EYFS

At St Richard Reynolds Primary School we believe that all learning should be child-centred and based on the needs, experiences and interests of the children in our care. Our curriculum in the Early Years is shaped to ensure every child is stimulated, challenged with a variety of fun engaging experiences. Young children should be given time to grow in a safe and structured environment that allows them to develop at their own pace, in an atmosphere that offers security. Our setting provides opportunities for children to take risks in their learning and have a go, to investigate, to question and to develop a sense of interest and curiosity. In the Early Years, play is the most important aspect through which children learn.

Early Years Curriculum

At St Richard Reynolds, we aim to provide a stimulating, enriched broad and balanced curriculum that allows every child to reach his or her full potential socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. We believe that each child is an individual with individual needs and that all their achievements should be valued and shared. We ensure that learning for the children that we serve should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience in which they can explore, investigate, discover, create, practise, rehearse, repeat, revise and consolidate their developing knowledge, skills and understanding.

Our Early Years Practitioners plan from the 2021 revised EYFS statutory framework. This framework sets the standards that schools must meet to promote a safe and healthy environment where children can learn and develop promoting a ‘school readiness’ that provides the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

The curriculum lays out the standards for Learning, Development and Care for children from birth to five. As stated in the new Framework ‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right.’ At St Richard Reynolds, we believe that it is our responsibility to serve our children and provide them with the best possible start in their journey of education.

Areas of Learning

We adhere to the Statutory Framework of the EYFS and the characteristic principles that shape practice within Early Years settings:

playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’;
active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements; and
creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

The curriculum focuses on 7 Areas of Learning within the Foundation Stage. Each of these have Early Learning Goals to be achieved by the end of the Reception year. Play underpins the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The children are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities which are either child initiated or adult led.

These consist of 3 Prime Areas, which underpin the whole of the EYFS curriculum: