EYFS CURRICULUM
All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, forming relationships and thriving. These three areas, the prime areas, are: Communication and language; Physical development; and Personal, social and emotional development. There are four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are: Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding the World; and Expressive Arts and Design.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. Most of the opportunities for this area of the curriculum comes through their play both inside the classroom and outside in the garden.
Communication and Language Development
This involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations. The children are encouraged to retell known stories and to share their opinions during our Philosophy for Children sessions.
Physical Development
This involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. The children do this through their play in the garden and through adult led PE sessions. Children are also helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food. The children engage in daily child led snack time.
Literacy Development
This involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest. Some of the stories we learn through include ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’, ‘The Christmas Story’, ‘Room on the broom, ‘The Easter Story’, ‘The Naughty Bus’, ‘Bedtime for Monster’s and ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’.
Mathematics
This involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures. The children are given these opportunities through play and through the exploration of stories, eg. exploring pattern through the picture book, ‘Sassoon’.
Understanding of the World
This involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. The children have access to an interactive whiteboard where they complete a range of programmes to enhance their learning across the curriculum.
Expressive Arts and Designs
This involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
Religious Education
The children follow the Come and See programme used by the rest of the school. Over the course of the year they explore a range of Bible stories, how Christians live their lives, special celebrations in the Catholic faith and how people from other faith traditions celebrate special days.
Phonics
‘Letters and Sounds’ is the six phase phonics programme used to teach high quality phonics at St Catherine School. The teaching in Nursery covers Phase 1 and Reception cover Phases 2 and 3.
Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds concentrates on developing children's speaking and listening skills and lays the foundations for the phonic work which starts in Phase 2. The emphasis during Phase 1 is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and ready to begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills.
Phase 2 introduces grapheme-phoneme (written-sound) correspondences. Children learn to blend and segment words for reading and writing. By the end of this phase, children will be able to read, spell and write simple words. Extensive speaking and listening activities continue through-out this phase.
Phase 3 continues oral and written blending and segmenting (reading and spelling words). This phase introduces diagraphs (two letter sounds such as ch) and trigraphs (three letter sounds such as igh).
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities. Most of the opportunities for this area of the curriculum comes through their play both inside the classroom and outside in the garden.
Communication and Language Development
This involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations. The children are encouraged to retell known stories and to share their opinions during our Philosophy for Children sessions.
Physical Development
This involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. The children do this through their play in the garden and through adult led PE sessions. Children are also helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food. The children engage in daily child led snack time.
Literacy Development
This involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children are given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest. Some of the stories we learn through include ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’, ‘The Christmas Story’, ‘Room on the broom, ‘The Easter Story’, ‘The Naughty Bus’, ‘Bedtime for Monster’s and ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’.
Mathematics
This involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures. The children are given these opportunities through play and through the exploration of stories, eg. exploring pattern through the picture book, ‘Sassoon’.
Understanding of the World
This involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment. The children have access to an interactive whiteboard where they complete a range of programmes to enhance their learning across the curriculum.
Expressive Arts and Designs
This involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.
Religious Education
The children follow the Come and See programme used by the rest of the school. Over the course of the year they explore a range of Bible stories, how Christians live their lives, special celebrations in the Catholic faith and how people from other faith traditions celebrate special days.
Phonics
‘Letters and Sounds’ is the six phase phonics programme used to teach high quality phonics at St Catherine School. The teaching in Nursery covers Phase 1 and Reception cover Phases 2 and 3.
Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds concentrates on developing children's speaking and listening skills and lays the foundations for the phonic work which starts in Phase 2. The emphasis during Phase 1 is to get children attuned to the sounds around them and ready to begin developing oral blending and segmenting skills.
Phase 2 introduces grapheme-phoneme (written-sound) correspondences. Children learn to blend and segment words for reading and writing. By the end of this phase, children will be able to read, spell and write simple words. Extensive speaking and listening activities continue through-out this phase.
Phase 3 continues oral and written blending and segmenting (reading and spelling words). This phase introduces diagraphs (two letter sounds such as ch) and trigraphs (three letter sounds such as igh).
