At St Mary’s, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) includes Nursery and Reception. We provide a warm, nurturing and stimulating environment where children feel safe, valued and excited to learn. Above all, we want our children to be happy, confident, independent and resilient learners who feel proud of themselves and excited about learning.

Learning Through Play and Everyday Experiences

We believe that learning happens everywhere. Children learn through play, conversations, stories, practical and structured activities and everyday experiences both indoors and outdoors.

Our children are encouraged to:

• Develop independence and confidence
• Talk, listen and build their vocabulary
• Explore, investigate and ask questions
• Learn to share, take turns and work with others
• Develop resilience and become confident learners

We recognise that every child is unique and develops at their own pace. We have high expectations for all children and plan learning around their individual needs, interests and stages of development.

Our EYFS Curriculum

Children learn through a balance of child-led play and adult-guided activities. Our indoor and outdoor learning environments provide opportunities to explore, create, solve problems and take appropriate risks.

We also use the local area to enrich learning, including visits to Battersea Park, Battersea Park Library, local shops and the theatre.

Stories and topics inspire a wide range of activities, including baking, growing plants, art, music, construction and creative projects.

The EYFS curriculum covers seven areas of learning.

Prime areas:

• Communication and Language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Specific areas:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

These areas work together to help children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need for the next stage of their education.

Phonics and Early Reading

We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds phonics programme. Children develop their early reading and writing skills through structured teaching alongside engaging, creative literacy activities.

Religious Education

As a Catholic school, faith is an important part of life at St Mary’s. In EYFS, children follow the Lighting the Path programme and explore their faith through stories, songs, pictures, prayer, art and craft activities.

Starting School

Reception children complete the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA)  within their first six weeks at school. This is a short, child-friendly assessment that helps teachers understand each child’s starting point and monitor their progress throughout their primary education.

Working Together with Parents

We believe parents are a child’s first educators, and strong home–school partnerships are an important part of children’s success.

Parents can get involved through:

• Stay-and-play sessions when joining Nursery or Reception
• Welcome and ‘get to know you’ events
• Family learning workshops
• Parent meetings with teachers
• Reception phonics drop-in sessions
• School trips and special events
• Informal conversations with staff
• An annual written report on your child’s learning and development

We want every parent to feel confident that their child is safe, happy, well cared for and making progress.

Nursery Curriculum Overview

Reception Curriculum Overview