foundation stage curriculum guidance: northern ireland

8/8/2019 Foundation Stage Curriculum Guidance: Northern Ireland

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Understanding the Foundation Stage

Introduction

The Foundation StageYears 1 & 2 in the primary school

The purpose o this guidance is to provide inormation related to good

practice in the Foundation Stage. It outlines the approach to learning,

teaching and assessment and should be used to support the review,

development and improvement o existing provision and practice.

Young children come to school rom a variety o dierent backgrounds,

having had a range o diverse learning experiences at home and or most,

some orm o pre-school education. The Foundation Stage aims to buildon these learning experiences by providing children with an appropriate

learning programme to develop their dispositions to learn and to provide

them with the skills and competencies they will need to succeed in

school and uture lie. The Foundation Stage also endorses good early

years practice where teachers have more exibility in terms o what they

teach. This exibility allows teachers to ollow the interests o the children,

encouraging them to see links in their learning and to appreciate that the

skills they learn in one area can be applied elsewhere.


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This section sets out:

The Characteristics o the Foundation Stage

The Aims o the Foundation Stage

The Principles Underpinning the Foundation Stage

The Curriculum in the Foundation Stage

The Characteristics o the Foundation Stage

The Rationale o the Foundation Stage

At the outset it is important to emphasise that

the Foundation Stage reects the existing good

practice already rmly established in Northern

Ireland schools. The Programme o Study (1996)

outlined the Characteristics o the Curriculum at

Key Stage 1 and the Foundation Stage seeks to

endorse these elements o sound educational

practice by providing a learning environment

which best meets the needs o young children.

The Programme o Study (1996) stated that Key

Stage 1 teachers should:

provide opportunities or pupils to develop the

skills they will need to become condent and

independent,

Thereore:

the learning experiences provided should refect

pupils interests and the practical and inormal waysin which pupils o this age learn. These experiences

should be enjoyable and challenging, and should

motivate pupils and encourage them to adopt

positive attitudes to school and learning.

The contexts or learning should:

relate to the pupils immediate and known

environment and should refect the act that pupils

at this age do not see knowledge and skills as

belonging to specic categories and subjects.

It goes on to state that education at Key Stage 1

should oster the intellectual, social, emotional,

physical, moral and spiritual development o

pupils by:

enabling them to work and play together

harmoniously;

promoting positive attitudes to school and

learning;

providing opportunities or them to learn in apractical way;

using to the ull, opportunities provided by

play or their development, both socially and

academically;


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providing a wide range o opportunities or

developing movement and manipulative skills;

developing their natural curiosity and

stimulating their imagination;

providing opportunities or exploration,

investigation, problem solving and decision

making;

developing the undamental skills o

literacy, numeracy and oral communication,

both through direct teaching and by the

opportunities provided by other subjects and

activities;

providing opportunities or them to develop

knowledge, understanding and skills through

a range o contexts spanning all subjects o

the curriculum;

providing rich and varied contexts or

developing skills, such as observing,

investigating, organising, recording,

interpreting and predicting, which are

essential to learning in all subjects o the

curriculum.

Key Stages 1 and 2 The Northern Ireland

Curriculum Programmes o Study and

Attainment Targets (DENI:1996).

This guidance should be used in conjunction with

the Northern Ireland Curriculum and:Together Towards Improvement (ETI, 2003)

Continuous Improvement through

Sel-evaluation (ETI, 2003)

The Reective Teacher (ETI, 2006)

The Aims o the Foundation Stage

The Northern Ireland curriculum aims to

empower young people to develop their

potential and make inormed and responsible

choices and decisions throughout their lives.

The Foundation Stage aims to provide a learning

programme which will:

promote childrens personal development;

promote positive attitudes and dispositions to

learning;

promote childrens Thinking Skills & Personal

Capabilities;

encourage creativity and imagination;

enable children to develop physical

condence and competence;

develop childrens curiosity and interest in the

world around them;

enable children to communicate in a variety o

ways;

motivate children to develop literacy and

numeracy skills in meaningul contexts.


