Intent

In EYFS at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, our enriching curriculum is designed to build upon and recognise the children’s learning from their previous settings, as well as their experiences at home; allowing the children to be part of an exciting experiential learning at school. Each and every child at St Mary's is recognised as a special and unique individual, who is celebrated for their differences. The ability to learn is reinforced by the teaching of our school values - Joy, Excellence, Honesty, Courage and Community. We strive to provide wonderful opportunities to engage learning and encourage the children to have a lifelong love for learning. We strongly believe that our school should be a happy and loving place where all children feel safe and valued, as well as having the courage to take risks and make mistakes.

Throughout their time in EYFS, we want the children to develop a strong sense of belonging to our school family and community, getting ready to transition into Year One.  Over the year in EYFS, the children will grow in strength and confidence to make choices, self-evaluate and become lifelong learners, who are kind and thoughtful young people.

We aim to work together with parents and carers to encourage happy, independent learners who strive to do their very best and reach their full potential.

We aim to understand and follow the children’s interests and enthusiasm by providing opportunities throughout the EYFS curriculum to support their learning, consolidate and strengthen their knowledge and skills, helping them to reach their goals.

We aim to create an inspiring indoor and outdoor environment that supports and excites the children’s learning.

We aim to prepare the children to reach their Early Learning Goals at the end of the Foundation Stage, making sure that each child makes good progress from their individual starting points.

We aim to support and help with the transition into Year One.

We plan the curriculum allowing the children to develop their essential knowledge and skills on a daily basis

We aim to develop the children’s spirituality, interdependence, creativity, independence, thinking skills and ability to challenge themselves.

Implementation

Throughout EYFS at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, we follow the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, updated in September 2023 by the DFE. The framework informs us of the requirements for learning and development in the Early Years and provides us with prime and specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum.

At St Mary's we deliver a curriculum that is child-centred and allows for those wonderful experiences which invite the children to become active, independent learners who are motivated and interested. We take time to learn about the children and their interests in order to support their learning. All areas of the curriculum are taught progressively and the children are provided with ample opportunities to learn new skills, gain new knowledge and demonstrate an understanding through the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum.

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Communication and Language
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Children in EYFS learn so much through exploration, play, being active, being creative and being given the chance to become critical thinkers, both indoors and outdoors. Teaching and learning staff provide stimulating and learning environments which encourage early language development. Learning is celebrated through displays that support current learning and allow the children to take ownership and pride in their achievements. Our outdoor area is used all year round and staff ensure that all activities support the Characteristics of Effective Learning.

All children perform in a Nativity, are celebrated in our weekly celebration assembly, participate in whole class assemblies as well as school trips. They are visited by a number of people who help us in the community. They plant bulbs and seeds, watch them grow and eat their produce. They shop for ingredients to cook different foods and celebrate other religions.  We keep parents informed of their child’s learning with termly newsletters, allowing them to support their child at home and to help us ensure that the children are happy and doing their very best. 

We also support the children with their transition into Year One for both child and parents. We prepare the children with visits to their new classroom, meeting their new teacher and ensuring that the environments are inviting. We also provide transition books to those children that need them. 

At St Mary's we continue to strive to ensure that all of our children’s progress across the whole EYFS curriculum is good from their different starting points. We work really hard to also ensure that the children reach their Early Learning Goals at the end of Reception.  We track pupils achieving age-related expectations throughout the academic year, allowing us to put interventions in place if and when they are needed. The class teachers continually make observations to make formative assessments which help with planning and making sure that the children continue to build on their prior knowledge and skills at a good pace.

Impact

Children at St Mary's make good progress from their varied starting points. They leave the Reception class with a love of learning and a confidence to extend their own learning. They transition well into Year One with the knowledge and skills needed for their next stage of learning. They are able to access learning with a good level of independence and they show a curiosity of the world around them. They have gained resilience and see mistakes as opportunities to learn. They have become good problem solvers and their questions skills are developing.

The Impact of our curriculum is also measured by the effectiveness it has on helping our children to become gentle, compassionate, well-rounded individuals who embody our school values and demonstrate these in their everyday lives.

Our Curriculum

Our curriculum enables there to be no limits or barriers to our children's achievements. We want all children to reach their full potential. Our curriculum allows for high ambition and encourages all children to be deeply engaged. It also allows the children to build upon their love for learning. All children will be able to access our curriculum and together we overcome any difficulties!

Our Outdoor Learning

At St Mary's, we absolutely love taking our learning outside. Our outdoor learning helps support our ambitious curriculum and allows all of our children to develop their knowledge and skills across all seven areas of learning. It also allows our children to learn through high levels of curiosity, concentration and enjoyment.

Maths Online Resources

Reading for Pleasure