EYFS
At Lord Street Primary School, we are committed to providing an ambitious EYFS curriculum that lays a strong foundation for every child’s future and development. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their true potential.
Our intent is to create an inclusive, engaging and stimulating learning environment that respects and values each child’s unique capabilities, interests, and backgrounds. Continuous provision is at the heart of our practice. Through this, we aim to foster a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. We aim to empower children to bring their own magic into the environment to inspire and move learning forward.
Our EYFS curriculum aims to enable our children to be competent and creative learners; who are curious about the world around them, secure and confident; who enjoy coming to school and learning new skills and knowledge building on their existing learning. Our intent is to prepare all children for the challenges that face them in Key Stage One and beyond.
Our EYFS curriculum is designed to meet the needs and interests of all children. We carefully plan experiences that are purposeful, challenging and relevant, ensuring that they build upon children’s prior learning and captivate their natural curiosity. We plan carefully to provide cultural capital, broadening our children’s horizons and meeting the needs of all children who join us from our community. Our curriculum links clearly to Key Stage One, ensuring children leave EYFS with the skills, attitudes and attributes that they need to continue their learning journey.
Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and all staff are passionate about promoting a love of stories in every child. We are committed to developing oracy and use a variety of approaches to broaden children’s vocabularies and use of language. The careful and structured teaching of daily phonics alongside reading and writing ensures that all children have the opportunity to develop the necessary skills to read and write sentences by the end of Reception.
Our Early Years staff are dedicated to providing an environment that supports every child’s personal, social and emotional development, so that they feel cared for, safe and secure and therefore ready to learn. We recognise that all children develop at different rates and use both formative and summative assessments to ensure all staff relationships and interactions support each unique child’s needs.
We are passionate about early childhood development and strongly believe that children learn best through a balance of child-initiated and adult led activities and challenges. Our carefully planned timetable ensures opportunities for sustained play and adult-directed teaching sessions. This allows us to ensure rigorous and engaging teaching and provides the opportunity for children to apply and consolidate their learning independently, developing a positive sense of self, and becoming resilient and independent learners.
We know that parents and carers are a child’s first educators and because of this we are dedicated to building firm, supportive and reciprocal relationships with them so that we can work together to ensure that all of our children reach their full potential.
The impact of our EYFS provision is evident in the progress and achievement of our children. By providing a firm foundation for their ongoing learning journey, we ensure that children successfully transition into Key Stage One, equipped with the necessary attitudes, skills, and knowledge to thrive academically and socially. Our children demonstrate high levels of independence, resilience, and enthusiasm for learning, as well as excellent communication and collaborative skills.
Through engaging and challenging play-based experiences, our children develop a deep love for learning, becoming active and motivated learners who are ready to embrace the next stages of their education. Our young learners develop an appreciation and understanding of the world around them by experiencing a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes learning about and respecting different cultures, celebrations and beliefs. Children gain a love of reading and storytelling, as well as the fundamental skills they require to access a range of books independently. Throughout the year, vocabularies are broadened, early mathematical concepts are developed, and the children become more resilient and compassionate members of our school community. By the end of Reception, our children will have developed the essential knowledge and skills required for the next stage in their education and beyond.
Our EYFS provision demonstrates a clear intent to provide an engaging and inclusive curriculum, implemented through high-quality teaching and learning, and resulting in significant and sustained impact on children's progress and achievement.