“The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.”

Albert Einstein

 

“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”

Zora Neale Hurston

Our EYFS Curriculum

Our EYFS curriculum promotes effective learning and is designed around the needs of the children. It immerses our children in a language-rich environment which promotes a passion for early reading. Children are supported to develop thinking and problem-solving skills.

Our EYFS recognises the importance of learning through play. Sustained periods of play with support and carefully selected resources are provided throughout the day. Our children guide and drive their learning through carefully resourced continuous provision with enhancements to aid the development of skills and knowledge. We also recognise the need for some direct teacher-led activities to ensure all children gain essential knowledge and skills.

During their time in EYFS, we want children to learn through curiosity and wonder. Working alongside our local community, we welcome visitors into school to share experiences that link to our topics, such as learning about other faiths. We want our pupils to feel inspired to have aspirations and provide them with role models. Children become familiar with our surroundings as we visit local places throughout the school year to support our learning.

It is our intent that we continue to do our best for every child, implementing this by continuing to have a child-centred environment where children learn through play. Practitioners observe play and offer guidance, modelling, and scaffolding where needed. The impact of this will be that St. Joseph’s pupils grow to be confident, competent lifelong learners and overall good citizens.

Areas of Learning and Development

There are seven areas of learning and development throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage. These areas are vital to ensure children are given the best start in their education. They are made up of three prime areas and four specific areas.

Prime areas of learning and development include:

• Communication and language
• Personal, social and emotional development
• Physical development

These areas are of high importance to ensure our children feel safe, can form a range of positive relationships, develop a love of learning through curiosity, and are ready to take on the challenges of the wider curriculum.

Specific areas of learning and development include:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

These areas help to further strengthen the prime areas.

Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning

The characteristics of effective teaching and learning describe the behaviours children use in order to learn. These underpin our prime and specific areas of learning and will shape the way our children learn in EYFS and beyond.

The three behaviours are:

1. Playing and Exploring – Having high levels of engagement and being willing to ‘have a go’.
2. Active Learning – Being motivated and demonstrating resilience.
3. Creating and Thinking Critically – Developing own ideas, strategies and making connections.

Effective learning must be meaningful to our children so that they can use what they have learned and apply it to a range of situations. This allows our children to make good progress across all seven areas of learning and development.

EYFS Areas of Learning

Communication and Language

This area is comprised of listening, attention, understanding and speaking. The development of children’s spoken language is pivotal in enabling them to flourish in all other areas of learning.

Children have ample opportunities to engage in conversations with adults and peers within a language-rich environment to ensure their language is built upon and developed effectively. We pride ourselves on the quality of interactions our children have.

We read to our children daily and engage with a range of texts — fiction, non-fiction, poems and rhymes. We take time to ensure children comprehend what has been read to them and actively encourage them to role-play, re-tell familiar stories and ask questions to further support their comprehension.

Daily ‘Talk for Writing’ sessions extend and deepen vocabulary so that children can understand the books they will soon be able to read for themselves.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

This area is comprised of self-regulation, managing self, and building relationships. The development of strong, compassionate, and supportive relationships with adults supports children’s understanding of their emotions and the emotions of others.

It gives children a safe, secure base from which to develop a positive sense of self and the confidence to achieve set goals. At St. Joseph’s, we want our children to lead happy and healthy lives in Halifax and beyond.

We want them to understand their own feelings and those of others and find ways to self-regulate if needed. Making friends, building a range of relationships throughout our school community, being kind and cooperating with others is key.

Physical Development

This area is comprised of fine motor skills and gross motor skills. It is crucial for children’s all-round development and helps ensure they lead happy, healthy, and active lives both in school and at home.

St. Joseph’s is an active school, ensuring our children are as active as possible throughout the day. Exploring, strengthening coordination, developing core strength, balance, spatial awareness, and agility are all key focuses.

Fine motor development helps with control and precision, which in turn supports hand-eye coordination. We repeat and vary the opportunities our children have — puzzles, physical literacy, arts and crafts, and using a range of tools (including woodwork tools) — to develop confidence.

Literacy

This area is comprised of comprehension, word reading, and writing. We want our children to develop a lifelong love of reading. The ability to read and comprehend what has been read ensures children are ready for the challenges within writing.

At St. Joseph’s, we develop reading, comprehension, word reading, and writing very early on. Our adults talk to the children about the world, continually read stories, sing songs, learn rhymes and short poems.

Word reading begins as soon as children enter the classroom — for example, reading their names during self-registration or on their coat pegs. Decoding skills start here with speedy recognition of familiar vocabulary within phonics sessions and whole-class learning.

Writing opportunities are embedded in the environment; provision is designed to enable pupils to write confidently and for a purpose. 

Mathematics

This area is comprised of number and numerical patterns. Developing a solid grounding in number ensures children’s mathematical development in the years beyond the foundation stage.

We develop a strong sense of number in everything we do. Daily opportunities to count and understand numbers to 10 and beyond are provided through singing number songs and rhymes.

Within our provision, we ensure continued exposure to numbers and number patterns through a wide range of activities, supporting children to develop mathematical language to discuss numbers and patterns.

Adults provide opportunities to develop spatial reasoning skills through activities linked to shape, space and measure. Real-life links are made through structured role-play, such as going to the shop and counting items, helping children get excited about numbers and adopt a ‘have a go’ attitude.