Welcome to EYFS!

It is a very exciting time for children and families when starting School. At St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that every child is special, unique and loved by God. Christ is at the centre of the children’s Catholic education and through the teaching of the Gospel values and Catholic virtues, the pupils at St. Brigid’s will develop their knowledge and skills both for living and learning.

As a school we provide as much care and support as necessary to ease every child into their new environment. We have two Reception classes and a Nursery class within our setting and aim to build positive relationships with every child in our care, so that they can grow and thrive in their learning. Our goals in the Early Years are for children to feel happy, safe and secure at our school and to reach their God-given potential. We have outlined our EYFS Intent and curriculum below.

Intent

At St Brigid’s, we want to ensure that we give children the very best possible start to their school journey. We have a passionate team of EYFS staff, including experienced teachers and teaching assistants, who are dedicated to the children in their care and who have an excellent knowledge of child development and the needs of their pupils. We plan and work together as a team to ensure our children make good and better progress. Children form strong, secure relationships with adults and make friendships that support their own well-being. We want the best for every child, and we are constantly striving to improve our school and early years’ practice.

Here at St Brigid’s, we aim for us to spark children’s curiosity and to develop their oral language, communication and comprehension through engaging teaching and teaching resources. We want to enrich and widen their vocabulary, so that they can confidently and effectively, participate in the important conversations in life.

In Nursery and Reception as we are constantly reflecting on our children’s learning and development.  This we feel is achievable through exploring the following areas of learning and topics through a broad, balanced, creative and knowledge-based curriculum. As a school we use prior knowledge as a key tool for learning which is also used as an effective strategy across the rest of the school. When learning in our classroom, we encourage and expect our children 'to know more and remember more, and consequently do more'. This helps to consolidate knowledge and also address any misconceptions.

Lots of the children’s learning is through play and focus activities. The children work as a whole class, in small groups and 1:1 with teaching staff. They have lots of opportunities to build on skills learned when accessing continuous provision activities both inside the classroom and in the outdoor area.

We aim for our young learners to develop the skills, attitudes and understanding that support our children to become lifelong learners and encourage them to become active members of our ever-changing society (Cultural Capital). We hope to ensure that our children acquire the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them for Year 1 and the start of the National Curriculum. As an EYFS team, we recognise the importance of high quality Early Years teaching and learning in everything we do.   It is important for our children to have a positive and successful experience in EYFS as this prepares them for the rest of their school journey.

EYFS Curriculum

At St Brigid's, we are using the revised EYFS framework.

To enable children to develop the seven areas of learning are:

Prime areas of learning:

• Communication and Language (Listening, attention and understanding; and Speaking)
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Self-regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships)
• Physical Development (Gross motor skills and fine motor skills)

Specific areas of learning:

• Literacy (Comprehension, Word reading and Writing)
• Maths (Number and Numerical patterns)
• Understanding of the World (Past and present; People, culture and communities; and The natural world)
• Expressive Arts and Design (Creating with materials and Being imaginative and expressive)

Please see the knowledge organisers on the Reception and Nursery Class pages