At St. John’s CE Primary School, we want our children to enjoy coming to school, for them and their families to be members of our school community, while equipping them with the knowledge, skills, interests, and attributes for the next part of their education.

Our curriculum is planned to foster happy, inquisitive, independent and motivated learners who display the characteristics of effective learning. It is also designed to provide Cultural Capital opportunities for our children to experience awe and wonder of the world in which they live.  We broaden their experiences by celebrating festivals such as Diwali, Hanukkah and Chinese New Year. We invite visitors to school and take our children out of school to introduce them to new places and people such as police officers, doctors, vets. Our children experience local visits: to the church, library, Plaza Community Cinema and the beach, as well as visits further afield such Farmer Teds. We provide healthy snacks and children are physically active every day.

Children learn best when they are thoroughly engaged in high quality play. At St John’s, children's play is supported by skilled adults who know how and when to move children on in their learning.

Our staff understand the vital role they play in increasing the vocabulary of our children. Our environments are ‘word rich’ and stories are read aloud to children. Our reception class visits the local library each half term, becoming members of Crosby Library during their first visit.

We recognise the importance of building early partnerships with parents and carers to help support with learning and encouraging children to reach their full potential. We use Class Dojo and Seesaw platforms to share messages, information and photographs of children’s learning experiences.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage which breaks the curriculum into 7 areas of learning. Each area of learning is important and the areas overlap.

1. Personal and Social Development

We support children in developing confidence and independence. We encourage them to begin to form positive relationships and respect for each other. Children learn about appropriate behaviour in groups, and how to manage their feelings.

2. Communication and Language Development

We provide a language rich environment, encouraging the children to speak and listen in a variety of situations. We provide extra support for those children who need to build confidence or develop their speaking skills.

3. Physical Development

We give children opportunities to be active and to develop their co-ordination, control and movement. We also teach children about the importance of good hygiene habits, fresh air and healthy food choices.

4. Literacy

Children are given access to a wide range of books and stories to ignite their interest. They are encouraged to link sounds and letters, and early reading and writing is developed.

5. Mathematics

Children are provided with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems and to describe shapes, spaces and measures.

6. Understanding the World

We support children’s understanding of the world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about places, people, technology and the environment.

7. Expressive Art and Design

Children explore a wide range of media and materials. We encourage them to share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role play and design technology.

CULTURAL CAPITAL 

Cultural Capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. In EYFS, it is about giving children the best possible start to their early education.

At St. John's, we firmly believe that every child is unique and every home has a cultural capital that is of great importance to the child. We strive to build our children's cultural capital by providing them with opportunities and experiences that excite and stimulate them every day. We also plan and provide the children with first hand experiences they may not experience outside of school.  

Here are some examples of curriculum enhancements in the EYFS.