Early Years Foundation Stage

We warmly welcome you to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at St Luke's, where children build strong foundations for a lifelong love of learning. 

At St Luke's, our EYFS team is committed to providing high-quality education and care that reponds to the individual needs, interests, and starting points of all children. Through purposeful, active learning experiences, stimulating and creative learning environments, and the guidance of skilled, passionate practitioners, we aim to nuture, support, and challenge every child to reach their full potential. Guided by our school vision, "With the love of God, Shine, Lead, Inspire!", we create a nurturing and inclusive environment where every child feels valued, confident, and encouraged to flourish.

Our school values are at the heart of all we do. We build trust through strong relationships with children and families, foster open-mindedness as children explore new ideas, and promote respect for themselves, others and the world around them. We nurture a caring attitude, encourage honesty in communication, inspire children to be ever-hopeful, and support their spiritual development through reflection, wonder, and awe.

Our intent is for all children to develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and positive attitudes needed for successful learning throughout their school life, while laying strong foundations for a lifelong love of learning.

We carefully plan each day to ensure a balance between adult-led and child-initiated learning, promoting the Characterisitcs of Effective Learning and supporting children to engage in deep, meaningful learning experiences. High-quality resources are thoughtfully selected and linked to core texts, learning intentions, and progressive skill development, while also providing open-ended opportunities that encourage creativity, imagination, and independent enquiry. Skilled practitioners observe, support, and challenge children to extend their learning. 

Our Storybook Curriculum plays a central role in immersing children in high-quality texts, with a strong focus on developing oracy, vocabulary, storytelling, and a love of reading from an early age.

We recognise that every child develops at their own pace and that learning happens in different ways for each child. We place a strong emphasis on the Prime Areas of Learning, particulary Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication and Language, to ensure children build the essential foundations for future learning. Children become happy, confident, curious and independent learners, leaving the EYFS at St Luke's well prepared with the skills, knowledge and confidence to successfully transition into Key Stage one and beyond. 

As an EYFS team, we aim to:

• Create a stimulating learning environment that allows each child to take risks and become confident to try new things.
• Ensure every child recieves a broad and balanced education of the highest standard, helping them discover their inidividual strengths.
• Provide a safe, caring, and happy community where every child feels nurtured and supported.
• Encourage respect for each other and the world we live in.
• Develop reflective, resourceful, resilient, confident, and independent learners through play-based learning.
• Nurture the spiritual, moral, social, emotional, and physical wellbeing of each child.
• Build strong relationships with families, working in partnership to support their child's learning and create an open and welcoming school community.

If you would like to find out more about our EYFS curriculum, explore our engaging learning environments and meet our EYFS staff, please contact the school office to arrange a visit.