Welcome to Early Years at Holy Trinity

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential.” (DfE 2023). At Holy Trinity we place great value on the development of children as individuals and providing them with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to prepare them for the challenges in Key Stage One and beyond.

Our Curriculum Intent

Our aim in the EYFS is to build strong foundations rooted in academic success as well as moral and spiritual development, so that ultimately our pupils can go on to be active citizens of society and happy, curious life-long learners. 

Our curriculum is therefore the cultural capital we know our pupils need so that they can gain the knowledge, skills and understanding they require for success. They can only do that if we embed the right habits for learning through the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning – Play and Exploration, Active Learning and Creative and Critical Thinking. 

Our Curriculum Implementation

At Holy Trinity, we invest time and energy into helping pupils set and reflect on their own goals by aiming high and developing a love of reading, writing and number.  This is delivered through a holistic curriculum which maximises opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences as well as promoting the unique child by offering extended periods of play and sustained thinking following children’s interests and ideas.  We value imagination and creativity and seek to create a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning through a vibrant continuous indoor and outdoor provision, alongside trips, visits and regular forest school sessions.

Pupils will experience, explore and encounter a wide range of creative and challenging multi-sensory activities through a curriculum that aims to ensure:

• That children access a broad and balanced curriculum that gives them the broad range of knowledge and skills needed for good progress through school and life

• Quality and consistency in teaching and learning so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind

• A close working partnership between staff and parents and/or carers

• Every child is included and supported through equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) marks a critical time in a child’s early development. All early years’ providers must comply with the Government’s Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, which sets out the standards for learning, development and care for children aged 0-5. The Framework identifies seven areas of learning and development, divided into prime and specific areas of learning.

The prime areas are:

• Communication and language (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).

• Physical development (providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food).

• Personal, social and emotional development (helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities).

The specific areas are:

• Literacy (reading and writing – encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write).
  Mathematics (counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems, describing shapes, spaces and measure).

• Understanding the world (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).

• Expressive arts and design (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).

We ensure learning encompasses the Characteristics of Effective Learning...

These 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.

• Creating and Thinking Critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things.