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The Principles Underpinning the Foundation Stage

Young children learn best when learning is

interactive, practical and enjoyable or both

children and teachers.

Children learn best when they:

have opportunities to be actively involved

in practical, open-ended and challenging

learning experiences that encourage creativity;

have opportunities to initiate experiences

that capitalise on their individual interests and

curiosities;

are actively involved in planning, reviewing

and reecting what they have done;

are enabled to express themselves by creating

images, sounds, movements, structures and

invented stories;

are involved in play that is challenging, takes

account o their developmental stage and

needs and builds on their own interests and

experiences;

work in stimulating environments and have

access to a range o resources;

develop secure relationships with peers and

adults;

have choice and exercise autonomy and

independence in their learning, and are

encouraged to take risks.

Learning is supported by adults when:

early years practitioners are committed,

sensitive, enthusiastic and interact eectively

to challenge childrens thinking and learning;

planning is collaborative, holistic, child ocused

and inormed by observations o learning;

assessment is ongoing, ormative and integral

to learning and teaching. It is observation

based, inorms planning and is carried out in

an unobtrusive way;

practitioners manage the introduction and

eective use o resources;

positively afrming environments are created

to support childrens emotional, social and

physical development;

the importance o process-based rather than

outcome driven learning is acknowledged;

practitioners and parents/carers work in

partnership to ensure children achieve their

ull potential;

a multi-proessional approach exists and

practitioners access the expertise o other

proessionals;

children are made aware o their progress by

receiving positive eedback and suggestions

or improvement;

they reect on their practice and are engaged

in proessional development.


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The statutory curriculum in the Foundation Stage

is set out under the ollowing Areas o Learning:

Religious Education in accordance with

the core syllabus drated by the our main

Christian Churches in Northern Ireland and

specied by the Department o Education.

Language and Literacy including Talking and

Listening, Reading and Writing;

Mathematics and Numeracy, including

Number, Measures, Shape and Space, Sorting

and Patterns and Relationships;

The Arts, including Art and Design, Music and

Drama;

The World Around Us;

Personal Development and Mutual

Understanding, including Personal

Understanding and Health and Mutual

Understanding in the Local and Wider

Community;

Physical Development and Movement.

Note Although these Areas o Learning are

set out separately, teachers should integrate

learning to enable children to make appropriate

connections.

The Curriculum in the Foundation Stage


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The Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Foundation Stage

Adults Role in Promoting Learning

Learning Partnerships

The Physical Environment

The Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Foundation Stage

Creating an Efective Learning Environment

Children should have opportunities to experience

much o their learning through well-planned and

challenging play. Sel-initiated play helps children

to understand and learn about themselves and

their surroundings.

Play that is well-planned and pleasurable helps

children to think, to increase their understanding

and to improve their language competence. It

allows children to be creative, to explore and

investigate materials, to experiment and to draw

and test their conclusions . . . such experience is

important in catching and sustaining childrens

interests and motivating their learning as

individuals and in co-operation with others.

The Rumbold Report: Starting with Quality

(HMSO:1990)

It is important that children:

have opportunities to be actively involved in

practical, challenging, play-based learning in

a stimulating environment, that takes account

o their developmental stage/needs (including

Special Educational Needs) and their own

interests/experiences;

have opportunities to initiate play that

capitalises on intrinsic motivation and natural

curiosity;

are given equal opportunities to learn in a

variety o ways and dierent social playgroups.


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Adults Role in Promoting Learning

Principals, teachers, assistants and ancillary

staf

The distinctive ethos o a setting is inuenced

strongly by the relationships within it. A culture o

mutual respect is based on open communication

and positive relationships, with each individual

participating as a team member.

Meetings between teachers and classroom

assistants enable eective planning, give time to

reect and provide opportunities to consult on

current issues. Sel-evaluation through review o

practice contributes to constant improvementand ocuses on quality. See Together Towards

Improvement section 1 (ETI:2003).

