The Early Years at Staverton

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to 5 years. The EYFS curriculum have seven key areas of learning:

Prime Areas

Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Specific Areas

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

At Staverton CE Primary School, we follow the EYFS curriculum in for Reception children. Our number one priority is for the children to feel happy and safe in our environment. Our carefully planned EYFS curriculum is informed by children’s individual needs and interests –children are active participants in their learning. Our curriculum has been designed to enable children to become self-confident, creative and resilient learners. We have an exciting and enabling environment which allows for children to thrive and succeed during their first year at school, developing a lifelong love of learning. Children have free-flow both inside and outside, learning through play and exploration. We are constantly observing and interacting with the children to plan for next steps and move their learning forwards. Children at Staverton have a strong sense of belonging through the positive relationships they form with the adults and other children in their environment.

Termly topic/interest

Each term we have an overarching topic/interest to spark curiosity. This term in Robins Class our topic is ‘Once Upon a Time’. See below for a termly curriculum overview.

Curriculum-Overview-Term-2 Download

Talk Through Stories

We follow the ‘Talk Through Stories’ approach for our daily story time in order to promote a lifelong love of stories and deepen and extend children’s vocabulary. Each week a new story is introduced and we help the children get to know it really well. This includes the plot, the characters, and their actions and motives. Throughout the following week we explore five words from the story, specifically selected to develop
children’s understanding of each word in the context of their everyday lives.

Here are the stories we are reading this term…

Daily Maths (Mastering Number)

In Reception at Staverton we follow the NCETM’s ‘Mastering Number’ programme. This programme aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. Children are taught as a whole class for 10-15 minutes as day. Concepts are then followed up in child and adult-led activities during continuous provision. See below for an overview of content for Reception.

Mastering-Number-Overview-Reception Download

Daily Phonics (Read Write Inc.)

Every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 takes part in daily phonics sessions. At Staverton, we follow the Read Write Inc. phonics programme. Children will begin with short 10-15 minute sessions which gradually build up to 45-50 minute sessions. For more information please see the ‘Phonics’ section of our website page under ‘Our Curriculum’.