EYFS Intent

At St Joseph’s our aim is to provide an environment and build relationships which support and enhance a child’s curiosity, confidence and competency to flourish regardless of background, circumstance or need. Collaboration with parents and carers is paramount to support and encourage our young children to become independent, enthusiastic and curious individuals who thrive to reach their full potential and be the best they can be! We believe every child can make progress, with the right support.

It is our intent that children enter our EYFS and begin their lifelong journey by developing physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and a love of learning.

Our high quality curriculum is designed to recognise children’s prior learning, both from previous settings and their experiences at home. Every child is unique so we work in partnership with parents, carers and other settings to provide the best possible start at St Joseph’s, ensuring each individual reaches their full potential from their various starting points.

Our Early Years curriculum prepares the children for now and the future in terms of opportunities offered and experiences gained. We follow the children’s personal interests and individual needs which helps us to plan tailored activities and opportunities throughout the curriculum, supporting learning and development and helping the children achieve their next steps. We place a high emphasis on communication throughout our setting as we understand the importance of this and the impact it has on a child’s experiences and opportunities.

 

 

Implementation

The EYFS is about how children learn, as well as what they learn.

At St Joseph’s we give the children opportunities to develop their own play and independent exploration which is fun, relevant and motivating for them. The adults in class ‘scaffold’ their learning by giving them just enough support to achieve something they could not do independently. Helping children to think, discuss and plan ahead is important, These are ways of helping children to develop the characteristics of effective learning:

  • Playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
  • Active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements

 

  • Creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things

 

As well as monitoring these three key elements within our setting, adults follow the Early Years Statutory Framework, provided by the Department for Education.

The framework sets out the requirement for learning and development within the EYFS and focuses on prime and specific areas.

There are seven areas of the EYFS Curriculum:-

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

These areas, alongside Religious Education, are used in our planning for the children’s learning and their activities. Planning is flexible to meet the needs and interests of our children and we aim to develop the learning characteristics that will support lifelong learning as outlined above.

At St Joseph’s, the children learn through a combination of child-centred and adult initiated activities. These are planned carefully yet flexible to ensure all children are learning at their best. The environment is set up to ensure all children have a range of opportunities to work collaboratively, independently and with members of staff both indoors and outdoors.

We use several resources to support the development of the curriculum within the Foundation Stage. These include:

  • Development Matters
  • Curriculum Maestro
  • White Rose Maths
  • Read Write Inc Phonics

Our school mission statement “Believe, Achieve, Succeed” is at the heart of everything we do. We want all our children to achieve and succeed at everything they do and believe they can do anything. That our children leave the EYFS prepared, excited and happy for their future in year one and beyond is at the centre of everything we do.

You can see more about our EYFS curriculum here:

Timetable

Maths LTP

Topics LTP