Relationships with children

Relationships are strengthened through shared

enjoyment and respect, where adults working

with young children respond positively with

warmth, genuine praise and encouragement. It is

also important that adults are:

sincere, air and honest with children;

patient, allowing time or children to adjust to

the setting (transition);

consistent and have a positive approach to

behaviour management;

spending time observing and listening to

children and interacting with them;

sensitive to the uniqueness o each child;

willing to seek support rom parents and other

proessionals where necessary;

Positive relationships with children enable the

development o independence, sel-assertion

and positive sel-image. It is important that adults

have realistic expectations o children and avoid

comparisons or inappropriate competitiveness.

Learning PartnershipsParents/carers

Parents/carers are childrens rst educators

and learning at home happens in a natural and

inormal way. It is essential that there is open

communication between school and home which

is based on shared understanding and mutual

respect.

Home/school learning packs can help parents/

carers support childrens learning development

within the home. Any activities which are to be

shared at home should be practical, enjoyable

and un. Parents/carers can also be encouraged

to spend time talking with their children and

involving them in everyday experiences.

Working in Partnership with other Proessionals

To allow or the exchange o inormation, it is

important that good relationships are established

with members o the community and otheragencies that contribute to the childs all round

development or example, health visitor, speech

therapist and educational psychologist.


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The Physical Environment

Learning environments should be secure,

interesting and challenging. The structure and

presentation o the classroom and outdoor

environment should be considered. By adding

to and changing these environments, children

may be stimulated to pursue new interests, solve

problems and generate ideas.

Positive learning environments should:

Be attractive, welcoming and comortable:

a variety o areas including carpeted areas,

cosy corners/quiet places;

authentic and amiliar items should be

included rom the home, or example

household items, real vegetables, plants and

cushions;

childrens work is celebrated and displayed

in classrooms and throughout the school;

areas are created to provide opportunities

or learning and discovery.

Be organised:

time is allocated exibly;

eective and imaginative use is made o all

available space, both indoors and outdoors;

resources and equipment are clearly

labelled and accessible to both adults andchildren;

areas o interest are established with objects

arranged at an accessible height or children

to observe, touch and explore.

Follow Health and Saety requirements:

statutory health and saety requirements

are met;

the health and saety policy o the setting is

implemented;

children are adequately supervised;

rules are agreed with the children as

necessary;

children are supported in the use o tools

and equipment, appropriately and saely.

Resources may include:

a wide range o natural, man-made and

recycled materials which reects the needs,

interests and abilities o the children;

a careully selected and wide range o books

and other texts;

resources and equipment should be:

appropriately managed, planned or and

changed as appropriate;

high-quality, durable, varied and

accessible;

suitable or the developmental stage othe children;

attractive, interesting and challenging;

versatile enough to allow or a wide

range o learning opportunities and

progression.

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The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Cycle in the Foundation Stage

Planning in the Foundation Stage

Assessment or Learning in the Foundation Stage

Observations and Assessment in the Foundation Stage

The Pupil Prole in the Foundation Stage

The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Cycle

in the Foundation Stage

Learning, Teaching and Assessment

Planning or coherence and progression in the

Foundation Stage

Children learn best when learning is connected

and although the curriculum has been set

out in Areas o Learning, urther integration is

encouraged to help children to transer skills and

make links in their learning.

In the Foundation Stage teachers have exibility

to interpret the programmes to suit the needs,

interests and abilities o the children. Throughout

the Foundation Stage children need to be

observed closely so that:

teaching builds rom the childrens current

stage o development;

childrens needs and interests lead the

learning;

appropriate support can be given to those

children who require it;

children are motivated and their learning

challenged;

children have high expectations o themselves;

and

inormation can be shared with parents.

The Learning Teaching and Assessment Cycle

It is important to view learning, teaching

and assessment as a continuous cycle, where

assessment is not an end point but should eed

back into the process to help improve learning.


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Learning, Teaching& Assessment Cycle

Feedback

Learning

Activity

Input

Planning

Learning

Intentions

Success

Criteria

Improvement

Sel

Evaluation

Questioning

Questioning

Que

stioning

Questio

ning

The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Cycle


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Planning in the Foundation Stage

Good planning and eective assessment are

closely related. Since the purpose o teaching

and the main purpose o assessment are to

help children to learn, teaching and assessmentneed to be planned together as complementary

aspects o the one activity. In turn, the

inormation obtained rom assessment should be

used to inorm the planning process.

