Enhance and enrich the EYFS & Y1 curriculum, to extend play to the outdoor environment in order to challenge thinking critically, problem solving, develop playing and exploring and engage children in active learning as well as engaging and motivating children in areas they thrive in. It will aid development and support accelerated progress. It will support to develop their own ideas using pen ended resources which will enable them to use these skills as they move through the next stage of their education.
The resources we have recently added to our provision have impacted our students massively. One of the most significant areas of impact is the renovation and investment into our Year 1 outdoor provision area. This has allowed the children to flourish socially, and our mud kitchen has provided lots of opportunities for imaginative role play that our children are not necessarily receiving at home. This mud kitchen is also encouraging the use of ambitious, descriptive language which has improved significantly since the beginning of the school year within year 1, improving the level of writing.
Another significant resource we have received is our outdoor reading den. The children absolutely love this and it has promoted a love of reading and sharing a book with friends. The children will be sitting in the reading den in all weathers sharing books with each other, and this has also encouraged more confident readers to share a story with the less confident readers, promoting a love of reading across all abilities.
Investment has been made into resources that encourage practice and application of phonics, a vital skill in year 1. These resources are allowing the children to go away and practice their phonics skills during their independent time, when they are not working with an adult. This has allowed some of our children to improve their phonics and has again allowed children of all abilities to learn independently and make progress.