"Children learn as they play. More importantly, in play, children learn how to learn." - O. Fred Donaldson
At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible start to schooling for all of our Reception children. We intend to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum so that it is accessible to all children, ensuring that we inspire everyone to REACH through Faith, Hope and Love. We know a child’s development at this crucial stage has a fundamental impact on their happiness and shapes the young person they will become. We treat every child as a unique individual, and above all, want our children to feel happy, safe and secure.
The EYFS is about how children learn, as well as what they learn. Our children are provided with many opportunities to develop their own play and independent exploration that is enjoyable and motivating, encouraging them to REACH in all they do. We deliver lessons that are hands on and engaging, encouraging our children to strive for excellence and develop independence, supporting them as they transition into KS1.
The EYFS Areas of Curriculum
The EYFS curriculum is organised into 7 areas of learning. These include 3 prime areas which children are first introduced to and supported with, and 4 specific areas through which the prime areas are strengthened and applied.
Prime Areas
1. Communication and Language
Communication and language lay a foundation for learning and development, guiding and supporting children’s thinking while underpinning their emerging literacy. Language is more than words. As children grow, they begin to be aware of and explore different sounds, symbols and words in their everyday worlds and therefore a language-rich environment is crucial.
2. Physical Development
Intricately interwoven with emotional, social, cognitive and language development, physical development underpins all other areas of a child’s learning and development. Fine and gross motor control must develop together in an integrated way, so that the child can achieve what they set out to do.
3. Personal, Social and Emotional Development
PSED is fundamental to all other aspects of lifelong development and learning, and is key to children’s wellbeing and resilience. Children’s self-image, their emotional understanding and the quality of their relationships affect their self-confidence, their potential to experience joy, to be curious, to wonder, and to face problems, and their ability to think and learn.
Specific Areas
1. Literacy
Learning about literacy means developing the ability to interpret, create and communicate meaning through writing and reading in different media, such as picture books, logos and digital technologies. Children need experiences of creating and sharing a range of texts in a variety of ways, with different media and materials, as well as learning about and exploring sound and developing alphabetic and phonetic skills. This foundation is then used to support children as they transition into Year 1, enabling them with the skills they need to progress to KS1 literacy learning.
2. Mathematics
Mathematics involves developing children’s own understanding of number, quantity, shape, space and numerical patterns. Mathematical foundation is built through playful exploration, talk, manipulation of objects and representations. Reception children at St Joseph’s explore mathematics through a whole school approach of ‘Glow Maths’, enabling consistency throughout the teaching and learning which therefore supports the progress of mathematical knowledge into KS1.
3. Understanding The World
Understanding the World provides a powerful and meaningful context for learning across the curriculum. It supports children to make sense of their expanding world and covers objectives linked to History, Geography and Science. Although throughout the EYFS curriculum these subject names are not mentioned, the skills and knowledge developed within ‘Understanding The World’ enables children to begin recognising similarities and differences within each subject, which helps the transition and progression to KS1 where children will begin being taught these individual subjects.
4. Expressive Arts and Design
EAD fosters imagination, curiosity, creativity and experimentation, providing opportunities to improvise, collaborate, interact and engage in shared thinking. The children are exposed to learning linked to Art, Design and Technology and Music, although again, similarly to UTW, these are not specific subjects in EYFS. The skills learned throughout EAD, will support children as they move into KS1 and begin their exploration into these subjects.