Early Years Foundation Stage
We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum with an emphasis on language acquisition and developing spoken communication.
We will enable each child to develop personally, socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically, creatively and intellectually to their full potential. Each child is valued as an individual and learning and teaching is based on the understanding that children develop at different rates. We know that each child’s unique development pathway depends heavily on having opportunities to interact in positive relationships and enabling environments. We understand and respect that all children and their families have been on their own personal journey from diagnosis and that each child comes to school with different lived experiences. All of our children, regardless of their deafness, have needs, characteristics, talents and skills which make them individual. We treat every child as an individual on their own learning pathway and, due to our small classes taught by Teachers of the Deaf, provide experiences, teaching and opportunities which support their development and progress through equal access to the EYFS curriculum. At Mary Hare Primary, language underpins everything we do and teach.
In EYFS, we build firm foundations for children through a rich and diverse play-based curriculum.
We facilitate the learning of language and about the world, through all aspects of the day and enable children to become confident communicators and learners. Our curriculum is broad and balanced, allowing flexibility surrounding the interests of the children, and is centred around the holistic needs of our children. We embed our six school values which teach children to be: successful learners; responsible; respectful; safe; communicative and healthy into all areas of learning and ensure our children, who are deaf, learn in-line with their hearing peers. Children who are deaf often miss incidental learning opportunities, we embed this into our daily practice. The curriculum is designed to equip our children with world knowledge and key skills to thrive in a constantly changing and evolving hearing world.
Children in the EYFS take part in a variety of activities and play in our continuous and enhanced provision environment as well as having the opportunity to mix with the wider primary school and to take part in activities onsite such as swimming and PE. We also have links with other local mainstream schools to provide the chance to engage with hearing peers in activities such as Forest School.
We aim to deliver an aspirational, ambitious curriculum, comparable to that received by hearing peers, which overcomes the challenges and impacts of deafness on language acquisition; learning skillset and achievement. We ensure wellbeing, self-image and resilience are embedded within the curriculum. Through learning surrounded by deaf peers, our children develop a sense of community and belonging, where they are not on the periphery and where they can develop strong self-esteem and confidence.