Plans are not an end in themselves, rather it is

the process o planning that is important. This

process allows teachers and classroom assistants

to think and talk about what and how children

should learn and also how they can create asuccessul learning environment to promote this.

It also ensures that teachers and classroom

assistants have a clear idea o how they might

support this learning through their participation

in activities which are interesting, varied and

show progression.

As teachers develop long, medium and short-

term plans they should ensure that everyone

involved is kept inormed. Planning documentsshould be regarded as exible; teachers

should alter or add to them as they observe

the childrens responses and the outcomes

o play. They should also take account o the

developmental stage o the children and their

previous experiences.

Long-term plans

Long-term plans set out, in broad terms, the

learning or a whole group o children, usually

over a period o a year. These plans are likely to:

ensure that children experience a broad and

balanced curriculum with all areas o learning

being given appropriate emphasis;

outline the knowledge, skills and concepts andthe progression expected, within each area o

learning;

include seasonal and estive and other

planned events that occur during the year; and

inorm medium-term planning.

Medium-term plans

Medium-term plans bridge the gap between the

broad outline o the long-term plan and the day-to-day detail o the short-term plan. Medium-

term plans may reer to hal-termly or monthly

periods and are likely to:

relate to the long-term plan;

outline the planned activities and the

resources required;

identiy the learning potential that the sta

intend to promote in each area; and

be evaluated to inorm uture planning.

Short-term plans

Short-term plans should take account o the

childrens individual needs and be responsive

to their ideas and spontaneous play. There

should be enough detail to inorm teachers and

classroom assistants on a daily basis to ensure

that the best use is being made o time, spaceand resources. An evaluation o the planning or


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each period o time and the childrens responses

to the activities and experiences, should inorm

the drawing up o the next set o plans. These

plans are likely to:

take account o recent observations and

assessments o children;

transer medium-term planning into

manageable steps, by including sequences

o experiences and activities, and the

introduction o specic resources, which have

the potential to promote new learning or

reinorce previous learning;

clariy the role o the adults in the play and

other activities;

provide or the needs o individual children;

be exible to allow or spontaneous responses

and activities rom the children;

ensure challenge within play activities, altering

these in the light o the childrens responses,so that all children have opportunities to make

progress; and

be evaluated on a daily/weekly basis to inorm

uture planning.


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Assessment or Learning in the Foundation Stage

Assessment is an integral part o the learning

and teaching process. By gathering inormation

about a childs progress over a period o time,

teachers build a comprehensive picture o

the learning in order to plan uture work. In

developing Assessment or Learning practices

in the Foundation Stage adults should, when

appropriate, engage in dialogue with children

about their learning;

Eective questioning is also an integral part

o observation and assessment practice in the

Foundation Stage. Adults should use questioning to:

clariy or extend childrens thinking;

interact sensitively with children to support

their learning on topics o mutual interest;

engage children in reective discussion about

their learning;

make judgements on what children

understand and can do;

model the eective use o questioning.

Feedback in the Foundation stage should

primarily be oral and should take place

throughout the learning process. When giving

eedback to children, adults should remember:

young children need a nurturing climate;

verbal and non-verbal language rom the

adult gives powerul messages to the child

about his/her ability;

to ocus eedback on individual progress;

to give eedback that ocuses on success and

improvement; and

to give children time to make improvements.

Why observe?

Observations are a natural and essential part

o good practice or teachers and classroom

assistants. Without the use o regular

observations and written records on each

childs development, the teacher is let with an

incomplete picture o the child. This may lead to

the loss o signicant inormation that could help

shape planning and take more account o each

childs needs.

