Our EYFS Curriculum
Strong foundations for every child
Our Early Years curriculum is designed as one progressive journey from Nursery through Reception and into Year 1.
We recognise that children arrive with different experiences, knowledge, interests and starting points. Our curriculum therefore provides both consistency and flexibility: children experience a shared curriculum journey while adults adapt teaching, interactions and provision to meet individual needs. Our curriculum is ambitious, purposeful and rooted in the Early Years Foundation Stage
Our Curriculum Journey
Nursery – Building the Foundations
In Nursery, we focus on developing the foundations children need to become confident learners. Particular emphasis is placed on communication and language, relationships, independence, physical development, listening and attention, vocabulary, early mathematical understanding, curiosity and a love of books.
Children are encouraged to explore, talk, investigate, make choices and develop confidence within their environment.
Reception – Strengthening and Applying the Foundations
In Reception, children build upon their earlier experiences and develop increasing independence, knowledge and confidence.
Children experience more structured teaching alongside purposeful provision, enabling them to revisit, practise and apply what they have learned. We develop communication and vocabulary, phonics and early reading, writing, mathematical understanding, physical development, independence and resilience, knowledge of the world, creativity and positive relationships.
Year 1 – Continuing the Journey
Our transition into Year 1 is a carefully planned process that begins during the Summer Term in Reception and continues after children have started Year 1. This helps children experience continuity in their learning, relationships, routines and expectations.During the Summer Term, children are gradually introduced to aspects of their new routines and expectations. Year 1 teachers spend time visiting and getting to know the children, helping relationships to begin before transition takes place.Our Reception and Year 1 teams work closely together to share a detailed understanding of each child. This includes their strengths, individual needs, gaps in knowledge, levels of independence and the routines and approaches that support them successfully. We also consider practical information, such as carpet spaces and other adaptations that may help individual children feel secure and ready to learn.
Transition also includes careful consideration of the learning environment and resources children may still need when they enter Year 1. Where appropriate, elements of Early Years practice continue to support children as they adjust. For example, children may benefit from particular paper widths or pencils while continuing to develop pencil control, or practical opportunities such as tuff trays to revisit, practise and embed skills that are not yet secure.
Once children have entered Year 1, communication between the Early Years and Year 1 teams continues. This allows us to review how children are settling, share further information where needed and ensure that appropriate support and challenge remain in place.
Our aim is not for learning to stop at the end of Reception and restart in Year 1. We want children’s knowledge, skills and experiences to travel with them, creating a smooth and purposeful continuation of their learning journey.
A Responsive Curriculum
Our curriculum has a clear progression of knowledge and skills, while remaining responsive to the needs of the children in front of us. We continually consider why we are providing particular experiences and what we want children to learn through them.Our provision identifies the purpose behind the opportunities and enhancements we provide. What we observe through children’s play, interactions and learning directly informs how the environment is developed.For example, if we identify that children need further development of their fine motor skills, opportunities to strengthen these skills are intentionally woven throughout different areas of provision rather than being limited to one activity. Children may encounter opportunities to squeeze, manipulate, thread, construct, mark make and use increasingly precise tools across their day.
Similarly, if assessment shows that children need to revisit particular learning, we create meaningful opportunities to practise and embed it. For example, if children need further practice recognising or applying an initial sound in phonics, this can be deliberately reflected within provision so that children encounter and apply their learning beyond the direct phonics lesson.
Children’s interests and experiences are also valued and used to create meaningful contexts for learning. This balance ensures that our curriculum remains purposeful, responsive and ambitious, while giving children repeated opportunities to revisit, practise and secure important knowledge and skills.
Assessment
Assessment begins with getting to know the whole child. We recognise that a child’s development cannot be understood through one assessment or measure alone, so our approach to baseline assessment is holistic and draws upon a range of information.
Our understanding begins before children start through home visits, Stay and Play sessions, welcome meetings and conversations with parents and carers. We consider children’s previous experiences, relationships, communication, confidence, independence and development alongside their knowledge and skills.
We use a range of appropriate assessment approaches to help us build this picture. This includes observation and professional knowledge of the child, information from families and previous settings, curriculum-based baseline assessment, WellComm where appropriate to understand communication and language, and tools such as the Leuven Scales to consider children’s well-being and involvement. We also consider children’s relationships and how confidently they engage with adults, other children and their environment.
Assessment then becomes part of our everyday practice. Adults use high-quality interactions, observations, conversations and children’s learning to understand what children know, what they can do and what they need to learn next.
Assessment has a purpose. Information gathered is used to inform teaching, adapt provision, identify children who may require additional support or challenge and decide when learning needs to be revisited.
Our shared approach across Nursery and Reception enables us to build a detailed picture of children’s development over time and ensures that assessment informs what we do next rather than becoming an activity in itself.
Inclusion – Every Child Belongs
Our Early Years curriculum is ambitious and accessible for every child. We recognise that children have different starting points and needs and that equity does not always mean providing every child with exactly the same experience. We make thoughtful adaptations so that every child can participate, communicate, learn and experience success.
Early identification is important. We work closely with parents, previous settings and other professionals to share information and identify needs as early as possible. WellComm and our ongoing knowledge of children support us in identifying communication and language needs and planning appropriate support.
For some children, transition begins earlier and is more individualised. For example, children with identified needs may begin visiting and becoming familiar with their new environment during the Summer Term before they formally start. This allows them to become familiar with adults, spaces and routines gradually and enables staff to understand how best to support them.
Our environment and teaching are adapted to make learning accessible. This may include Widget symbols, visual timetables, visual prompts, carefully considered routines, adapted resources, additional communication and language opportunities and changes to the environment.
High-quality communication and language opportunities are embedded throughout our provision so that children have repeated opportunities to listen, understand, communicate and develop vocabulary. Where children require further support, this is planned carefully and reviewed alongside their wider experiences within the unit.
We work collaboratively with families and relevant professionals, sharing information and reviewing support so that children experience a consistent approach.
Inclusion is not something separate from our curriculum. It is part of how we plan our curriculum, environment, teaching, interactions and transitions so that every child can belong, participate and flourish.