Our EYFS Intent
In the Early Years Foundation Stage, we are proud to facilitate every child’s first step into the bespoke, stimulating and awe-inspiring curriculum that is delivered throughout their time at school.
We place the Christian values at the heart of what we do to inspire and ignite a lifelong love of learning. We provide a safe and nurturing environment in which children flourish in confidence, empowering them to lead their own learning and explore their interests through play. The staff care deeply and use their experience to scaffold the children’s learning and provide avenues of exploration through highly skilled and positive interactions. The environment is set up in a way that allows children to be independent learners and offers opportunities to develop creative thinking skills, through which the children’s resilience blossoms and equips them to deal with the triumphs and mistakes they experience on their learning journey. Through this approach we use the Characteristics of Effective Learning to plan and asses each child’s next steps. Staff enhance the areas of provision with resources that challenge, extend and run alongside the continuous provision, inspired by the children’s enthusiasms.
We offer opportunities to spark the children’s curiosity through adult planned themes linked to their interests, celebrations of key events and investigations into seasonal changes throughout the year. We establish a community and link this to the local community the children are familiar with in Calverley. We connect and foster close relationships with our families and use this as a springboard to discover and understand the wider world.
In Reception the daily timetable is structured in a way which allows for adult led carpet inputs, which bookend long periods of uninterrupted child led play. The inputs and adult led activities are always tailored to meet every child’s individual needs as well as building towards the end of year expectations. We deliver daily ‘Read, Write Inc’ Phonic sessions and class Maths, following the long-term plan. The Early Years Foundation works as a unit and the children have access to both classrooms and the outdoor area daily. The children leave reception intrinsically motivated and fully prepared, with the knowledge, skills and understanding they will need for their next stage of learning in Year 1.
Reception Curriculum Overview
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Autumn 1 2026-27 |
Autumn 2 2026-27 |
Spring 1 2026-27 |
Spring 2 2026-27 |
Summer 1 2026-27 |
Summer 2 2026-27 |
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R.E |
Why is the word God so important to Christians? - Creation |
Why do Christians perform nativity plays at Christmas? – Incarnation |
Where do we belong? Visit to a church to identify features of a church |
Why do Christians put a cross in an Easter Garden? - Salvation |
Which places are special and why? |
Which stories are special and why? |
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School Values Cycle 1 |
Service |
Peace |
Perseverance |
Responsibility |
Trust |
Truthfulness |
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School Values Cycle 2 2023-24 |
Friendship |
Reverence & Respect |
Humility |
Creation & Creativity |
Community |
Compassion |
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Reception Themes |
Getting to know you Elmer |
Christmas Seasonal Changes Autumn |
Toys from other Cultures Seasonal Changes Winter |
What could it be? Easter Seasonal Changes Spring Additional themed days: World Oral Health Day |
Caring for our world |
Love where you live - Calverley Transition Seasonal Changes Summer |
| Child Led retrospective Themes for 2026-27 | These will be added retrospectively to reflect child led interests. | |||||
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Taught Texts |
Pantosaurus and the power of pants! All are welcome Elmer My Hair |
Leaf Man Pumpkin Soup The Christmas Story |
The Smile Shop Toys Around the World |
Not a box The Easter Story Love you to the moon and back |
The life cycle of an Oak tree Somebody Swallowed Stanley Tidy |
Mad about Minibeasts |
| Taught Vocabulary |
Getting to know you Diversity, community, family, favourite, hobby, similar, feelings, emotions, belonging, welcome, Elmer colourful, multicoloured, patchwork, different, unique, kind, friend, pattern, celebrate, special, elephant, calf, |
Autumn deciduous, evergreen, harvest, season, hibernate, conker, acorn, changes, decay, mulch Remembrance Protect, conflict, remembrance, respect, defend, peace, Christmas Nativity, miracle, saviour, stable, Bethlehem, manger, frankincense, myrrh |
Winter Season, winter, frozen, icicle, melting, frost, mist, Toys past, history, worry dolls, puppet, culture, traditional, diabolo Church Visit Church: font, pulpit, altar, lectern, stained glass windows, pews |
What could it be? Bendy, bumpy, fold, stack, create, imagination, pretend, decorate, describe, connect, join Easter Lent, gratitude, sacrifice, charity, disciples, cross, Palm Sunday, prayer, betray |
pollution, recycle, reuse, materials, metal, plastic, wood, sea creature names, coral reef, earth, oceans, protect, nurture, environment Habitat, den, bark, nurture, nature, shelter, badger, nocturnal, oak, sapling, life cycle, |
UK, England, countryside, minibeast names, soil, damp, antennae, symmetrical, pollen, flower names, |
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Celebrate |
Harvest European Day of Languages |
Bonfire Night Children in Need Remembrance Day Diwali Black History Month Road Safety Week Advent Christmas |
New Year Lunar New Year Shrove Tuesday Lent Valentine's Day Children's Mental Health Week Internet Safety Day |
Mothering Sunday Easter World Book Day International Women's Day |
Walk to school Week Earth Day |
Father’s Day Transition |
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Visits/ visitors/ experiences |
Elmer visits school |
Autumn Welly Walk Santa visit |
Library visit with toys Church Visit |
World Book Day Kate Pankhurst - International Women's Day Signs of Spring walk |
Nell Bank |
Go Wild Day Calverley Allotments |
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Family Engagement |
Stay and Play - Reading theme Parents evening |
Stay and Play -Leaf Man focus Nativity |
Stay and Play - 'Maths focus Parents Evening |
Stay and Play - imagination focus Mothering Sunday Class Assembly |
Stay and Play - Writing focus Stay and Play session |
Father’s Day Celebration Sport’s Day Reports sent home Meet the Teacher |
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Phonics |
Set 1 sounds Read all single letter sounds speedily 26 sounds, orally blend and word time 1.1-1.4 |
Photocopiable Ditty and Teach Set 1 Special Friends Word time 1.5 |
Red Ditty Word time 1.6 and 1.7 |
Green Ditty First 6 of Set 2 Sounds and Green Words |
Purple Ditty Set 2 sounds contd and Green Words |
End of Purple Ditty Read all 37 sounds |
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Maths |
NumberBlocks 1-5 Place Value |
NumberBlocks 1-5 Place Value Addition and Subtraction Fractions Patterns, Length and Height |
NumberBlocks 6-7 Place Value Addition and Subtraction 2D Shape |
NumberBlocks 8-10 Place Value Addition and Subtraction Fractions 3D Shape |
NumberBlocks 0-10 Place Value Addition and Subtraction Fractions Doubling and Halving |
Recap and revisit: Capacity Money Time 2D Shape 3D Shape (These are taught throughout the year but revisited explicitly in the final half term) |