St. Anthony's Early Years Foundation Stage

At St. Anthony’s we believe that the early years of a child’s life are the most important as a foundation for a child to grow and develop into a healthy, happy, confident and independent person. We want children to feel cared for, develop a love of learning and strive to be the best that they can be.

What we teach in the Early Years:

Our Curriculum

Our Early Years curriculum is unique to St. Anthony’s, planned and developed around the specific needs of our children and our community and covers all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework, 2025. Our curriculum is centered around the importance of developing pupils’ communication and language skills, whilst learning about the world in which we live.

At St. Anthony’s our Catholic faith plays an integral part in the curriculum we offer. The Gospel values of faithfulness and integrity, dignity and compassion, humility and gentleness, forgiveness and mercy, tolerance and peace, service and sacrifice underpin everything we do. Our mission statement is lived out by teachers and children in EYFS and throughout the school:

“Loved by God, in our faith community, we live and learn together. We serve others, as Jesus served.”

We encourage all children to show kindness and consideration to others, to be able to share, negotiate and work well as part of a team.

Our curriculum is based around topics which focus on ‘Understanding the World’, such as learning about animals, people and different places in the world. We use songs, stories and non-fiction books linked to our topics to support our children’s language development and love of books. Our long-term planning ensures clear progression of knowledge, skills and vocabulary starting with our 2–3-year-olds (Little Cuthbert’s) and further challenge through FS1 and FS2.

We ensure that flexibility is built into our curriculum so that children’s own learning journeys can be supported, and their individual talents, interests and needs are always nurtured.

The 7 Areas of Learning and Development:

The three prime areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships, and thriving, underpinning the specific areas of learning. These areas are the focus for teaching and learning within our Little Cuthbert’s provision (2-3 yrs) and in our FS1 class (3-4 yrs):

The Prime areas:

Communication and Language

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Physical Development

There are four specific areas through which the prime areas are strengthened and applied. More focus is placed on these areas in our FS2/Reception class (4-5 yrs).

The Specific areas:

Literacy

Mathematics

Understanding the World

Expressive Arts and Design

We recognise that children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates and we ensure that our curriculum and environment are inclusive for all, regardless of a child’s ability, background, language or ethnicity. We value all areas of learning and development equally and understand that they are inter-connected. All areas of learning are delivered through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities, both indoors and outdoors. Activities are carefully adapted to ensure accessibility and suitable challenge for pupils at all stages of development.

Learning to read and write in EYFS

At St. Anthony’s reading is a top priority and we want all children to love reading and become successful readers. Initially, we provide lots of opportunities for children to develop good listening and attention skills and develop phonemic awareness through activities such as:

* singing nursery rhymes

* action songs, e.g. The Grand Old Duke of York
* making sounds with their bodies, e.g. clapping, stamping, tapping, humming
* listening to environmental sounds
* playing instruments and copying sounds
* rhyming stories and games
* playing alliteration games, e.g. silly soup

This early stage of phonics is crucial for children to develop the skills needed to be successful in learning the letter sounds and graphemes taught in Read Write Inc. Phonics lessons. This teaching begins in the summer term before children move into FS2/Reception.

For more information about Read Write Inc. please see the ‘Reading and Phonics’ section within ‘Curriculum’.

How we teach in the Early Years:

Our Learning Environment

At St. Anthony’s we recognise that the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s learning and development. Little Cuthbert’s 2-3 yr provision has a room and outdoor area of its’ own which allows for the specific development of our youngest children. The low-level furniture, resources, toilets and sinks ensure safety whilst also allowing children the opportunity to develop independence. The addition of a sleeping area allows children to nap if they need it. Please see the Little Cuthbert’s section for further information and photos of our provision. Link

The EYFS environment for FS1/FS2 is organised to allow children to explore and learn securely and safely. Our setting is arranged across two classes which are opened up to allow for more space and shared adults during child-initiated learning time (where the children choose their own learning in the environment). The setting is calm and well-organised, where children can find and locate equipment and resources independently. Continuous provision is regularly enhanced with new learning opportunities and first-hand experiences which cater for children at different ages and stages of development. Our outdoor area enables children to explore and learn on a bigger scale, to use their senses and be physically active. Children develop physically through activities such as climbing, building dens and obstacle courses.

During adult directed and guided teaching sessions such as Phonics or Maths, the door between FS1 and FS2 is closed to allow quiet and focused teaching to take place.

The Role of Adults

At St. Anthony’s the role of the adults is to provide care and nurture for children, so that they feel safe and secure and can thrive emotionally, socially and academically. We strive to achieve excellence and improved outcomes for all pupils.

Our timetable is carefully planned to ensure that we maintain a careful balance between adult led and child-initiated learning for all children. During child-initiated time the adults take on various roles to support, extend and challenge the children in their learning. Some adults will teach specific skills within the areas of provision, planned based on the interests or needs of the children. Other adults work alongside children in their play, whilst sensitively questioning, modelling, developing children’s language and social skills and promoting independent thinking. We have identified ‘spotlight children’ who need more support within the provision based on their areas of need. For example, some children may need additional support with speech and language or social interaction, so we ensure these children are given more support during this time.

We ensure that children develop positive characteristics of effective learning by encouraging children to persevere, be resilient, test their ideas and solve problems. We praise children when they demonstrate these skills. We are determined that our pupils develop a real ‘can-do’ attitude and a love of learning within EYFS. This will ensure they are well prepared for KS1 and beyond as we want all children to achieve and exceed in life.

Links to other useful documents:

St. Anthony's EYFS Policy, 2025

FSA Choking Hazards summary table.pdf

DfE Nutrition guidance 2025