EYFS at St Johns

In the Early Years Foundation Stage at St John’s, we believe that all children are entitled to the best possible start in their school life. It is our intent that all children who join our EYFS have opportunities, experiences and support to develop, physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally, whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning. 

We believe that all children deserve to be valued as an individual and we are passionate in allowing all children to achieve their full, unique potential. With all of this in mind, we begin each new year by looking at the individual needs of our children; considering their different starting points. In light of this, we then carefully develop our flexible EYFS Curriculum, keeping in mind the cultural capital, prior experiences and interests of the children. Each child is able to follow their own learning journey, in which their unique needs and stages of development are carefully planned for, and supported.

Children in both of our Reception classes follow the EYFS curriculum, which has seven main areas of learning.

The Prime Areas:-

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development

The Specific Areas:-

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts

We aim to ensure the teaching of these areas of learning are practical and playful with support and challenge from adults in class sessions, small group sessions and working with individuals. There is a combination of adult-led sessions, as well as a wealth of stimulating continuous provision opportunities for children to access independently. Throughout all of these areas of learning and at the heart of the EYFS Curriculum are the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’. At St John’s, we strive to develop these key characteristics of ‘Playing and Learning’, ‘Active Learning’ and ‘Thinking Critically’ in order to give the children the skills that they will continue to draw upon throughout their time at St Johns, and beyond. All of the crucial skills, knowledge and vocabulary that we teach are presented to the children throughout the year, through a range of relevant topics; personalised using the interests of the children.

Our indoor and outdoor learning environments, and the resources within them, are regularly adapted to meet the different needs, and stages of development of the children. We aim to ensure that these areas are exciting and stimulating, offer opportunities for open-ended exploration, and are accessible to all children. The environments are developed to promote independence within all our children, allowing them to access all areas of the EYFS curriculum, with confidence, and enable them to motivate and challenge themselves in their learning.

Throughout the year, children are continually assessed through the use of accurate observations, and purposeful engagements. EYFS practitioners make professional judgements, which provide us with information for future planning; for both individual classes, and individual children’s next steps in their learning. They enable us, as EYFS practitioners, to ensure learning is embedded and consistent, and that all children continue to make good progress, and reach their full potential within our EYFS setting.

In addition to this, we recognise that parents are children’s first and most enduring educators. and we value the contribution they make. We recognise the role that parents have played, and their future role, in educating the children. We invite parents, carers and siblings in to enjoy our EYFS environments and curriculum, and welcome their input of their children’s achievements.