Please click on the icons below to see photos and updates for your child's class - Nursery or Reception.

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.

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. 

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework which covers expectations for children from birth to five years of age.

The EYFS Framework (Development Matters) explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development. Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development. These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. The professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like a curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it's suitable for very young children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child's unique needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.

The Early Years Foundation Stage follows a principled approach under four themes:

- A Unique Child

- Positive Relationships

- Enabling Environments

- Learning and Development

Children work towards the Early Learning Goals across seven areas of learning.

The three prime areas are crucial for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving.

The three Prime Areas are:

• Communication and language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Alongside these areas there are four Specific Areas, through which the Prime Areas are strengthened and applied.

The four Specific Areas are:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive Arts and Design

The Early Learning Goals (ELGs) are the goals or targets children are expected to achieve at the end of their Reception year. They will be working towards these goals throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are 17 ELGs across all the areas of learning as shown below.

Prime Areas

Specific Areas

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum underpins all future learning by supporting, fostering, promoting and developing children’s positive attitudes towards their education. We use well planned, play based, active learning, both indoors and outdoors, which is a key way in which young children learn with enjoyment and challenge. Ongoing observations of learning by staff inform next steps on a daily basis. Our enabling environment allows children opportunities to both direct their learning through play and to work on focused activities with supporting adults. Using a range of both child- initiated and adult- led activities helps our children to develop confidence, concentration, co-operation, curiosity, creativity, independence, self- esteem, the ability to communicate as well as enthusiasm and enjoyment for learning.

The Nursery and Reception team work very closely together, in constant discussion and communication, to ensure progression and consistently across the curriculum. In addition, we plan for individual needs, different learning styles and the interests of our children. We encourage our children to take ownership of their learning, and 'have a go', which provides them with the motivation to use their independent learning skills whilst also developing their creativity and imagination.

Our approach to teaching and learning is consistent across Nursery and Reception and we have a good balance between adult and child-led activities. The children have times when they are directly taught as a whole class, in small groups or 1:1 where reading, writing, communication and number skills can be developed. Our rooms and resources are organised and planned so that children can explore and experiment in a safe and enabling environment whilst having the opportunity to apply and consolidate their skills across a range of learning areas.