Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

Foundation Class follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum.

The children in are working towards their Early Learning Goals (ELG’s) which they are expected to meet by the end of their time in Foundation Class. The Early Learning Goals are:

Prime Areas
Communication and language
Listening and attention: children listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant

Speaking: children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’
needs. They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events
that have happened or are to happen in the future. They develop their own narratives and
explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Physical development
Moving and handling: children show good control and co-ordination in large and small
handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

Health and self-care: children know the importance for good health of physical exercise,
and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. They manage their own

Personal, social and emotional development
Self-confidence and self-awareness: children are confident to try new activities, and
their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.
Managing feelings and behaviour: children talk about how they and others show
that some behaviour is unacceptable. They work as part of a group or class, and
understand and follow the rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and
take changes of routine in their stride.
Making relationships: children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take
to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other

The specific areas
Reading: children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge
to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common
irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what
they have read.
Writing: children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their
sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly
and others are phonetically plausible.

characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to
describe them.

Understanding the world
People and communities: children talk about past and present events in their own lives
and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the
between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.
The world: children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects,
environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make
observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about
Technology: children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as

Expressive arts and design
Exploring and using media and materials: children sing songs, make music and
dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a
variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture,
form and function.
Being imaginative: children use what they have learnt about media and materials in
original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas,
thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and

We reflect on the different ways that children learn, and provide a range of experiences to cater for these different learning styles. The three characteristics of effective learning are; playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’;  active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements; and creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.


We also follow the new RE curriculum for foundation stage.

We have weekly PE & music lessons and a weekly trip to the well equipped school library. Once a week we have a ‘Big Toys’ session, Bike Ability session and ‘Fine Motor Skills’ session (taught in a carousel system to smaller groups within the class).