Welcome to Beech Class

Early Years & Reception

This half term – People Who Help Us & Mother’s Day 💐🚒

This half term in EYFS, our children will be exploring the topic “People Who Help Us”. We will be learning about the different people in our community who help to keep us safe, healthy and happy, such as doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters and teachers. Through stories, role play, small world activities and discussions, the children will learn about the important jobs these people do and how they help us every day.

We will also be encouraging the children to talk about people who help them at home and in school, helping to build their confidence, communication skills and understanding of the world around them.

Alongside this, we will be celebrating Mother’s Day. The children will be talking about the special people in their families who care for them, including mums, grandmas and other important adults in their lives. We will be making special cards and gifts, and sharing stories about families and kindness. 💖

This topic supports the children’s personal, social and emotional development, as well as their language, creativity and understanding of the world. We are looking forward to a lovely half term full of learning, role play and special celebrations! 🎨

Little Artists in Beach Class!

Today, our Nursery and Reception children became observational drawing detectives!

They carefully looked at a plant on their table and drew everything they could see—its leaves, shapes, and tiny details. It was wonderful to see their creativity and concentration in action, and their drawings were full of colour and personality!

Amazing work, little artists!

 

REMINDERS –

We kindly remind all parents and carers that children should have a spare set of uniform in school at all times, as we regularly take part in messy play and outdoor learning.

All children also need a pair of wellies to keep in school so that they can access the outdoor area in all weather.

Reception children are expected to bring their reading packs into school every day, as we read regularly in class.

Please also remember that Forest School takes place every Thursday, so children need to bring suitable clothing for outdoor learning on this day. Thank you for your support.

Early Years Curriculum Intent

 

EYFS Subject Intent

At St Joseph’s RC Voluntary Academy, we aim to provide a motivating first-hand experience to enable children to learn more and remember more. We recognise that all children are unique individuals, and we acknowledge and promote children’s interests as well as encourage their resilience to look after their own mental health and wellbeing. We celebrate and welcome differences within our school community. We recognise children’s prior learning and various starting points and create a holistic curriculum that maximises cross curricular links and builds strong foundations for their future. Our EYFS curriculum is specifically designed and evolves to provide children with important foundational skills and knowledge that will later be enhanced and embedded in KS1. We use Development Matters 2022 to support the statutory framework and explore a balance of adult and child led themes encourages children to go on with their learning to reach their end goal.

Our pedagogy is inspired by the Curiosity Approach which ignites a child’s natural curiosity to explore the world around them. We ensure we have real life experiences and display open ended resources for the children to explore in play. Engagement is increased further by carefully planned themed days and trips. The Curiosity Approach allows children to make their own choices and, figure out things for themselves which leads to enhanced confidence, critical thinking and problems solving. We aim to create children who are ‘thinkers and doers’ instead of passive learners who simply follow the direction of an adult. We implement this by providing vibrant indoor and outdoor provision and enhance this with Forest School sessions. We promote children to take challenges, be positive and take a risk in their own learning. We work in close partnership with parents and carers throughout the year to support their learning and encourage children to reach their full potential.

Areas of Learning

The Prime Areas.

- Communication and language

- Physical Development

- Personal, Social and Emotional  

The Specific Areas:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Art and Design

The Curriculum is also set around the following learning characteristics:

• Playing and exploring 
• Active learning
• Creating and thinking critically