At St Joseph’s we aim to give our children an exciting, enjoyable and happy start to their school life.  We encourage independence and self-esteem, which enables children to access the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.  Children are taught through a variety of planned adult and child led activities.  The children learn through activities that focus on:

Communication and Language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

We promote conversation, interaction and give children the time and opportunity to use their emerging speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes.  They are encouraged to build on existing vocabulary and learn to listen attentively and to speak confidently and clearly.

Physical Development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.  Outside play is a priority and children are keen to take part in physical activities and games in our large well equipped playground areas which support the development of their gross and fine motor skills.

Personal Social and Emotional Development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.    Children become confident to engage in new learning activities, often making use of our excellent and popular outdoor classroom. We value the development of their social skills and their ability to play happily and constructively with their friends.

Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.

Literacy skills are developed through fun, practical activities. Children enjoy learning through role play, story-telling and our phonics programme which is catered to the needs of individual children’s progression. This makes them happy and confident to begin the journey to become fluent readers and creative writers.

Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures. Mathematical skills are successfully taught through practical and relevant activities; for example, children enjoy learning about money through playing in role-play shops and handling real coins.  They enjoy early recording skills through making class registers and tally charts for outdoor games.

Understanding the World involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.  Children learn about the world through our topic work and love using the outdoor classroom. For example, seasons are taught through hands-on experiences exploring the environment. They enjoy visits from people in the local community and our annual outing exploring the woods.  The children also follow the Catholic Primary Religious Education programme, ‘Come and See’.

Expressive Arts and Design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, roleplay, and design and technology.  Creativity in children starts with the environment. Children have a wide variety of creative materials accessible to them indoors and outside.  We give children the freedom to express themselves to explore imaginatively and don’t expect a certain outcome.  It’s the creative process that is important. 

Where can I go for further information?

The most important place to find out more is your child's teacher - who will do whatever they can to help.

Please click below to view the Department for Education document:

What to expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage: a Guide for Parents