The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) at St John's Primary Academy

At St John's we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to reach their full potential. Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. In the Foundation Stage, children learn best through play based activities and first hand experiences. Each child is unique and is valued as an individual. We strive to provide a happy, caring, safe and secure environment for learning, which meets the individual needs and interests of the children.

Foundation Stage Curriculum

At St John's we plan our curriculum based on our observations of children’s learning, needs, interests, and stages of development across the seven areas of learning to enable the children to achieve and for some children to exceed the early learning goals. In our EYFS classes, the children learn the skills needed to become strong, confident individuals who are capable of learning and achieving through positive relationships, enabling environments and an understanding that every child is unique. The four themes of the EYFS underpin all the guidance.
These four themes are what the staff at St John's Primary integrate into their daily practice.

• A Unique Child – This is based on the principle that every child is a competent learner and can be resilient, capable and confident.
• Positive Relationships – This highlights the importance of children having loving and secure relationships with parents and carers, in order to become strong and independent.
• Enabling Environments – This recognises the key role a child’s environment plays in supporting and extending their development and learning.
• Learning and Development – This is based on the knowledge that children develop and learn in different ways and that all areas of learning are interconnected and equally important.

All the seven areas of learning and development are important and connected. The Prime Areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. The Prime Areas develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences. These support and scaffold the four Specific areas which include essential skills and knowledge to ensure that children have the best possible start to their learning journey.

The Three areas are the Prime Areas:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical development
• Communication and Language

The specific areas are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive Arts and Design