At Acton CEVC Primary School, our Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum provides the foundations upon which children build their future learning. Rooted in our Christian vision and shaped by our school motto, “Strive, Support, Succeed,” we seek to create an environment where every child is known, valued and encouraged to flourish.

Our key Bible text provides a strong foundation for the way we learn and live together:

“Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

These words are particularly important in our Early Years. We want children to learn how to care for one another, form positive relationships, listen to others, show kindness and compassion, and develop the confidence to contribute to their class and wider school community.

We recognise that every child arrives at school with their own experiences, interests, strengths and starting points. Our EYFS curriculum is therefore designed to meet children where they are, whilst providing the experiences, teaching and support they need to take their next steps. We value children's curiosity and individuality and provide a rich balance of adult-led teaching, guided learning and child-initiated exploration.

Our aim is to develop confident, curious and compassionate learners who are ready to embrace new experiences, persevere when learning is challenging and celebrate the achievements of themselves and others.

Learning through play, exploration and relationships

Play is central to our approach in the Early Years. Through play, children make sense of the world, develop language, practise social skills, solve problems, take risks, explore ideas and apply what they have learned.

Our continuous provision is carefully planned to provide children with rich opportunities to revisit, practise and extend their knowledge and skills. Indoor and outdoor environments are organised to stimulate curiosity and invite children to investigate, create, communicate and collaborate.

Alongside child-initiated learning, adults provide purposeful teaching and interactions that move learning forward. Staff observe, listen and respond to children's interests and needs, whilst deliberately introducing new vocabulary, modelling skills, asking questions and providing appropriate challenge.

We recognise that high-quality interactions are central to effective Early Years practice. Adults are both facilitators and teachers, knowing when to step back and allow children to explore independently and when to intervene to extend their thinking and deepen their learning.

A curriculum built around the seven areas of learning

Our curriculum is carefully planned around the seven areas of learning and development within the Early Years Foundation Stage:

• Communication and Language
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

We recognise that these areas are interconnected. Children do not experience their learning in separate compartments, and our provision reflects this. A child developing their language through role play may also be developing their understanding of the world, social skills, creativity and early literacy. A child building a model may be developing their physical skills, mathematical understanding, problem-solving and communication.

We therefore plan purposeful experiences that enable children to make connections across the curriculum while ensuring that the specific knowledge and skills within each area are explicitly taught and developed.

Communication and language at the heart of learning

We place particular emphasis on communication and language, recognising that strong language development provides a foundation for learning across the curriculum and for children's relationships with others.

Adults model rich and purposeful language throughout the day and create frequent opportunities for children to talk, listen, ask questions and express their ideas. We introduce new vocabulary through stories, conversations, play and carefully planned experiences, helping children to develop the language they need to understand and communicate their thoughts and feelings.

We recognise that talk is fundamental to thinking and learning. We therefore provide a language-rich environment in which children are encouraged to listen carefully, speak confidently and develop an increasingly broad vocabulary.

Reading and stories

Reading is at the heart of our EYFS curriculum. High-quality stories, rhymes, poems and non-fiction texts provide children with opportunities to develop vocabulary, comprehension, imagination and a love of books.

We carefully select texts that reflect children's experiences whilst also introducing them to people, places, cultures and ideas beyond their immediate lives. Stories provide opportunities to explore emotions, relationships, kindness, difference and compassion, connecting naturally with our Christian vision.

Alongside a love of reading, children develop the essential foundations of literacy through our systematic phonics teaching with Little Wandle. They are supported to develop the knowledge and skills needed to become confident early readers and writers.

Developing mathematical thinking

We want children to develop a deep and secure understanding of early mathematical concepts. Through a combination of direct teaching, practical experiences, games, songs, stories and continuous provision, children develop their understanding of number, numerical relationships, shape, space, measure and pattern.

We provide frequent opportunities for children to use and apply their mathematical understanding in meaningful contexts. Adults use mathematical language throughout the day and encourage children to explain their thinking, notice patterns, solve problems and develop increasingly secure mathematical reasoning.

