“All children deserve the care and support they need to have the best start in life. Children learn and develop at a faster rate from birth to five years old than at any other time in their lives, so their experiences in early years have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe, and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high-quality early learning provide the foundation children need to fulfil their potential.”

Early Years Statutory Framework for group and school-based providers (DfE, 2024)

At Fairfield Road Primary School, we believe that all children deserve the right to an engaging education that sparks excitement, curiosity, and motivation to learn.

Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum is designed to provide the essential building blocks for children to flourish and become well-rounded, confident, and happy individuals, ready to succeed in both the next stage of their education and an ever-changing world.

Our EYFS curriculum is shaped around the seven areas of learning, all of which are important and interconnect. These are:

Prime Areas

Communication and Language

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Physical Development.  

Specific Areas of Learning

Literacy

Maths

Understanding the World

Expressive Arts and Design

In addition to addressing all seven areas of learning, our curriculum is designed to promote specific characteristics that we believe are crucial for learning. These are: bravery, motivation, critical thinking, independence, and determination.

We also promote ‘The Characteristics of Effective Learning’ as outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage. These describe how the children learn and are particularly important in the EYFS as they build the foundations for children to be life long learners. The characteristics are:

Playing and Exploring - Children investigate, experience things and ‘have a go’ through a balance of adult led and child initiated planned, purposeful learning experiences.

Active Learning – Children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements. Opportunities are provided where the children where the children have some independence and control over their learning, making decisions and taking ownership.

Creating and thinking critically - Children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things. Adults support this and offer encouragement through clarification and open-ended questions.

Below you will find some key documents that outline our EYFS curriculum.