WELCOME TO Early Years Foundation Stage 2024-25 (EYFS)

Welcome to the EYFS, where a passion for life-long learning, creativity and play begins! 

Within our part of the school, we provide the children with a safe, stimulating, and exciting environment where they can let their imaginations go wild, play cooperatively and kindly with their peers and begin their learning experiences at St Joseph’s with support and encouragement. 

Academic excellence 

In Reception at St Joseph’s, we provide a knowledge rich curriculum and all the opportunities and experiences your child needs to become an effective learner. We use research and evidence-based practice to guide our teaching practice and have designed a curriculum with a clear intent, consistent implementation and regular review of impact. As the foundation stage of your child’s education, we have a very clear focus on progression and ensuring that each child is ready for Key Stage 1 by the end of the year.  

Children learning in Reception classes are known as the Early Years Foundation Stage or EYFS for short.  We follow the statutory EYFS framework for teaching and learning and framework explains how and what children will be learning to support their healthy development and provide the foundation they need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up. 

Children learn skills, acquire new knowledge and demonstrate their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development, these are split into Prime and Specific areas. 

Children start developing in the 3 prime areas first. These are: 

• Communication and language 

• Physical development; 

• Personal, social and emotional development 

These prime areas are those most essential for a child’s healthy development and future learning, these weave through our Early Years Curriculum. 

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are: 

• Literacy 

• Mathematics 

• Understanding the world 

• Expressive arts and design 

All 7 areas of learning are used to plan children’s learning and activities.  

As St Joseph was a carpenter, Design and Technology is an important part of our broad curriculum and is delivered by a specialist teacher. You child will take part in supervised wood work sessions using a wide range of tools and will create their own constructions.  

In order to ensure progression, we use high quality resources, Development Matters and appropriate schemes to support our teaching and learning.

Please click on the following links to read the EYFS statutory framework and Development matters: 

Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Development Matters - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Assessment at the end of Reception: 

We will assess your child on a daily, termly and annual basis and use these observations to identify the next steps for your child. 

The EYFS curriculum consists of 17 goals for learning or 'Early Learning Goals', and we use these to make final assessments on your child's learning and development at the end of the Reception Year. 

Diversity 

At St Joseph's, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) focuses on creating a safe, nurturing environment where children feel valued, inspired, and encouraged as they begin their learning journey. With high expectations for achievement, we are committed to setting ambitious goals for success while fostering a love for learning. The content of our curriculum celebrates our global outlook and local links as a result, it is dynamic and engaging, providing opportunities for children to explore their own ideas. This approach ensures that all areas of learning are fully covered, while being linked to each child's unique interests.  

We take pride in our enriching provision, both indoors and outdoors, offering diverse learning experiences that spark curiosity and promote personal growth. By creating an enabling environment that enhances each child’s unique strengths, we foster positive relationships and provide support at every stage. This approach ensures that every child feels confident in expressing themselves and develops their initiative, setting the stage for future success. 

Action 

At St Joseph’s, we are passionate about taking action as a result of our learning. All our learning is playful and allows our children to embed the new ideas and concepts that they experience every day at school. Your child will be encouraged to listen, to debate and to share ideas. Our breadth of curriculum means that they will be communicating in the classroom, in the outdoor learning areas, in our snack café and during our incredible Forest School sessions. With a chance to develop their sense of self, we want them to make the world a better place.  

EYFS Links: 

Please click on this link to find a map of the curriculum for the year and term by term overviews. 

Curriculum Overviews, Progression Documents and National Curriculum Documents 

Information about Reading and Writing at St Joseph's

Information about Maths at St Joseph's

Please find below a powerpoint presenation (shared with parents at our Meet the Teacher event in September) with information about life in Reception!