – Cat
Miss Crerand - Teacher
Hello and welcome to Reception!
My name is Miss Crerand and I am the class teacher for RSC (or as its more commonly known the ‘red class’). I love working in Reception as we get to learn lots of interesting things but we also have a lot of fun too. The best part of working at Heyes Lane is that I get to teach and meet a lot of wonderful children in our school! A little bit about me … I have three children of my own, two boys and one girl. We spend a lot of time together as a family exploring new places and spending time outdoors. I love to draw and paint – the craft area at school is my favourite. I look forward to meeting you!
Miss Crerand xxx
A few of my favourite things
1. Colour: Black (or pink or green)
2. Food: Pizza (with extra cheese)
3. Flower: Rose
4. TV show: Friends
5. Film: Matilda
6. Animal: Great White Shark
7. Dinosaur: T-Rex
Miss Howard - Teaching Assistant
My name is Miss Howard, I am a teaching assistant here at Heyes Lane.
I am very lucky as I have worked in Year 1, 3, Nursery and Reception. I’ve certainly found my home in early years, I am extremely passionate about learning outdoors, early years allows me to express that passion!
Outside of school I spend most of my time outdoors, I love hiking and paddle boarding but you will always find me down at the farm with my rescue horse, Lenny! I have three pets, my cats are called Rocket and Groot and of course little Lenny!
A few of my favourite things:
1. Colour: Blue
2. Food: Pizza
3. Tv show: Greys anatomy
4. Animal: Giraffe
5. Film: Guardians of the galaxy
I am so excited to meet you all!
Miss Howard x
Miss Drummond - Teacher
Hello,
My name is Miss Drummond. I am very excited to begin my journey at Heyes Lane Primary School. I have spent most of my career in Early Years and KS1. I have just moved back from Australia where I lived and taught in Melbourne. I like to promote a vibrant, fun environment for children to learn, feel safe and become independent.
A little bit about me… I am originally from Glasgow. I have taught in both rural and urban areas. I love the ocean and spent a lot of my travels diving, surfing and snorkelling. I was lucky enough to swim with whale sharks which was a life long dream. I am looking forward to building a positive learning community with pupils, staff and parents! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!
A few of my favourite things:
1.Colour: Blue
2. Flower: Tulip
3. Food: Pizza
4. TV Show: Blue Planet
5. Film: Hocus Pocus
6. Animal: Sharks
Mrs Taafe - Teaching Assistant
Hello my name is Mrs Taafe. I have worked as a TA at Heyes Lane for 6 years in KS1! I’m so lucky this year because I get to learn all about Reception with RSC.
Before I joined the Heyes Lane family I used to work in Marketing and Promotions. Even before that I worked for a travel company in lots of different countries when I left university.
I love working at Heyes Lane because both of my children went through the school and they loved it too.
Reading is my favourite thing to do so I really love it when I can read to RSC and I am really looking forward to our year in Reception together.
The Curriculum
At Heyes Lane our aim is to create a learning environment and build relationships which support, enhance and ignite a child’s curiosity. Our curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning from previous settings and their experiences at home. Every child is recognised as a unique individual and we celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values.
We provide enhancement opportunities to engage learning and believe that our first experiences of school should be happy and positive, enabling us to develop a lifelong love of learning. Throughout their time in EYFS, the children develop a sense of belonging to our school community, ready to transition to year 1 the following academic year. They have the confidence and skills to make decisions and self-evaluate, make connections and become lifelong learners.
At Heyes Lane we follow the curriculum as outlined in the latest version of the EYFS statutory framework that applies from September 2021. This provides a framework for all practitioners working with children from birth to five years old and offers guidance on providing the best quality care and education for young children.
We have designed a curriculum that is child-centred and that is based upon wow experiences and topics which engage the children. We encourage active learning to ensure the children are motivated and interested. We take time to get to know children’s interests and their likes to support learning. All areas of the EYFS curriculum are followed and planned for to ensure there is a broad, balanced and progressive learning environment and curriculum.