Regular observations will allow teachers and

classroom assistants to assess:

the childs level o concentration and

involvement;

how skills and concepts are developing;

levels o concentration and communication;

the individual character o each child bynding out his/her interests/passions;

Observations will also allow adults to evaluate

practice as they:

Observation and Assessment in the Foundation Stage


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reect on any aspects o provision where

children have experienced difculties, or

where they need more time or additional

resources/opportunities; and

respond appropriately by deciding whatneeds to be planned next or children to

make progress and build on their previous

experiences.

Well-planned, regular and skillul observations

help teachers gain a more accurate picture o the

progress each child is making across the whole

curriculum. This in turn allows the teacher to plan

a more relevant programme which will ensure

that all childrens needs are being met.

What to observe

There are two aspects to consider during any

observation.

1. What the children say when they:

access the activities planned or the various

Areas o Learning;

spontaneously interact with their peers;

are involved in dialogue and discussionwith adults and peers (including asking and

answering questions); and

interact with each other during all aspects

o play (indoors and outdoors), story time,

show and tell and other activities.

2. What the children choose to do when they are:

working alone or working in groups;

using the resources available;responding to other adults/parents visiting

the school or on school outings; and

challenged by situations which require

problem-solving and thinking skills.

It is obviously not possible to record everything

a child says or does, even in a very short

period, however it is desirable to record the

important aspects o the situation observed. The

signicance o any situation will be determinedby the adults previous knowledge o the child.

Observations may include evidence o the childs:

use o language in a range o situations;

ability to problem-solve and make decisions or

demonstrate thinking skills;

level o involvement and concentration during

activities;

willingness to investigate and be creative;

use o resources in an imaginative way;

desire to plan his/her activities;

level o sel-awareness and sel-condence;

ability to manage emotions and eelings; and

ability to work with others.

How to plan or observations

Observations are the key to eective planning

and Assessment or Learning and it is essential to

take time to plan or them. Adults need to adopt

a exible approach to observations which allows

or the unpredictable reactions o the children

to the activities oered and which provide some

o the most detailed insights into the child asan individual. So, the most eective methods

o observation provide opportunities or the

adult to record both planned and spontaneous

observations.


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The Pupil Prole in the Foundation Stage

The Pupil Prole at the Foundation Stage is the

statutory means o reporting to parents. The

ormat o the Prole will address and reect

the curriculum in Northern Ireland. It will alsoprovide a record o the childs learning and

attainment together with any learning issues. The

Pupil Prole will inorm parents how their child is

progressing at school and will help orm the basis

or planning uture learning.

Reluctant to visit the reading corner

An observation raised the issue that one o the

children seemed to be to be reluctant to visit

the reading corner, and showed little interestin books. The adults wanted to consider how

to attract the child to this area. This included

reecting on his natural interests, hobbies

or passions as displayed in the classroom,

and asking the boys parents. It became

apparent that the child was passionate about

animals and dinosaurs in particular. The adults

responded by providing a range o dinosaurs,

large stones and leaves in the dry sand, and

placing non-ction dinosaur books nearby.

The ollowing day when the child was playing

with these gures, the teacher joined the

child and engaged him in conversation aboutthem. When the child asked about the names

o some o them, the teacher suggested using

the books as a source o inormation and

shared the books with him.

Ater a ew days it was observed that the

boy was absorbed in turning the pages,

looking through the images and talking to

himsel about the contents. These books were

subsequently moved to the reading area, and

the teacher was delighted to observe the boy

going there to read them, and then starting to

browse through other books.

Adults may decide to observe specic children

on particular days, ensuring that observations

include all children over a period o time. The

curricular areas or the activities oered may be

the starting-point or planning observations. It

is widely accepted that children perorm bestwhile engaged in sel-chosen activities, so it is

important to avoid the overuse o checklists.

How does observation lead to assessment and

uture planning?

Observations provide the adult with the evidence

about the childs progress in learning. These

observations enable the adult to assess the childs

learning and development which then leads to

the appropriate planning and provision or thenext stages in learning.

In order to decide what any child needs to learn

next, the context and the area or development

must be considered. The ollowing example

shows how the important principles o observing,

reecting and responding led to appropriate

planning.


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foundation stage curriculum guidance: northern ireland

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