Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Intent

At Fawbert & Barnard’s, our Early Years provision aims to create a warm, nurturing and stimulating environment where every child—regardless of background, circumstance or need—can flourish. We want children to feel secure, valued and confident as they begin their school journey.

Our curriculum is designed to build strong foundations for Learning for Life, ensuring children become curious, independent and resilient learners who take pride in their achievements. We work closely with parents and carers to develop strong home–school partnerships that support each child’s development.

We take careful account of children’s starting points and provide a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum that promotes progress across all prime and specific areas of learning. Children’s interests and needs shape our curriculum so that learning is meaningful, purposeful and engaging. We also prioritise key life skills—such as communication, independence, problem solving and collaboration—to prepare children for the next stage of their education.

 

Implementation

Our EYFS curriculum follows the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, ensuring full coverage of all prime and specific areas of learning. The Reception team uses ongoing formative assessment and in-depth knowledge of each child to plan rich, playful and well-structured learning experiences.

Teaching is a balance of:

• Whole-class and small-group sessions
• Carefully planned adult-led activities
• High-quality provision for child-initiated learning
• Targeted support and guided play

Themes and high-quality texts provide cross-curricular links, strengthen vocabulary and enrich children’s understanding of the world. Children’s own interests are followed wherever possible, with staff maximising spontaneous teachable moments to deepen learning.

Early Reading and Phonics

Early reading is taught through the Essential Letters and Sounds (ELS) phonics programme. Children learn phonemes and graphemes through a clear, systematic sequence and practise blending to read words. Fully decodable ELS books allow children to apply new learning with success and independence.

Assessment and Home–School Partnership

We use ongoing observation, conversations and evidence captured in Tapestry to monitor progress, identify gaps and plan next steps. Tapestry also enables parents to share learning from home, creating a holistic picture of every child’s development.

The EYFS environment is built on our school values—Kindness, Respect, Resilience, Trustworthiness and Responsibility—ensuring children develop social awareness, emotional security and positive attitudes to learning.

Impact

The impact of our EYFS curriculum is seen in children who are confident, inquisitive and ready for the challenges of Year 1. Our children develop secure foundations in communication, language, reading, early writing, number and personal development.

Progress is monitored closely throughout the year and measured against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) at the end of Reception. Evidence from observations, interactions and children’s work builds a robust understanding of each child’s achievement.

We aim for the majority of children to achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD) by the end of EYFS. As part of NET Academies Trust, we participate in cross-school moderation to ensure accuracy and consistency in assessment.

Children leave Reception as happy, capable learners who are well-prepared socially, academically and emotionally for Year 1—ready to continue their journey of Learning for Life.