Foundation Stage (EYFS)

What is the Foundation year all about?

The Foundation Stage provides a broad and balanced curriculum which embraces the seven areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. We focus on the development of the individual child and, during your child’s time in the Foundation Stage, he or she will experience a great variety of activities based on these seven areas of learning. In the Foundation Stage we love to learn through a mixture of adult led activities and play based, child-initiated activities. Click the areas listed below for more information.

The Educational Programmes EYFS 2024

EYFS Education Programmes

We carefully and regularly assess the children’s progress against the early learning goals.

EYFS Goals 2024

Early Learning Goals 2020

What is Exploring Time?

Exploring time allows children to engage in free-flow independent play and choose exploration opportunities within the indoor and outdoor learning environments. Through play children develop language skills and creativity, social and intellectual skills and learn to regulate their emotions. Teachers plan and resource additional enhancements in order to provide a challenging environment to support and extend the learning of key concepts linking to the Early Years Foundation Stage. Teachers take account of children’s interests and developmental next steps when planning activities. Children have the opportunity to self-select resources, practise new ideas and skills, take risks, show imagination and solve problems on their own or with others within a safe and secure environment. There is a clear focus on developing a love of learning, independence and resilience through these first hand play experiences. Teachers and Learning Support Assistants support children during exploring time through observation and appropriate intervention through questioning and reflection to support and extend learning and development. Children also take part in planned small group adult-lead Literacy and Mathematics activities during exploring time to support the development of reading, writing and Maths.

Parents as Partners and Home Learning…

We look forward to strengthening the link between home and school. Throughout the year we will provide focused activities to complete at home to reinforce the learning in school. These activities will link to the topic we are focusing on at the time.

Our main focus for Home Learning is reading. Your child will receive a reading book and record; these will be changed twice a week. Please make a comment as to how they read and also their understanding and retelling of the story.

The entries made in Google Classroom, and in their reading record, will be used to support the planning of your child’s learning and will form part of your child’s individual profile.

Characteristics of effective learning…

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creating and thinking critically (characteristics of effective learning) which take place both in the indoor and outdoor learning environments. We will be using these superhero stickers to encourage underpinning the characteristics of learning. Your child will receive one of these stickers when they have been observed using one or more of these skills. We will also be adding this to their learning profile.