Welcome to the Early Years at St Mary Magdalene CE Primary School.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old.

Each child is taught through a mixture of playful activities, games, small group and whole group activities.

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

Our vision 

In our Early Years setting we aim to establish a safe and stimulating environment where every child feels listened to, respected, and cared for. We pave the way for a lifetime of achievement through engaging interactions, individual next steps and offering wider opportunities and experiences.

Learning Gems

Early Years have their own set of 'Learning Gems' which link with the Characteristics of effective Learning. Through these Learning Gems we encourage creative, critical thinkers who are resilient and independent. 

Learning through play

At St Mary Magdalene, we believe that 'Learning through play' is a vital part of the curriculum and provide the children with engaging and stimulating activities through indoor and outdoor provision. We use children's interests and next steps as the core of our curriculum and aim to support children in becoming resilent, imaginative and creative learners. 

Assessment
During your child’s time in the Early Years, All staff are responsible for making observations to help find out about the skills of each child. We use this information to help us plan for their next steps in learning and to record key achievements.

We believe that alongside the Early years staff, parents are infact the most important educators for young children. We believe that a strong relationship and excellent communication between our families and school help to ensure that the children settle quickly and are able to make the best start to their school life. We welcome you to contribute as often as you can to your child’s learning journey. This documents their learning and progress throughout their time in the Early Years and if you see any new learning at home we would love for you to send us a note or email to help us record this.

At the end of the EYFS your child’s class teacher will use all of the information that they have gathered through observation to assess your child against the 'Early Learning Goals'. This will be reported to you as part of their end of year school report.

Phonics
Phonics is taught daily to all children in the EYFS. We follow a scheme called 'Little Wandle' Letters and Sounds' to plan activities that promote speaking and listening skills, phonological awareness and oral blending.

New Framework September 2021
The EYFS Framework changed in September 2021. This change was to promote a bigger emphasis on Communication and Language and emphasises the importance of 'Learning through Play'. You can find out more about the development bands that we use to help us plan and assess by clicking here