Learning & Provision Evidence 2025-2026
We are extremely proud of our EYFS provision at St. Mary's. We have an incredibly hard working team who stop at nothing to provide a wide range of indoor and outdoor provision that is matched to the children's current learning and is constantly evolving. Our EYFS teacher, Miss Kennedy, is part of Lancashire's leading team of EYFS experts. This enables her to visit other settings and share and bring back the very best practice for our wonderful children.
Promoting a Love of Reading - A different weekly 'Secret Reader' guest visits Class 1 regularly to read to children throughout the year.
Promoting a Love of Reading - Reading is at the heart of our curriculum at St. Mary's. Children will be exposed to a wide range of books and reading activities as soon as they begin school. World Book Day is always a special time of year where children can dress as their favourite characters and take part in lots of different activities throughout the day.
Understanding the World - This is one of the seven areas of learning and development in EYFS. It is classified as a 'specific area' (alongside Literacy, Maths and Expressive Arts and Design), meaning it builds on three prime areas of Communication & Language; Personal, Social & Emotional Development and Physical Development. It provides important contexts for applying those foundational skills.
Promoting a Love of Reading - Our EYFS children read regularly with their Year 6 buddies. Our younger children will be paired with a buddy before they start school, and meet them when they visit St. Mary's for the first time. Our Year 6 children will write a letter to them and give them a special school book-bag, welcome letter and a book, all about starting school. They will sit together in assemblies and Masses, play with each other at play-time and take part in lots of joint activities, such as nature and learning walks, throughout the year. It is a special bond that we are very proud of.
Celebrating Multi-Faith Week - As a Catholic school, we place a huge importance on learning about the other faiths. This promotes mutual respect, social cohesion, tolerance and an early understanding of diversity.
Children take part in a range of playful activities designed to develop their fine motor skills - crucial for tasks like writing, drawing, buttoning clothes, using scissors and self-care. 'Funky Fingers' and 'Dough Disco' are just two of the activities we use in EYFS.
Autumn Discovery Tray - This is a popular open-ended play resource used in EYFS. It is often filled with interesting, themed materials that link to the children's current learning in class. The materials and objects are designed to spark children's natural curiosity, exploration and hands-on learning. They also provide lots of opportunities for developing spoken langauage, which is the heartbeat of our EYFS curriculum.
'Going On a Bear Hunt' and 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' - Each of our EYFS topics is developed from a class novel. High quality, interactive experiences are then planned that match our children's developmental stages.
Remembrance Day Activities - Although our EYFS children follow a curriculum seperate from Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, there are plentiful opportunities to take part in important whole school events throughout the year, such as this.
We use the Red Rose Maths scheme throughout school, starting in Reception. Maths is a 'specific area' and children are taught it each day in EYFS. We then ensure that indoor and outdoor provision gives children lots of opportunities to consolidate and extend their learning.
There are multiple opportunities for children to develop their spoken language and listening skills throughout the year. Not least when it comes to our infant Nativity at the end of the autumn term. Always a highlight of the year!
We ensure that there are a range of visitors throughout the year who can bring real-world experience, authentic voices and practical insights directly into the classroom or school environment. They compliment our curriculum by making abstract concepts tangible and memorable.
Children are taught phonics daily, starting from their first day in EYFS. Phonics forms the core of word reading (decoding) within the Literacy area of learning. The EFYS framework emphasises that reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension (built through talk, stories, rhymes and experiences) and word reading (which relies on phonics for decoding unfamiliar words and recognising familiar ones). We follow the Red Rose Phonics scheme throughout school.
Children have the chance to observe several life cycles at school, including the life cycle of a chicken - from egg to chick. This supports the exploration of living things, processes like hatching, and simple scientific observation. It also builds knowledge of the natural world and gives the children rich, hands on experiences that align closely with several EYFS areas. We always ensure the welfare of the animals is exceptionally well-managed, both before, during and after the animals visit.
Indoor provision is the carefully planned, accessible learning environment inside the classroom that supports our children's play, exploration and development across all seven areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The continuous provision is the resources, areas and opportunities that remain available to children every day, which children can independently access to follow their own interests, engage in child-initiated play, and learn through hands-on experiences.
