Welcome to Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

A Nurturing Start for Lifelong Learning

At St Michael’s, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment where every child is valued as a unique individual. We give all children the best possible start in life by building strong foundations for learning, communication and personal development in line with the DfE’s ambition that every child should have the best start in life and the Ofsted framework’s focus on high-quality early education.

Our provision enables children to become curious, independent and resilient learners, ready to thrive as they move through school and beyond.

Communication-Rich, Evidence-Based Practice

All staff are ELKLAN Speech and Language trained, and our setting holds the Communication Friendly Setting Accreditation, demonstrating our deep commitment to developing communication and language, the cornerstone of all learning.

We also hold the Schema Play Accreditation, which equips staff to skilfully identify each child’s next steps, make the most of every teachable moment, and ensure progress across all seven areas of learning.

Our experienced EYFS leaders and practitioners prioritise high-quality interactions, sustained shared thinking, and responsive teaching. They understand the why behind every resource and learning opportunity within our purposeful, play-based provision. Through meaningful back-and-forth conversations, children’s ideas are valued and extended, supporting their early language, emotional regulation and executive-function skills, giving every child the best possible start in life.

EYFS Places

We offer places for two, three and four year olds, with flexible options to support both working and non-working families in line with current government funding arrangements.

• Two-Year-Olds (15 hours) – Morning sessions available. If this is full, we will offer afternoon sessions
• Three and Four Year-Olds (15 hours) – Morning sessions old focused on consistent delivery of our EYFS curriculum.
• Thirty Hour Places – For two, three and four year olds – 8.50am – 3.20pm
• Reception children – 8.50am – 3.20pm

Paid afternoon sessions are also available for pre-school age children who don’t qualify for funding. Families can access wraparound care through our Breakfast and After School Clubs which can be booked via Arbor. 

All staff hold paediatric first-aid certificates, ensuring the highest standards of care and safeguarding.

Our Setting and Community Connections

Our EYFS provision is housed across three high-quality learning environments designed to meet the developmental needs of two-year-olds, nursery, and reception children.

Two-Year-Old Provision
A purpose-built space designed around the prime areas of learning, offering free-flow access to a bespoke outdoor area, age-appropriate toileting facilities, a kitchenette and a calm area for eating and sleeping.

Nursery
A large open-plan space designed to offer purposeful provision zones with direct access to a well-developed outdoor area, providing rich opportunities for exploration, creativity and physical development. Nursey and Reception work as an EYFS unit and will access provision across both rooms.

Reception
Our Reception classroom is a bright, welcoming designed to inspire curiosity and confidence. Within the room, purposeful learning zones offer a wide range of hands on resources and activities that build on the skills children developed in nursery. Reception and Nursery work as an EYFS unit and will access provision across both rooms. Reception do their focused tasks in one teacher space to support their development.

The EYFS children will access EYFS via the green gates and parents can drop off at the gate. Staff are always available for meaningful handovers, ensuring strong communication and safeguarding remain central.

Our EYFS Trust Lead works closely with a team of skilled and experienced teachers and support staff to maintain high expectations, consistent practice and a seamless progression of learning, particularly for children with additional needs. Expertise is shared across cohorts, ensuring every child receives tailored support and the best possible outcomes.

Building Relationships with Families

Strong partnerships with parents are at the heart of St Michael’s ethos. Every child receives a home visit from their key worker and another member of staff before starting with us. This allows us to build relationships, understand each child’s interests and routines and identify any early support needs.

Families are then invited to visit the setting together, helping children become familiar with the environment, routines and staff. Transitions are flexible and tailored children start when they, their parents and the staff agree they are ready.

These early interactions create a smooth, confident transition into St Michael’s, where every child feels known, valued and safe. Where necessary, we liaise with external agencies such as Health Visitors to ensure families receive timely support.

Phonics, Reading and Writing

From the start of EYFS, we nurture a love of language and early literacy through a rich variety of activities. Children enjoy singing nursery rhymes daily, supporting rhythm, phonological awareness and memory. Daily story time exposes children to new vocabulary, sentence structures and imaginative ideas. Learning is further reinforced through role play and small world activities allowing children to explore stories, characters and scenarios in a creative way.

For early writing and mark making, children engage in large-scale, gross motor activities that develop strength and coordination. This includes using paintbrushes to paint fences, chunky chalks for outdoor drawing and other dynamic movements. These experiences allow children to experiment with making marks while building foundational skills needed for later handwriting, helping them gain confidence, control and creativity.

We promote a love of reading from the earliest stage. In Reception, we deliver the Talk Through Stories (TTS) programme which introduces children to rich vocabulary (Tier 2 words) and immerses them in quality stories read by enthusiastic adults. Our writing cycle is built around the TTS approach and supported by Voice 21 oracy techniques, focusing on transcription, phonics application and handwriting fluency.

Handwriting and Fine Motor Skills

We use the Kinetic Letters programme to develop handwriting skills. In the twos and nursery, children begin with postures such as Strong Bear to strengthen core muscles and practise gross motor movements. This progresses to pencil grip, letter formation and writing in sand, on whiteboards and in books repeated until children form letters correctly and write fluently.

Mathematics

Prior to reception, we teach maths through nursery rhymes and playful, interactive activities. In the two year old provision, children focus on numbers up to 3. In Nursery, they work with numbers up to 5 using actions and finger numbers to introduce the children to number representations. We use practical, real life situations to make maths interactive such as snack time where we would use 5-frames to count milk and fruit. Children are also introduced to subitising and recognising different representations of numbers to five such as number blocks, building a strong foundation before they move into Reception.

In Reception, daily maths sessions use practical resources such as ten frames and Numicon to help children understand numbers in multiple representations including numerals, Numicon shapes, dice patterns and finger counting.

We aim for all children to master subitising and develop a deep understanding of numbers to ten. Practical problem solving activities and the use of mathematical vocabulary help children explore concepts such as weight, capacity, and measure in meaningful contexts.

Foundation Subjects

Afternoons are dedicated to the Specific Early Learning Goals (ELGs), including all aspects of Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design. These areas are taught through creative, practical and cross-curricular activities that extend children’s knowledge and skills. Learning experiences are carefully planned to link directly to the foundation subjects of History, Geography, Religious Education (RE), Art, and Design & Technology (DT) ensuring children develop the key concepts and vocabulary that provide firm foundations for future learning in Key Stage 1.

We use detailed progression documents for each ELG and foundation subject, mapping children’s learning from Pre School through to Key Stage 2. This ensures a clear sequence of learning, enabling staff to build on what children already know and can do, and to plan meaningful next steps. Through this approach, children leave the EYFS with the essential skills, curiosity and confidence to thrive as they begin their Key Stage 1 journey.

Giving Every Child the Best Start

At St Michael’s our EYFS provision is built on care, curiosity and connection. Through expert teaching, purposeful play and strong relationships, we ensure every child has the best possible start to their educational journey leaving our setting confident, capable and ready to thrive in school and in life.

Starting Reception

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