Early Years Foundation Stage

Our Early Years Curriculum sets the high standards that we must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well. It promotes independence and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

---

Learning at St Patrick's

All children at St Patrick’s deserve the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. From the very start in our Nursery and Reception, children develop quickly. Their experiences, between the time they enter our Nursery at the age of three and leave our Reception at the age of five, have a major impact on their personal development, progress through the school, significant academic achievements and future life chances. Both good parenting and high quality early learning in our school provide the foundation our children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

---

Our Early Years Curriculum seeks to provide:

Quality and consistency in Nursery and Reception for all groups of learners so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind

A secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of individual children and are assessed and reviewed regularly

Equality of opportunity ensuring that every child is included and supported

Partnership working between school staff and with parents/carers

---

Overarching principles

Four guiding principles shape practice in our early years setting. These are:

Uniqueness: Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured

Relationships :Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships

Enviroment: Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between staff and families.

Development:We place great importance on learning and development. We recognise that children develop and learn at different rates.

---