In the Reception year at Moorlands Primary School, we believe that all children deserve an education rich in wonder and memorable experiences that allows children's natural creativity and curiosity to flourish, alongside the purposeful acquisition of skills and knowledge.

We believe that an education that does all of this gives children the best chance to become well-rounded, happy individuals, ready to succeed in an ever-changing world.

Our curriculum celebrates diversity and supports the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Those children with particular needs, including SEND, are supported appropriately allowing them to be successful.

Children’s learning is underpinned by the 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 critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing this

We strongly believe in the importance of play for children’s development. It is enjoyable and helps children to develop social skills, executive function and self-regulation, imagination and creativity. It enables children to take their first steps towards tackling problems and conflict without adult intervention. Adults will be actively involved as ‘play partners’, taking the children’s lead in how they participate.

In order to reduce cognitive load, especially when learning something new, we use the following principles:

• Link new information to prior knowledge
• Reduce visual and auditory distractions (e.g. calm learning environment, activities focussed on what we want children to remember and not distracted by the fun part of the activity)
• Use daily routines (e.g. reinforce days of the week and weather conditions each morning)

We strive to:

• Provide a curriculum that offers children a wide range of opportunities which will broaden children’s experiences while still ensuring that we do not expect children to aspire to things they have never encountered. We will provide opportunities to try new things and encouraging them to relish a new challenge
• Consistently have high expectations to help encourage them to develop perseverance and self-belief allowing them to problem solve and achieve
• Provide a learning environment that inspires children to learn and always achieve their potential; offering support to those who need additional help in order to maximise their chances of achieving the Early Learning Goals and ensure gaps in learning are being bridged
• Provide children opportunities to develop their sense of wellbeing and ability to regulate their feelings so that they feel confident in our community and are equipped with all the tools they need to transition to Year 1 effectively
• Develop the skills and expertise of staff working in EYFS through regular and comprehensive professional development

We have identified the following Curriculum Drivers to steer our curriculum: