Hello, welcome to our EYFS page. Please look at our page to see what we will be doing this half term.

This Autumn, Reception will be taking part in the DfE Reception Baseline Assessment. Please see below to read more about how this may impact your child's learning and how you can support your child from home.

“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 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 a need for some direct teacher-led activities to ensure all children gain essential knowledge and skills.  

During the children’s time in EYFS, we want them to learn through curiosity and wonder.  Working alongside our local community, we welcome visitors into school to share experiences that link to our topics e.g. 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, we will implement this by continuing to have a child-centered environment where children learn through play. Practitioners will observe play and offer guidance, modelling, and scaffolding (where needed). The impact of this will be that St Joseph’s pupils will grow to be confident, competent lifelong learners and overall good citizens.

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. The seven areas are made of three prime areas and four specific areas.

The prime areas of learning and development include communication and language, personal, social, and emotional development, and 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 as a result are then ready to take on the challenges of the wider curriculum. 

The specific areas of learning and development include; literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design. These areas help to further strengthen the prime areas. 

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

The three behaviours are:
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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.
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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 will allow 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 must have ample opportunities to engage in conversations with adults and peers within a language-rich environment to ensure children’s 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 our children comprehend what has been read to them and they are actively encouraged to role-play, re-tell familiar stories and ask questions about what they have heard to further support their comprehension. In addition to this, daily ‘Talk for writing’ sessions are used to extend and deepen children’s vocabulary so that they 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 then have the confidence in themselves 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. This area is crucial for children’s all-round development and to ensure they lead happy, healthy, and active lives both in school and at home. St Joseph's is an active school, this ensures our children are as active as they can be throughout the school day. Exploring, getting stronger with good coordination, developing strong core strength, balancing, being spatially aware, and aiming for agility at their level. Fine motor development helps with control and precision which in turn helps with hand-to-eye coordination. We repeat and vary the opportunities our children have in all areas (puzzles, physical literacy, arts and crafts, and using a range of tools including woodwork tools) which then develops 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 will ensure children are ready for the challenges within writing. At St Joseph's Halifax, we develop a love of reading, comprehension, word reading, and writing very early on. Our adults talk to the children about the world and are continually reading stories to them as well as singing songs and learning rhymes and learning short poems. We instigate word reading from the moment they set foot in class for example; reading your name for self-registration or on your coat peg. Decoding skills start here with speedy recognition of familiar vocabulary within our phonics sessions and whole class sessions. Writing opportunities are immersed 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 development mathematically in the years beyond the foundation stage. We develop a strong sense of number I everything that we do. There are daily opportunities to count and understand numbers to 10 and beyond through singing number songs and rhymes. Within our provision, we ensure children have continued exposure to numbers and number patterns through a wide range of activities. These support our children to develop the mathematical language needed to discuss numbers and patterns. Adults work  to provide opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills through activities linked to shape, space and measure. We ensure our children understand the real-life link of maths within their everyday lives through thought-out and structured role-play. Our children are encouraged to role-play for example; going to the shops and counting how many different things they need. This in turn supports our children to get excited about numbers and demonstrate a ‘have a go’ attitude as well as not be afraid to make mistakes. 

Understanding the world

This area is comprised of past and present, people, culture and communities, and the natural world. It is important to guide our children to make sense of the world around them as well as their communities. We explore the similarities, differences and features of the local environment; we take regular walks around the grounds to discover the seasonal changes, noting the spring blossom on the trees and the falling autumn leaves; we compare our own homes with those of others by strolling down the road and noting the different styles of buildings. Additional learning opportunities include; providing stories that help children make sense of different environments; resources to create and explore maps and plans; well-equipped paintings, modelling and drawing areas for the construction of familiar and imaginary landscapes. 

Expressive Arts and design.

This area is comprised of creating with materials and being imaginative and expressive. Nurturing children’s artistic and cultural awareness will help support the development of their imaginations and spark creativity. Children are encouraged to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials as a form of self-expression and communication. We want children to focus on the process and not just on the outcome.