“The ladder of education can never be secure unless that first rung is firmly in place”.

Vision:

At St Augustine’s, we strive to inspire, engage and nurture each unique child so they grow to become resilient, confident, curious and self-assured individuals.

 

Intent:

Our highly bespoke and inspiring EYFS Curriculum is designed to reflect the interests and needs of our children and to immerse our children in a language rich environment. We prioritise high quality interactions punctuated with adult focussed activities where appropriate. Our children guide and drive their own learning through carefully resourced continuous provision with enhancements to aid the development of skills and knowledge. It is therefore unique to St Augustine’s. 

Our curriculum is developed to prioritise sequential, progressional learning, where pupils know more and can do more, building on what they have been previously taught. It is also designed to be responsive to the needs of our children, families and community.

Our ambitious Early Years curriculum aims to teach all children the skills, knowledge and understanding to be effective, inquisitive, curious, independent learners and influence their wider thinking across all areas of the curriculum. 

Fundamental British Values are at the heart of our curriculum and everything we do, we focus on promoting the more general concepts within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and understand that the children’s development within these areas is key to promoting the values in the long term.

We endeavour to give the children the Cultural Capital they need for future success i.e. giving each child the best start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their full potential and achieve future success. We are passionate about creating opportunities for children to communicate successfully and articulately, through developing language and communication skills and enhancing their learning through a rich and varied reading spine.  

Implementation:

We offer our children the opportunity to learn through a wide range of rich, meaningful and multi-sensory practical experiences, in both indoor and outdoor learning environments. Children learn best through play-based activities and first-hand experience. As a result, we have placed a large emphasis on stories, role-play areas as well as creating the best possible environment for children to learn, ensuring our setting is filled with awe and wonder. Through continual and careful observations and assessments of the children, we are able to plan meaningful, motivating and personalised learning which the children can enjoy and be challenged by.


Within the Early Years Foundation Curriculum there are four key themes, which underpin seven areas of learning:

 
The Four Key Themes

A Unique Child – Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships – Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.

Enabling Environments – The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.

Learning and Development – Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.   

The Seven Areas of Learning

Prime areas

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Communication and Language

Physical Development

Specific areas:

Literacy

Maths

Understanding of the World

Expressive Arts & Design

 

Impact:

At St Augustine’s our Early Years provision is evidenced through the progress, achievements, and positive attitudes of our children. The impact is assessed through multiple methods, including ongoing observations, assessments, and interactions with children, parents, and stakeholders. Key indicators of impact include:

  • Strong foundation  for Learning: Children demonstrate a solid foundation of knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for future learning and development, evidenced through assessments and transitions to Key Stage1
  • High Levels of Well-being: Children’s emotional, social, and personal development is evident in their positive relationships, self-regulation, and resilience.
  • Excellent Progress: Children consistently make excellent progress across all areas of the EYFS curriculum, exceeding expected levels of development.
  • Inclusive Practice: Enhanced inclusion, where all children, regardless of background or abilities, are supported and achieve their full potential.
  • Positive Parental Engagement: High levels of parental involvement, satisfaction, and confidence in their child’s Early Years experience, evidenced through feedback and participation.
  • Reflection and Continuous Improvement: A culture of reflection and continuous improvement is embedded, where staff regularly seek professional development and implement innovative approaches based on the latest research.
Follow the links for our curriculum overviews:

Click our gallery to see the amazing things happening in EYFS: