EYFS Leader: Miss Georgia Thornley 

• EYFS Curriculum
• EYFS Progression

The Early Years Foundation Stage

At Lever House Primary School the children in Early Years (Reception) follow the Early Years Statutory Framework. The EYFS Statutory Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development.

Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:

• Communication and Language;
• Physical Development; and
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:

• Literacy;
• Mathematics;
• Understanding the world; and
• Expressive arts and design.

These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. The staff teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.

The Learning Environment

The EYFS is one large unit with two class groups within one classroom and is organised to allow the children to become motivated and independent learners. It is set up in learning areas between which the children can move freely for most of the day and they have access to a wide range of equipment and resources.

We have our own outdoor area which the children can access freely throughout the day. We are also very lucky to have a ‘Forest school’ which children explore every week. Being outside has a positive effect on all children’s development and they can explore, use their senses and be physically active on a larger scale than indoors. There are many opportunities to develop their social and language skills.

Staff in the EYFS class plan activities that will interest and motivate the children in all areas of the curriculum. There are areas of knowledge and skills that the children are expected to cover but these are taught through themes that come from the children’s own interests. This means that topics can change from year to year in response to each new intake.

In the Summer term of the EYFS, we complete the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile and provide a written report to parents. The report includes the children’s progress against the Early Learning Goals and a summary describing their child’s characteristics of learning.

In the EYFS, children are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves as much as possible. This includes being responsible for their own possessions and also their own behaviour. We spend time each day talking about our feelings and the feelings of other people and the children are encouraged to consider other people’s points of view. This promotes an ethos of mutual respect and an understanding of British Values, which are further developed as the children move through Key Stage One and Two.