On this page we aim to give you an overview of the teaching and learning in our Reception classes.

Our EYFS Vision:

In our Early Years, we celebrate each child as a unique gift of God, nurturing their wonder, curiosity, and potential. Through a loving, faith-filled environment, we lay the foundations for the Seven Gifts of our school curriculum—helping children to grow in confidence, resilience, creativity, compassion, and spiritual awareness. Our EYFS curriculum inspires children to develop a positive sense of self, a love of learning, and the skills to communicate, collaborate, and care for others. In these formative years, children begin their journey to become thoughtful, courageous, and capable individuals, equipped to embrace knowledge, faith, and love as they continue their learning journey.

EYFS CURRICULUM

In Reception we follow the Early Years Foundations stage curriculum. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is guided by a curriculum document called 'Development Matters'. This sets out the learning, development and assessment requirements for all children until the end of their Reception year, when the Early Learning Goals are used to make final assessments. The 17 Early Learning Goals state what a child is 'expected' to be able to do by the end of the EYFS in each of the 7 areas of the curriculum..

We carefully design our curriculum so that it offers exciting and inspiring opportunities for all children to learn and develop. It is coherently sequenced to cover all EYFS Areas of Learning, with the Prime Areas acting as a golden thread throughout. Our approach is rooted in the four overarching principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework—A Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Enabling Environments, and Learning and Development—recognising every child as a capable learner, prioritising warm and respectful relationships, and providing stimulating, responsive environments that support meaningful, ambitious learning.

We place a strong emphasis on language and vocabulary, embedding rich spoken language across all provision to develop confident oracy, communication, collaboration and compassionate listening.

Secure foundations in mathematics are built through a carefully sequenced mastery approach, drawing on the NCETM Mastering Number programme and extended through Power Maths with White Rose progression, prioritising number sense, subitising, and fluency within and across 10.

Our intentional continuous provision—both indoors and outdoors—encourages independent exploration, risk-taking and sustained thinking through purposeful play.

Underpinned by the Beautiful Thinking philosophy, our topic-based curriculum supports children to reason, reflect, make connections and build a strong knowledge base that supports long-term memory.

Our values-led practice promotes creativity, compassion, communication, confidence, collaboration and curiosity, which are explicitly modelled and nurtured through daily interactions and shared experiences.

Our curriculum overview and the long-term plan for this year can be found below, although these may evolve to reflect children’s interests and needs.

AN OVERVIEW OF PRACTICE, POLICY AND PROCEDURE IN THE EYFS AT LADY BOSWELL'S SCHOOL