Developing the whole child

Our EYFS curriculum is concerned not only with what children know, but with who they are becoming.

Through Personal, Social and Emotional Development, children learn to understand and manage their feelings, develop positive relationships, become increasingly independent and develop confidence in themselves as learners.

Our Christian vision encourages children to consider how their actions affect others and to develop the qualities described in our Bible text: being sympathetic, compassionate, loving and humble. Children are supported to understand that everyone is unique and valuable and that we have a responsibility to care for and include one another.

Physical development is equally important. Children have regular opportunities to develop both gross and fine motor skills through indoor and outdoor provision, physical activity and practical experiences. Developing these skills supports children's growing independence and their readiness for future learning.

Strive, Support, Succeed in the Early Years

Our school motto provides a simple and meaningful framework for our EYFS curriculum.

Strive

We encourage children to have a go, persevere and develop a positive attitude towards challenge. We celebrate effort, curiosity and progress, helping children to develop the confidence to try something new and the resilience to keep going when something does not work the first time.

Support

We create a nurturing environment where children learn that they are part of a community. They learn to share, take turns, listen, cooperate and help others. Through our Christian vision, children are encouraged to be sympathetic, compassionate and humble.

Adults provide carefully considered support that enables children to become increasingly independent – they are constantly guided to wait, watch and wonder. We aim to give children just enough help to move their learning forward, whilst allowing them the freedom to explore and discover for themselves.

Succeed

We recognise and celebrate every child's individual progress and achievements. Success in the EYFS looks different for every child. It may be mastering a new skill, forming a friendship, confidently speaking in front of others, writing their name, solving a problem, reading a word or simply having the confidence to try.

We want every child to develop the knowledge, skills and characteristics they need to become successful learners and to approach the next stage of their education with confidence.

A strong transition from Reception to Year 1

We place particular importance on ensuring that the transition from Reception into Year 1 is a crucial progression in children's learning.

We recognise that the end of the EYFS is not an end to learning through exploration and purposeful interaction. Instead, Reception provides the foundations from which children continue to develop their independence, knowledge and skills as they move into Year 1.

Reception and Year 1 staff work closely together to ensure that children's learning is understood and built upon. We share knowledge of children's individual strengths, interests, achievements and next steps so that Year 1 teaching staff have a clear understanding of each child's starting point.

We have carefully mapped the progression of skills required for children to successfully access the more formal demands of the Year 1 curriculum and we tailor our individual support accordingly.

The role of the adult

Our Early Years practitioners are central to the success of our curriculum. They know their children well and use observation, assessment and professional knowledge to identify what children know, what they need to learn next and how best to support them.

Adults carefully balance:

• purposeful direct teaching;
• high-quality interactions and conversations;
• guided learning;
• child-initiated play;
• carefully planned continuous provision;
• opportunities to practise and revisit learning; and
• appropriate challenge and support.

We recognise that children learn best when they feel safe, valued and known. Strong relationships between children and adults are therefore fundamental to our approach.

First-hand experiences and our village community

As a Church of England village school, we value our connection with our local community and the opportunities it provides for children's learning.

We make purposeful use of our school grounds, local environment and community, providing children with opportunities to explore nature, observe change, develop an understanding of their local area and experience the world beyond the classroom.

Visitors, educational visits, practical experiences, celebrations and special events enrich our curriculum and provide memorable experiences from which children can develop new knowledge, vocabulary and understanding.

These experiences help children to develop a sense of belonging and encourage them to see themselves as valued members of a wider community.

Our EYFS ambition

At Acton CEVC Primary School, we want every child to leave the Early Years with strong foundations for the future.

We want them to be:

• confident communicators;
• enthusiastic and curious learners;
• increasingly independent;
• resilient when faced with challenge;
• secure in the foundations of reading, writing and mathematics;
• physically confident;
• able to form positive relationships;
• compassionate and considerate towards others; and
• excited about the next stage of their learning.

Above all, we want our children to know that they are valued and that they have an important place within our school community.

We encourage every child to strive, to support one another and to succeed — rooted in our Christian vision and ready to flourish as they continue their learning journey as an Acton Child.