• Playing and Exploring
• Active Learning
• Creative and Critical Thinking

These characteristics are encouraged, developed and supported to enable children to make progress in all areas of learning and development.

Listening, Attention & Understanding:
Listen and respond in a range of situations, using questioning to clarify and extend understanding.

Speaking:
Instigate and join in with a range of discussions.
Use familiar vocabulary, new vocabulary and actions to explain and extend ideas.
Be confident in using conversation as a means to express their feelings and communicate effectively, using past, present and future tenses, as well as longer sentences with differing conjunctions.

Creating with Materials:
Complete the process of creating models/craft projects/play from start to finish and talk about the process/ideas/skills used.
Use resources and equipment safely with clear ideas/purpose and use exploration to extend thinking, including incorporating props in play.

Being Imaginative and Expressive:
Use and extend narrative/stories in own and collaborative play.
Use song/dance/story to explore and express ideas, showing confidence in sharing these with others (including performing/showing others).
Sing a range of songs, moving and responding in time to music.

Reading:
Recall and apply phonic knowledge to decode and read cations/phrases/sentences with independence and accuracy.
Use a love of reading to enjoy stories/books/word games demonstrating comprehension of text, as well as knowledge and acquisition of vocabulary.
Know the letters of the alphabet, including upper and lower case.

Writing:
Use recognisable letters, with secure formation, to write cations/phrases/sentences which themselves and others can read.
Use and apply phonic and word knowledge in writing.
Use capital letters, spaces and full stops in writing.

Phonics:
Revisit and apply phonics, words, tricky words.

Number:
Verbally count to 20, demonstrating a secure understanding of numbers to 10; grouping quantities and subitising (know the number without counting) to 5.
Explore grouping and combining numbers to investigate number bonds and doubles to 5 and then 10, developing recall of number facts.

Number Pattern:
Compare numbers and solve problems using numbers to 10 and their knowledge of greater than, less than the same as, groupings and quantity.
Explore counting beyond 20 using number patterns.
Identify patterns and comparisons in weight and measures, including estimating and checking ideas and amounts.

Self-regulation:
Set own goals, using the virtues; Integrity, Respect, Ambition and Determination.
Demonstrate focus and patience, including waiting, in a range of situations.
Follow instructions and regulate their behaviour.

Managing Self:
Show confidence, resilience, ability to follow rules and routines but also make own choices (including managing hygiene and health).

Building Relationships:
Play/work cooperatively, and show sensitivity in a range of situations.

Gross Motor:
Demonstrate consideration of space and safety when playing active games and going on large play equipment.
Show strength, balance and coordination in their movements and active play.

Fine Motor:
Demonstrate accuracy and care when using a range of equipment and toys, including fastenings, Lego, scissors and cutlery.
Use a tripod grip to hold a pencil and use well-defined/fluent marks, including anticlockwise formations, to write.
Demonstrate control to add detail to drawings.

Past & Present:
Discuss similarities & differences between experiences in their own lifetime, making references to locations.
Discuss similarities and differences between locations (locally and further).

People, Culture & Communities:
Show awareness of countries and cultures, looking at maps/photos, as well as ‘community’ through discussing own life.
Use stories/books to extend ideas/learning.

The Natural World:
Look at the process of change in the natural world for both plants and animals, making observations and comments.