EYFS

Intent

At St Nicholas Chantry, we are committed to providing children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) with the best possible start in life.  Our curriculum is designed to enable all pupils to fulfill their unique potential by offering them a broad and balanced educational experience.  We are responsive to and supportive of individual children’s needs and aspirations, fostering intellectual creativity and academic achievement.  Through our curriculum, we aim to motivate and inspire every child, empowering them to grow and develop to their full potential.  At St Nicholas Chantry, we are dedicated to providing children in the Early Years with rich, meaningful opportunities that nurture their knowledge, skills and values.  We strive to instill a lifelong love for learning that will guide them throughout their lives in an ever-changing world.

At St Nicks we aim for pupils to:

• Be highly engaged and intrinsically motivated with a curiosity and passion for learning
• Be strong and independent through positive relationships with children and adults
• Be confident and articulate communicators
• Be confident readers and writers
• Be resilient and accepting of a challenge
• Develop strong relationships, showing kindness and respect for each other, and their surroundings
• Engage in rich and meaningful learning experiences that develop their knowledge, skills and values
• Explore, question and discover the world around them through a diverse range of activities
• Cultivate a strong sense of curiosity and a passion for continuous learning
• Understand the importance of our values and how they guide our actions and choices
• Appreciate the interconnectedness of knowledge and its relevance to our lives
• Become enthusiastic and lifelong learners who embrace change and innovation
• Develop the essential skills needed to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world
• Be confident, creative and well-prepared for future challenges and opportunities

Implementation

We achieve this through:

• Providing rich and meaningful learning experiences
• Establishing a lifelong learning culture
• Establishing a language-rich environment where students are encouraged to express themselves verbally
• Promoting hands-on exploration, questioning and discussion
• Encouraging active engagement with the environment around them
• Adult role models modelling effective communication, using clear and articulate language, active listening and engaging in meaningful conversations with students
• Regular engagement in storytelling and story reading sessions where expressive reading is modelled and pupil questions and sharing of ideas is encouraged
• Making the teaching of phonics and early reading a priority
• Developing the adaptive skills of problem-solving, critical thinking and adaptability
• Cultivating natural curiosity
• Nurturing independence, creativity, confidence and self-belief
• Understanding the significance of ethical values and how they guide behavior and decisions
• Emphasizing the interconnectedness of knowledge across subjects
• Preparing pupils to seize opportunities and overcome future challenges
• Instilling a growth mindset which emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and self-improvement

Impact

At St Nicholas’ Chantry, the impact of our Early Years curriculum is evident in the growth and development of our pupils.  Through rich and meaningful learning experiences, pupils not only acquire the necessary knowledge and skills but also a profound lifelong love of learning. We nurture confident, articulate communicators who express their thoughts, ideas and feelings with ease and clarity. Pupils are empowered to adapt and have the confidence to seize opportunities and address challenges.