The EYFS framework includes 7 areas of learning and development that are equally important and inter-connected. However, 3 areas known as the prime areas are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.
Prime Areas
Communication and Language
Listening, Attention and Understanding, Speaking
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Self regulation
Managing Self
Building Relationships
Physcial Development
Fine and Gross Motor
The Prime areas are strengthened and applied through the further four areas which are referred to as the Specific areas.
Specfic Areas
Literary
Comprehension
Word Reading
Writing
Mathematics
Number
Numerical Patterns
Understanding the World
Past and Present
People, Culture and Communities
Expressive Arts and Design
Creating with Materials
Being Imaginative and Expressive
A vital aspect in the development of essential knowledge and skills is the use of continuous provision. This means that children are using and developing taught skills throughout the year on a daily basis. Continuous provision practise and principles begin in EYFS and support children to develop key life skills such as independence, innovation, creativity, enquiry, analysis and problem solving. During the school day, children will have an opportunity to work independently, work collaboratively with their friends and with members of staff.
Daily guided activities are also planned to cover different areas of the EYFS curriculum and allow children to develop their next steps in learning. Through observation and discussion, areas of need and next steps are identified for all children to ensure good progress is made. There are also a range of stimulating and engaging activities which the children can access independently and a variety of opportunities for child-initiated play.
We regularly assess where the children are, using ‘Development Matters’ and then ensure our planning, adult interaction and learning environment; including continuous provision, support children to reach their next steps. We will include interventions for groups or individuals if and when necessary.
Our outdoor areas are used all year round and in most weather conditions. We ensure activities support the Characteristics of Effective Learning to ensure learning takes place.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
Playing and Exploring
Children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
Active Learning
Children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
Creating and Thinking Critcally
Children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing thing
Wider Curriculum
To support our wider curriculum, we provide regular opportunities for parents and carers to come into school and work with their child, share their work and celebrate successes. We keep parents informed and we meet regularly with them to ensure children’s transition into school and through the EYFS is happy and allows them to reach their potential with the support needed. This includes our online learning journey SeeSaw, transition days, home visits, stay and play sessions, parent workshops, teddy bears picnics and reports.
We also support the transition into Key Stage 1 for both child and parents. We prepare children for Year 1 with visits to their new class, meeting the teacher and ensuring the environments are similar at the end of EYFS and the start of Year 1. Parents have the opportunity to meet with new teachers and visit their child’s new learning environment. They also complete ‘moving on’ activities with their child throughout the summer term. These aim to support the transition for all.
Phonics
We follow Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised which is a complete systematic synthetic phonics programme to ensure consistency and progression. In Nursery children focus on Phase 1 which concentrates on developing children’s speaking and listening skills and lays the foundations for the phonic work which starts in Phase 2. The emphasis during Phase 1 is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and ready to begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills, prior to GPC.
In Reception, Phase1 continues but children are introduced to Phase 2, 3 and 4 where they will develop GPC and segmenting and blending skills to decode words. Children are encouraged to read at home and are listened to regularly in school. They are given books that match their phonic knowledge in order for them to apply their learning with the aim of becoming successful, confident and fluent readers.
Maths
In Reception, we follow the White Rose Maths Scheme of work which is divided into 3 weekly units. High quality learning environments and meaningful interactions with adults, support children in developing mathematical thinking and discussion. Pupils learn through games and tasks using concrete manipulatives and pictorial structures and representations which are then rehearsed applied and recorded within their own child-led exploration.
Children in Reception have 3 Maths Sessions a week to develop fluency, revisit key concepts and address misconceptions. In Nursery, children develop a love of maths through games, songs, rhymes, and play using concrete manipulatives. There is a focus on the following counting principles; one to one correspondence, stable order and cardinal principle. Children’s fine manipulative skills are a focus to develop 1-1 correspondence so children count each object only once.
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