INTENT
At Blackpool Gateway Academy, our Early Years Foundation Stage is built upon a deep understanding of our children and their unique starting points. We recognise that many of our children join our Nursery and Reception classes with limited language and communication skills and have had fewer opportunities to build a wide bank of personal experiences.
Therefore, our curriculum intent is powerful, focused, and ambitious: to systematically bridge the language and experience gap. We are committed to creating an enchanting, secure, and language-rich world where every child is inspired to explore, to question, and to find their voice.
We follow a Curiosity Approach pedagogy, which is the engine for our curriculum. We believe that by igniting "awe and wonder," we unlock a child's innate drive to learn, communicate, and make sense of the world. Our learning space is planned with authentic resources, natural materials, and beautiful, real-world objects that provoke questioning, critical thinking, and complex play.
TEACHING AND LEARNING
The Areas of Teaching and Learning in our early years setting follows the curriculum as outlined in the 2021 EYFS statutory framework. The EYFS framework includes 7 areas of learning and development that are equally important and inter-connected sections. 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.
We recognise that learning is a constant, flowing experience that happens at all times of the day—whether through planned sessions, spontaneous play, or explorations both inside and outside the classroom.
Our school is deeply committed to the Curiosity Approach, a philosophy that transforms our learning spaces into "irresistible environments" filled with wonder and awe. Instead of typical classroom resources, you will find our environments are rich with authentic materials, natural treasures, and intriguing objects designed to spark imagination and provoke inquiry.
Following the Curiosity Approach, our staff act as facilitators and co-explorers. They are trained to seize every opportunity not just for "teaching," but for nurturing a child's natural desire to investigate. Weekly and daily planning ensures a balance of guided and child-led discovery, but our educators are encouraged to think carefully about their questions and interactions to deepen, rather than direct, a child's learning.
This approach ensures learning is truly personalised. By building on a child's own interests and fascinations, we involve them fully in reflecting on their discoveries and how they can build upon their skills. Our ultimate goal is to protect and nurture that innate curiosity, motivating children to become intrinsically driven, life-long learners.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE LEARNER
We view the Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL) as the very foundation of a child's learning journey. Our school's commitment to the Curiosity Approach is the practical, living way we bring these characteristics to life, transforming our spaces into environments of awe and wonder.
We believe that how a child learns is just as important as what they learn. Our practitioners are trained to be "co-explorers," reflecting on each child's unique way of thinking and using our carefully curated environment to nurture these three core characteristics:
- Playing and Exploring This is the "spark" of curiosity. For us, this is not about plastic toys; it is about providing a rich, sensory environment full of authentic materials, natural treasures, and intriguing 'loose parts'. Children are intrinsically motivated to investigate, experience, and ‘have a go’ with genuine wonder.
- Active Learning This is the "flow state" of deep engagement. By providing open-ended 'invitations to play' as well as adult-led tasks, children develop powerful concentration. They learn to persevere when they encounter difficulties and discover the profound, intrinsic joy of their own achievements and discoveries, building true self-esteem.
- Creating and Thinking Critically This happens when children are given the time, space, and materials to develop their own theories. Instead of following instructions for a set outcome, they use their imaginations to make links between ideas. They test their theories, invent new strategies, and become the researchers and architects of their own learning.
EARLY READING, WRITING AND MATHS
We immerse our children in a language-rich environment where high-quality conversation and a language of wonder are modelled by all staff. We believe that developing strong speaking, listening, and language skills is fundamental, as this is the bedrock of comprehension and a rich vocabulary. We place a specific focus on closing the vocabulary gap for any children who may begin school with less experience of such an environment. We use both WellComm and the Neli programme to help us achieve this.
To build confident, successful readers, we follow the highly structured Read Write Inc.phonics scheme. This systematic approach ensures children learn to decode text effectively. We send home fully decodable reading books that precisely match the phonic sounds children have learned in class. This is crucial for building confidence, as it allows children to use their phonics knowledge as the primary strategy for decoding.
Alongside this, we work tirelessly to foster a deep-seated love of reading. We understand that reading is not just a technical skill but an invitation to explore new worlds. We embed carefully chosen, high-quality, and inspiring books within our learning environments, treating them as treasures that spark curiosity and conversation. We enable our children to take these books home as part of their weekly reading to share this love and passion at home.
Our approach to maths is grounded in the belief that maths is everywhere. We see our entire school, indoors and out, as a rich mathematical learning environment. We use the research and resources developed by the NCETM to ensure that all children develop firm mathematical foundations in a way that is engaging, and appropriate for their age.
Children discover mathematical concepts through tangible, real-world, and play-based experiences. They explore patterns, sorting, counting, and measurement using natural and authentic 'loose parts' and intriguing objects as well as focus daily maths focussed activities and teaching. Rather than focusing on a list of separate objectives, the resources are structured around six key conceptual areas: Cardinality and Counting, Comparison, Composition, Pattern, Shape and Space, and Measures. This approach, based on international research, ensures children develop firm foundations by exploring broad concepts through a wide range of play-based activities and experiences.