Our EYFS Rationale 

Following on from current reforms in EYFS, at St George’s Cathedral Catholic Primary School we used the opportunity to invigorate our curriculum by reviewing the opportunities and experiences we had in place and considered what could be included to enrich and develop it further.

At St George’s our school motto is ‘To live and learn through our faith in Jesus Christ’. Children are taught from a young age how to be kind, considerate, helpful, compassionate and understanding towards one another. Children develop wonderful relationships in the Early years which develop as they grow throughout he school. Our RE sessions explore different aspects of religion and teach children how to be respectful to others and grow as a person through our faith. 

Having a secure foundation in the Early years is essential to ensure that children have rich experiences that develop their knowledge and understanding of the world that we live in and to develop lifelong skills to succeed. We have planned our curriculum to provide opportunities for children to develop their knowledge and understanding of different aspects of life and to be able to share their own experiences. We understand the importance of including children’s interests within the curriculum therefore have planned these within the different themes throughout the year.

Links within our Early years curriculum have been made to other year groups to ensure children can develop their learning throughout their school life and to build on what they have learned in the Early years. Our curriculum celebrates the diversity within our school by exploring a range of different themes through rich, cultural texts that encourage children to make links to their own lives.

Our curriculum is delivered through a balance of child initiated and adult directed activities to support different learning styles. Children are natural explorers; therefore the opportunity to learn through structured play is encouraged within our setting. Warm and positive relationships are developed between staff and children, ensuring that children are happy, settled and thrive in school. Children in Nursery and Reception have daily Phonics and Maths sessions to develop their skills from a young age. We focus our learning around books within our English sessions and provide opportunities within our provision for children to develop their story telling alongside their communication and language skills.