Early Years Foundation Stage
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the period of education from birth to 5 years. We follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, published in March 2021.
There are seven areas of learning and development. These seven areas are all important and inter connect. They are divided into ‘prime’ areas and ‘specific’ areas.
Prime Areas
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
These three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving.
Specific Areas
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design
In our Early Years, we have two reception classes. We work closely with the feeder nurseries and pre-schools. At Limpsfield, our Early Years curriculum encourages all children to grow into confident, happy, independent children, who have been nurtured by adults to develop necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to achieve fulfilling lives. Our curriculum has been designed to recognise children’s prior learning from previous settings and their experiences at home, provide first hand learning experiences, whilst allowing the children to build resilience, ambition and integrity.
Every child is recognised as a unique individual and we celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. The ability to learn is underpinned by the teaching of basic skills, knowledge, concepts and values. We provide enhancement opportunities to engage learning and believe that our first experiences of school should be happy and positive, enabling us to develop a lifelong love of learning.
Outdoor learning, through a Forest School approach is a valued part of our EYFS learning, providing opportunities to develop children’s curiosity of learning and knowledge and understanding of the world. It is a highly valuable experience for our pupils to explore the natural world, take risks, and develop the characteristics of learning.
Throughout their time in reception, the children develop a sense of belonging to our school community, ready to transition to year 1 the following academic year. They have the confidence and skills to make decisions and self-evaluate, make connections and become lifelong learners.