In the Early Years at St. James Church of England Primary Academy, we are passionate about children being happy, confident, well-rounded individuals with a love for learning. We believe that the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is crucial in securing solid foundations that children continue to build upon throughout their school life. Our Christian values flow through everything we do, they are Love, Hope and Forgiveness. In turn, we are Ready, Respectful and Safe, which helps us with our learning behaviours.

It is our aim that the children who enter our EYFS develop physically, verbally, cognitively, spiritually and emotionally whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and a love of learning.  We do this by ensuring that all children feel safe and happy at school in an engaging and stimulating environment both indoors and outdoors that builds on each individual child’s needs and interests. All children value the importance of being ready, respectful and safe.

We understand and appreciate the importance of the outdoor environment for our children. At St. James’, we provide our children with opportunities to develop their gross motor skills, deepen their imagination and sense of curiosity. We value the necessity of children managing their own risks and developing their own narratives therefore, the resources and staff support this. Our indoor environment offers opportunities to develop our children’s fine motor skills through a range of provisions including funky fingers, small world and creative. We enhance our indoor and outdoor environment to suit the seasons, the needs and interests of the children and to promote our quality rich texts.

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and our aim is to encourage a love of reading right from the start. The aim is to expose children to a range of books that not only develop a love of reading, but have been chosen specifically to develop their oracy, vocabulary and comprehension. We are passionate about the importance of reading and the doors it opens to a world of adventure, increasing imagination and curiosity.

Children will have the opportunity to learn through play. Learning will be fun, engaging and challenging. We value the importance of our local area and using our local resources to support provision and teaching. Our adults provide high-quality interactions to develop and deepen their learning opportunities. Adults are role models for the children and their learning. Children learn through a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities.

Working in partnership with parents and carers is central to the success of the EYFS. We work together with families, consulting them about their children's early experiences, which helps practitioners plan for effective learning, and helps us support our families in continuing their children's learning development at home. We are committed to giving our children the best possible start to their school life, teaching them skills which ensure success in the future to reach their full, unique potential.