At Southfields we strive to ensure that all our children make good progress from their individual starting points.  From their own starting points, children will make excellent progress academically and  socially, developing  into well rounded individuals who embody our values and carry with them the knowledge, skills and attitudes which will make them lifelong learners and prepared for the next phase of schooling. 

Our children will have a sense of belonging, have a positive disposition to learning and are ready to move through the school. They transition into Key Stage One with confidence and a strong character, a well developed sense of the world around them  to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world. They can draw on these experiences during interactions with others and link this to new learning. 

Our children  display high levels of concentration, creativity, energy and persistence. Self-esteem blossoms and children develop crucial social and communication skills as they support each other in their learning journey. Our children talk confidently about their learning and share their experiences with others. 

Through our carefully thought out and planned curriculum and learning experiences, children within our setting make good progress from their points. Children become increasing in line with their age related expectations. 

Play is our vehicle for learning

Pay underpins learning and all aspects of children’s development. Through play, children develop language skills, their emotions and creativity, social and intellectual skills. For most children their play is natural and spontaneous although some children may need extra help from adults. Play takes place indoors and outdoors and it is in these different environments that children explore and discover their immediate world. It is here they practise new ideas and skills, they take risks, show imagination and solve problems on their own or with others. The role that adults have is crucial. Adults provide time and space and appropriate resources. These might include clothes, boxes, buckets, old blankets that will inspire play and fire children’s imaginations. They observe play and join in when invited, watching and listening before intervening. They value play and provide safe but challenging environments that support and extend learning and development.

Support for SEND

At Southfields, we understand that each child's learning experience is different.  We are committed to supporting pupils with their abililty to communicate therefore we have trained a large number of staff in Makaton. In EYFS, we use Makaton signs and symbols to support pupils who are preverbal.  This enables them to communicate their basic needs, engage within the world around them, make friendships and improve their life experiences.

We run bespoke interventions, such as Attention Autism, to support pupils' early fundamentals of language including awareness of others, attention, listening, shared attention, switching attention and turn-taking.