‘Reach for the Stars’

At Summerhill Primary Academy, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides a nurturing, ambitious and language-rich environment where every child is valued as a unique learner. We lay strong foundations for lifelong learning through meaningful experiences, purposeful play and carefully planned teaching.

Our Intent: A Language-Rich Foundation for Life

Language is at the heart of everything we do and we recognise that strong communication skills are fundamental to children’s future success — socially, emotionally and academically. Our intent is to:

• Develop confident, articulate communicators
• Close gaps in vocabulary and language exposure
• Foster a love of stories, rhymes, songs, conversation and self-expression
• Build secure foundations for reading and writing
• Ensure every child feels heard, understood and valued.

Consequently, we prioritise:

• High-quality adult-child interactions using the SHREC approach (Share attention, Respond, Expand, Conversation)
• Rich storytelling and high-quality texts
• Oracy development through talk, role play, the use of chatterboxes and discussion
• Carefully structured opportunities to practise and embed new language.

We believe that through a language-focused curriculum, children develop the confidence and competence to thrive not only in EYFS but the years beyond as well.

Meet the Team

Miss A Bridgwater  BA (Hons) Early Years Childcare with QTS

Miss Bridgwater is a passionate and dedicated Reception teacher with five years of experience supporting young children at the very start of their learning journey. Prior to teaching in Reception, Miss Bridgwater managed a range of nursery settings using her expertise to create nurturing and supporting learning environments enabling all children to thrive. As an established Reception teacher, Miss Bridgwater has a strong passion for teaching the foundations of reading and writing and for creating enabling environments that promote high-quality learning experiences and meaningful interactions. Miss Bridgwater firmly believes in the power of positive reinforcement and places great importance on building strong, positive relationships with both children and parents. Furthermore, she is committed to providing a safe, inclusive environment where mutual respect is maintained, clear boundaries are established and every child feels supported, valued and confident to learn.

Miss O Dovek  BA (Hons) Primary Education with QTS

Miss Dovek holds a degree in Primary Education with a specialism in Early Years and has experience teaching across Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1. She is a dedicated, enthusiastic and nurturing practitioner who establishes strong, professional relationships with both children and parents. She is highly attentive and responsive to the individual needs of both children and families, ensuring that every child feels supported and understood. Her calm and approachable manner enables her to create a secure, stimulating and inclusive classroom environment where children feel safe, valued and confident in their learning. Miss Dovek has a particular interest in learning through hands-on experiences and carefully plans rich, engaging opportunities through play that promote curiosity, independence and active participation. Her creative and purposeful approach supports children in developing key skills, building resilience and becoming confident, motivated learners. Her aim is to ensure every child develops confidence, independence and a genuine love of learning.

Our Curriculum Overview: The Seven Areas of Learning

The EYFS curriculum is structured around the seven areas of learning, divided into three prime areas and four specific areas.

The Three Prime Areas

These areas are fundamental to children’s development and underpin all learning.

1. Communication and Language

Children develop speaking, listening, attention and understanding skills through:

• Daily story sessions
• Structured conversations using the SHREC approach
• High-quality questioning
• Role-play and enabling environments
• Singing and learning rhymes and poems
• The use of ‘chatterboxes’

We explicitly model ambitious vocabulary and sentence structures.

2. Personal, Social and Emotional Development

We nurture:

• Confidence and independence
• Emotional literacy
• Positive relationships
• Resilience and self-regulation
• Develop executive function skills

Children learn to manage feelings, collaborate and develop a strong sense of belonging as well as developing executive function skills which will support children not only mentally and physically but throughout their school lives and beyond.  

3. Physical Development

Through indoor and outdoor provision, children develop:

• Gross motor skills (running, climbing, balancing)
• Fine motor control (mark making, cutting, threading)
• Core strength for writing readiness

The Four Specific Areas

These areas build on the prime foundations and provide breadth and depth for our children.

4. Literacy

Children will be taught to link sounds and letters using our phonics programme Read Write Inc where they will begin to read and write (please see our phonics section of the website for further information). Furthermore, children will be exposed to rich diverse texts, shared reading and storytelling opportunities and the enabling environment will support writing for a purpose.

5. Mathematics

Children’s understanding of number and problem solving through play and the wider environment will be developed and challenged thus enabling children to make ‘sense of number,’ learn to subitise as well as explore and deepen their understanding of pattern, shape and measure.

6. Understanding the World

Cultural traditions and celebrations are key areas of focus throughout the year alongside seasonal changes, the weather and nature for our children. Once again the enabling environment provides children with opportunities to explore and be curious in order to connect and deepen their thinking. Children will also explore people and communities as well as technology to broaden their understanding of the world around them.

7. Expressive Arts and Design

Creative exploration is at the heart of developing children’s knowledge and skills in expressive arts and design. Music, movement through dance, role-play, drama and story-telling as well as open-ended art creations using a range of materials enable children to explore, express themselves and be creative.

How We Implement Our Curriculum

Our approach is research-informed, reflective and child-centred and inspired by the principles of the Reggio Emilia approach. At Summerhill Primary Academy we:

• View children as capable, curious learners
• Create enabling environments as the “third teacher”
• Encourage sustained shared thinking and language development
• Follow children’s interests to deepen learning.

Our classrooms are carefully designed to provoke curiosity, independence and language-rich exploration.

Alongside this our implementation is shaped by evidence-informed practice:

• Explicit vocabulary instruction
• High-quality modelling
• Sustained shared thinking
• Purposeful play with adult guidance.

Adults are skilled facilitators who scaffold learning through questioning, modelling and extending thinking.

Cultural Capital at Summerhill Primary Academy

At Summerhill Academy, cultural capital is understood as the essential knowledge and experiences children need to succeed beyond school.

In our EYFS, we actively build cultural capital by:

• Providing experiences beyond children’s immediate environment
• Organising visits, visitors and enrichment opportunities
• Developing knowledge of the wider world.

We ensure every child gains the background knowledge, vocabulary and experiences that support future learning.

We are also a ‘Brilliant Brushers’ school which is a programme aimed at improving oral health and hygiene.

The Impact of Our Curriculum

The impact of our EYFS curriculum is seen in children who:

• Speak confidently and use a rich vocabulary
• Show curiosity and enthusiasm for learning
• Demonstrate independence and resilience
• Achieve strong early reading and number foundations
• Transition smoothly into Key Stage 1

We use ongoing assessment, observation and professional dialogue to ensure all children make strong progress from their starting points.

Parents as Partners

We believe parents are children’s first and most important educators.

Strong home-school partnerships enhance children’s outcomes. We work collaboratively with families through:

• Regular communication and updates
• Stay-and-play sessions
• Workshops on phonics and early maths
• Celebrating achievements together

We value parents’ insights and encourage shared dialogue about children’s development.

Together, we build the strongest possible foundations for every child’s future.

Supporting your child at home

Please take a look at the videos below to help you support your child at home.