Starting school is a very special and exciting time for our new children and their families. At Our Lady and St Rose of Lima Catholic Primary School, we put Christ at the centre of everything we do. We believe every pupil in our care is unique, special and loved by God. Our Catholic Faith ensures that we all try hard to treat everyone that we meet with love and respect, just as Jesus did.

As staff, we provide as much care and support as necessary to ease every child into their new environment. We have both a Reception and Nursery class within our setting and aim to build positive relationships with every child in our care, so that they can grow and thrive in their learning. Our goals in the Early Years are for children to feel happy, safe and secure at our school and to reach their full potential. We have outlined our vision for our EYFS vision and curriculum below.

Please click here for the New Reception Starters page.

Please click here for the Nursery class page.

Please click here for the Reception class page.

At our school, we want to ensure that we give children the very best possible start to their school journey. We have a passionate team of EYFS staff, including experienced teachers and teaching assistants, who are dedicated to the children in their care and who have an excellent knowledge of child development and the needs of their pupils. We plan and work together as a team to ensure our children achieve good or better progress. Children form strong, secure relationships with adults and make friendships that support their own well-being. We want the best for every child and we are constantly striving to improve our school and early years practice.

The children in Nursery and Reception explore the following areas of learning and topics through a broad, balanced, creative and knowledge-based curriculum. As a school we use prior knowledge as a key tool for learning which is also used as an effective strategy across the rest of the school. When learning in our classroom, we encourage and expect our children 'to know more and remember more', using key retrieval games and activities, to ensure our children remember what they have been taught. This helps to consolidate knowledge and also address any misconceptions. We use these recall and retrieval skills at the start of our pupils learning journey, so that pupils are adept at using them for the remainder of their school journey, both with us and beyond.

Lots of the children’s learning is through play and some through focus activities. The children work as a whole class, in small groups and 1:1 with teaching staff. They have lots of opportunities to build on skills learned when accessing independent activities both inside the classroom and in the outdoor area.

We aim for our children to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them for Year One and the start of the National Curriculum. As an EYFS team, we recognise the importance of high quality  Early Years teaching and learning in everything we do. It is integral for our children to have a positive and successful experience in the  Foundation Stage as as this prepares them for Year One and the rest of their school journey.