Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

At the core of our children’s learning is the EYFS curriculum, which is carefully planned to ensure progression and continuity of skills in seven areas of learning. These areas of learning depend on each other to support a rounded approach to early years' development. All the areas will be delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities.

There are three prime areas:

Communication and Language Development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Physical Development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their coordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.

There are also four specific areas through which the prime areas are strengthened and applied:

Literacy involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.

Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.

Understanding the World involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community by providing them with opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.

Expressive Arts and Design involves enabling 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 a variety of activities: in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

• A mix of engaging child-initiated and adult-led activities;
• A balance of carefully planned purposeful play and direct teaching;
• Exciting learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom;
• Exposure to a wealth of rich language through a wide range of books and quality, meaningful interactions;
• Caring, kind staff who model positive learning behaviours;
• Learning environments that inspire and excite;
• Support to manage emotions and personal relationships;
• Individualised, inclusive learning that takes into account each child’s unique interests and needs.

We recognise that children learn and develop well when there’s a strong partnership between staff and parents and/or carers. We want to ensure before children begin with us that we have established strong connections with parents and carers.

We do this through providing additional information before starting about what school ready looks like, inviting parents to come in to school to see and play in the setting with their child before starting any further transitions, having a parents information session in July, providing parents with a welcome pack in July and arranging home visits in September to support the transitions of both children and parents. 

Parents and/or carers are kept up to date with their child’s progress and development. Every week parents receive a weekly learning update via the schools platform tapestry. This lets parents know what children have been learning in phonics, maths, topic etc across the week. Within this update parents receive additional reminders of upcoming parent events and any additional information that they can do at home to further support their child.

Parents are provided with additional information across the year on how the school teaches their child and what they can do at home to further support.  We always value the transparency between school and home and want parents to feel empowered and have all the information necessary to support their child.