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St Paul's Cof E Primary School

We Can Do All This Through Him Who Gives Us Strength

EYFS

St Paul's school does not have a nursery so our children start their education with us in Swallows - our Reception Class.  

EYFS is where school life at St Paul's begins and our children discover what it means to be part of our community.  Our children and families find out what our school vision means to us and how we strive to live this out in everything that we do at school and beyond.  

INTENT

St Paul’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) aims to ensure that all our children develop into confident, resilient learners who are able to understand themselves and others. We follow a fun and engaging curriculum which values creativity and fosters the joy of learning. Our EYFS aims to provide an inclusive environment in which children of all abilities and backgrounds can thrive and reach their full potential. We intend for our children to be continuously assessed to ensure that they are stretched and challenged in all areas of the Foundation Stage. As a nurturing school and diverse community, we work closely with all our families and provide ongoing support, enabling parents to support their child’s learning at home and deepen their understanding of the importance of early years.

IMPLEMENTATION

At St Paul’s we follow the Statutory Framework as well as the ‘Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)’ and deliver high-quality early years teaching, tailored to meet every child’s specific needs and life experiences. We adopt an engaging cross-curricular approach to learning through Curiosity Curriculum in line with Key Stages 1 and 2. This enables continuity of our children’s learning and progression throughout their time at St Paul’s.

In the Early Years we understand that children develop and learn through play and memorable experiences. We therefore plan and provide exciting activities, both adult-led and child-initiated in a well-resourced environment. We are committed to ensuring all our children feel safe and secure with the ability to manage their feelings and behaviour. Our whole-school Zones of Regulation approach increases our children’s ability to recognise emotions and develop a toolkit of strategies that facilitate self-regulation, thus developing happy, lifelong learners. Through our collective worship and close partnership with St Paul’s Church our children’s understanding of the Christian faith and the school’s core beliefs and values are strengthened.

Our language-rich environment is created through stories and songs, which broadens the children’s vocabulary and sparks their imagination. Maths is taught through fun and practical activities using a range of high-level resources that develop skills in number and numerical patterns. We adopt a systematic approach to the daily teaching of phonics through Read Write Inc., which scaffolds our children’s development in both reading and writing. We carefully select a range of texts that inspires every child’s imagination and promotes a love of reading and writing. We value the importance of physical development both inside and outside the classroom. Our outside area is well-equipped to help the children strengthen their core muscles and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills are continuously developed through play and creative activities which help children develop their handwriting.

The children are continuously observed and assessed against the Early Learning Goals and shared with parents via Tapestry, parent meetings and regular communication through reading journals. We work closely with all our parents to create a strong home-school partnership which allows every child to make progress and achieve high-levels of attainment.

IMPACT

By the end of Reception at St Paul’s all our children have grown into tolerant and respectful individuals, who are equipped with the knowledge and skills that provides them with a solid foundation for their journey into primary education and beyond. We  develop independent, all round learners who are confident, ambitious and able to tackle any challenges they may face in the future.