At Diamond Wood Community Academy we value each Area of Learning or Specific Subject equally. Although we have Prime Areas of Learning within the EYFS and Core Subjects within KS1, we believe that both the Specific Areas of Learning and Foundation Subjects are just as crucial in providing pupils with the best possible education.
What is the difference between them?
The Prime Areas of Learning (EYFS) and the Core subjects (KS1) are an integral part of our daily life. Equipping our young people with the skills to understand the foundations set out within these areas will make for a confident individual, who is ‘up for a challenge’, able to problem solve and ultimately able to make informed choices about their future. A really clear example of this is the importance of teaching a child to read. We need to teach all children to read so that they can then read to learn. The Specific Areas of Learning (EYFS) and Foundation subjects (KS1) provide the range of experiences and opportunities for children to broaden their knowledge and skills across a broader field.
Early Years Foundation Stage: Prime and Specific Areas of Learning
Prime Areas: Focus on the foundational skills that children need to develop before they can progress to more specific areas of learning.
Specific Areas: Build on the skills developed in the Prime Areas and cover more detailed aspects of learning and development.
| Area of Learning | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Personal, Social and Emotional Development | Prime | Focuses on helping children develop a positive sense of themselves and others, form positive relationships, and manage their feelings and behaviour. |
| Communication and Language | Prime | Involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment, develop their speaking and listening skills, and use language effectively. |
| Physical Development | Prime | Encourages children to be active and develop their coordination, control, and movement. It also emphasises the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices. |
| Literacy | Specific | Involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and begin to read and write. It includes both reading and writing activities. |
| Mathematics | Specific | Focuses on developing a strong grounding in number, shapes, space, and measures to provide children with a solid foundation for their future learning. |
| Understanding the World | Specific | Helps children make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe, and find out about people, places, technology, and the environment. |
| Expressive Arts and Design | Specific | Encourages children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology. |
Key Stage 1: Core and Foundation Subjects
Core Subjects: These are central to the curriculum and receive a greater amount of instructional time.
Foundation Subjects: These are important for a well-rounded education, providing breadth and balance in the curriculum.
| Subject | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| English | Core | Focuses on developing reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, with an emphasis on phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary. |
| Mathematics | Core | Covers key areas such as number and place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions and measures, including geometry and statistics. |
| Science | Core | Encourages exploration and understanding of the natural world through topics such as plants, animals, materials and seasonal changes. |
| Art, Craft and Design | Foundation | Develops a creativity and imagination through exploring and using a variety of materials and techniques. |
| Computing | Foundation | Introduces basic concepts of digital literacy, e-safety and simple programming skills. |
| Design and Technology | Foundation | Involves planning, designing, making, and evaluating products, and includes working with a range of tools and materials. |
| Geography | Foundation | Focuses on developing knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality, including basic map skills. |
| History | Foundation | Encourages understanding the past through exploring significant events, people, and places in the UK and the wider world. |
| Music | Foundation | Involves listening to, creating, and performing music, and understanding musical elements like rhythm and melody. |
| Physical Education (PE) | Foundation | Promotes physical activity, skills development, teamwork, and understanding the importance of health and fitness. |
| Religious Education (RE) | Foundation | Provides knowledge and understanding of different religions, beliefs and values. The subject may vary in content based on local authority guidelines. |
| Personal Development (PHSE / RHSE) | Foundation | Covers important topics related to physical and mental health, well-being, relationships, and the understanding of growing up and changes, appropriate to the child’s age and maturity. |
Subject Leaders
At Diamond Wood Community Academy we have a subject leader for all of our Core and Foundation subjects. Although within the Early Years Foundation Stage children are not taught explicit subjects, the leaders are responsible for the linked Areas of Learning. For example, our Geography Leader focuses on the Area of Learning ‘Understanding the World’ within Nursery and Reception. Another example is our Music, Art and D&T leaders focusing on the areas within Expressive Arts and Design.
The core purpose of the subject leader is to provide professional leadership for their subject in order to secure high quality teaching, effective use of resources and improved standards of achievement for all children. Their job role includes;
- Designing a progressive curriculum for their subject
- Developing and ensuring effective implementation of policy and scheme(s) of work
- Developing staff and governor expertise
- Monitoring the quality of pupils’ learning, standards of achievement and the quality of teaching
- Monitoring and enhancing the learning environment
- Promoting the subject and our implementation of it
- Preparing for school inspections and representing the subject during these
To find out more about each subject please visit the subject specific links accessible via the navigation of this website.
You are more than welcome to speak to specific subject leaders using the school email address office@diamondwood.enhanceacad.org.uk.