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"Learning to love, live and celebrate as we grow in the knowledge and love of Christ"

EYFS Intent, Implementation and Impact

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the stage of Education for children from birth to the end of their Reception year.

Intent

At St Thomas More school, our EYFS curriculum aim is to support all of our children to develop into confident, happy and independent learners. Through a nurturing environment, the children are enabled to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to achieve fulfilling lives whilst 'learning to love, live and celebrate in the knowledge and love of Christ'.

Through working in partnership with parents, we will:

  • promote independence, perseverance and the confidence to ‘have a go’.
  • support the development of social skills, friendships and fundamental bonds.
  • provide a safe, secure and loving environment for young children to develop, learn and explore.

Our intent is to secure solid foundations for learning and to nurture individual talents by offering a range of opportunities to support children’s holistic development.

Implementation

At St Thomas More school, the Early Years Foundation Stage is an EYFS department with the Nursery and Reception classrooms adjacent to each other.  There is a well-resourced and dedicated outdoor learning space that both classes access and share. This enables us to have a curriculum that focuses on every child's needs as well as opportunities for the children to learn and play together. Our curriculum encourages the children to become life-long learners. We provide interesting and engaging opportunities and expand on their skills and knowledge, giving them a secure foundation upon which they can grow and develop as they move up through the other key stages. 

The Early Years curriculum is made up of 3 prime areas:

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
  • Communication and Language (CL)
  • Physical Development (PD)

and 4 specific areas:

  • Literacy (L)
  • Mathematics (M)
  • Understanding the World (UW)
  • Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)

Teachers plan key objectives in a play-based approach to learning. This provides the children with opportunities to play and explore, actively create, learn and think critically. Through skillful observations and play partnerships, staff are able to adapt their teaching and move learning forward, successfully enhancing the continuous provision, both inside and outside.

Impact

At St Thomas More school, the children in our Early Years Foundation Stage will demonstrate high levels of engagement in both Child-Led and Adult-Led activities. By developing their speaking and listening skills, we are enabling them to access more areas of learning and communicate with adults and other children. They will develop concentration, persistence, co-operation and most importantly become willing and confident to ‘have a go’.

The children will develop a sense of the wider world around them and will draw on these experiences during interactions with others, linking this to new learning. They will also be able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations, making links by explaining their ideas and understanding. The children will be confident to take risks and discuss their successes and failures with adults, drawing on their experiences to improve or adjust what they are doing.

From their own unique starting points, we expect all children, even those at risk of disadvantage, to achieve age-related expectation and/or make excellent progress academically and socially. All children will be given the best foundations to prepare them for a life-long learning journey.