EYFS - Early Years Foundation Stage

At Bretherton Endowed C of E Primary School, we believe that every child deserves the best possible start to their education. We build upon the learning and experiences children bring from home and pre-school, providing a happy, nurturing and stimulating environment in which they feel safe, valued and excited to learn.

Our Early Years provision encourages children to become confident, curious, independent and resilient learners through purposeful play, positive relationships and memorable learning experiences.

Intent

Our Early Years curriculum aims to provide strong foundations for lifelong learning, recognising that every child is unique and develops at their own pace.

We want our children to:

• Feel happy, safe, secure and valued as members of our school community.

• Develop confidence, independence, resilience and a positive attitude towards learning.

• Become effective communicators who can express their ideas, feelings and needs.

• Develop positive relationships, learning to cooperate, share and respect others.

• Explore, investigate, question and solve problems through first-hand experiences.

• Develop creativity, imagination and curiosity about the world around them.

• Acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding needed for a successful transition into Year 1 and beyond.

Our curriculum follows the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework and encompasses all seven areas of learning and development. Communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, and physical development underpin our approach, providing the foundations for learning across the curriculum.

Implementation

Our curriculum is delivered through a carefully planned balance of adult-led teaching, adult-guided activities and child-initiated learning.

Learning through play and continuous provision

Play is central to our approach. Our indoor and outdoor learning environments provide opportunities for children to explore, practise, investigate and apply their developing knowledge and skills.

Our continuous provision is carefully organised and enhanced to reflect children's needs, interests and current learning. Open-ended resources, purposeful challenges and stimulating invitations to learn encourage children to think creatively, solve problems and develop independence.

Adults support and extend learning through observation, sensitive interaction, modelling language, asking questions and introducing new ideas. We aim to ensure that meaningful learning continues even when an adult is not directly involved.

Practical and purposeful learning

We believe that young children learn best when they are actively involved. Across the curriculum, we provide hands-on experiences that encourage exploration, investigation and discovery.

Children are encouraged to learn through practical mathematics, scientific investigations, creative activities, stories, discussion, role play and real-life experiences. Carefully planned teaching introduces new knowledge and skills, which children can then revisit and apply through their play.

Outdoor learning and Forest Fridays

Outdoor learning is an important part of our Early Years curriculum. Children have regular access to outdoor provision, where they can develop physical skills, explore the natural world, collaborate with others and take appropriate risks.

Our weekly Forest Fridays provide further opportunities to learn in a natural environment. Through activities such as gardening, planting, nature investigations, weaving, construction and creative work with natural materials, children develop curiosity, perseverance, teamwork and practical skills.

These experiences support learning across the seven areas of the EYFS curriculum while nurturing children's appreciation of the world around them.

Communication, language and early literacy

Communication and language are at the heart of our provision. Adults model vocabulary, encourage conversation and develop children's listening, understanding and speaking skills throughout the school day.

Stories, rhymes, songs and high-quality texts help children develop a love of language and reading. Daily phonics teaching supports early reading and spelling, while purposeful mark-making and writing opportunities help children develop confidence as emerging writers.

Positive relationships and individual development

We recognise the importance of strong relationships between children, staff and families. Our transition arrangements, including opportunities for pre-school children to become familiar with the school and home visits, help children settle confidently into Reception.

We work closely with parents and carers and adapt our teaching and provision to meet children's individual needs, ensuring that all children are supported and challenged appropriately.

Impact

We aim for children to leave Reception as happy, confident and enthusiastic learners who are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

We want our children to:

• Demonstrate growing independence, confidence and resilience.

• Communicate effectively and develop positive relationships with others.

• Show curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm for learning.

• Apply their developing knowledge and skills in different situations.

• Persevere when faced with challenges and take pride in their achievements.

• Make good progress from their individual starting points across all areas of learning.

We evaluate the impact of our curriculum through ongoing observations, interactions with children, assessment of their learning and discussions with parents. This information helps us identify children's achievements, plan appropriate next steps and continually develop our provision.

At the end of Reception, children are assessed against the statutory Early Learning Goals through the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. These assessments support a successful transition into Year 1 and provide parents with information about their child's development.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

Our curriculum is organised into seven interconnected areas of learning and development.

The three prime areas:

• Communication and Language

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Physical Development

The four specific areas:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts and Design

Learning is also supported by the three Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning:

• Playing and exploring: children investigate, explore and have a go.

• Active learning: children concentrate, persevere and enjoy achieving what they set out to do.

• Creating and thinking critically: children develop their own ideas, make connections and find ways to solve problems.

These characteristics are woven throughout our teaching and continuous provision, helping children become motivated, confident and independent learners.

Key Actions for 2026-2027

• Strengthen the effective use of assessment to identify pupils' next steps and inform provision. 
• Further develop continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors, to ensure it consistently extends and deepens children's learning. 
• Develop staff practice within provision, supporting all adults to identify learning opportunities and engage in high quality interactions with children. 

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