EYFS Curriculum
Welcome to our Early Years Foundation Stage, where curiosity is celebrated and every child’s journey begins with joy. In our nurturing environment, children learn through play, exploration and meaningful experiences that help them grow in confidence and independence. We work closely with families to ensure every child feels valued, supported and excited to discover the world around them.
Our Nursery and Reception classes form the Foundation Stage, which caters for children from 3-5 years old. They follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum.
The revised EYFS framework sets the standards that we follow to ensure that children have the knowledge and skills they need to start school. We focus on the Seven Features of Effective Practice and use the Development Matters as a guide to plan our curriculum. Development Matters is not a checklist of things that your child should do, rather it is guidance for adults who work with children, to help them to support and embed your child’s learning journey.
The Early Learning Goals (the knowledge, skills and understanding which young children should have acquired by the end of the reception year) are set out in the ‘Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’
The 7 areas of learning and development are broken down into Prime and Specific areas. These are as follows;
Prime Areas
Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
Communication and Language (C&L)
Physical Development (PD)
Specific Areas
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World (UW)
Expressive Arts and Design
At Westwood Park we believe these 7 areas to be equally important and depend on each other to support a rounded approach to child development. In Nursery, we focus on behaviours for learning which are developed through the Prime Areas and supported by the Specific Areas. In Reception however, as children develop and grow through the year more emphasis is placed on developing the Specific Areas including reading, writing and maths so that children can prepare for their next stages in learning into Key Stage 1.
In September, all children in Reception will take part in the Reception Baseline Assessment. Please see the information sheet for parents provided by the DfE to explain this process.
WellComm
WellComm is a screening tool that we use to identify a child's speech, language and communication needs. We use the WellComm toolkit to provide a variety of activities that support the development of communication skills. We also share targets with families so they can continue the learning at home.
Think Equal
We use the Think Equal programme to support our PSE and Understanding the World curriculum.
Outdoor
Every day we spend time outside in our outdoor continuous provision. We plan activities that link to our current topics and themes that allow children to consolidate their learning, as well as follow their lead and interests. The outdoor environment provides fantastic opportunities to develop skills and knowledge across all 7 areas of learning. We learn about the seasons, weather and appropriate clothing to wear. The outdoors also enables talking and language opportunities that might not be experienced inside.
Ofsted 2026:
A warm, purposeful and nurturing early years environment helps children to settle quickly and with confidence. The curriculum is carefully designed and well sequenced. Recent improvements ensure children get off to a great start to their education. Staff place a clear priority on high-quality interactions, which gives children many chances to develop essential communication and language skills. Staff receive regular training that helps them create an effective learning environment. They know when to offer children direct support and when to step back. For example, they work closely with children during focused activities such as developing their early writing skills, then allow children space to build confidence and independence. Indoor and outdoor activities offer many opportunities to support children's learning in early mathematics, reading, writing and physical development. Staff use their knowledge of early reading well. Children enjoy sharing picture books with staff and with their friends. Many learn letters and their sounds easily through well-designed activities. Staff build very positive relationships with parents and carers. This helps them understand children’s starting points. They adapt provision thoughtfully, especially for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those with other additional needs. Staff prioritise children’s personal, social and emotional development so that children feel safe, happy and secure. As a result, children thrive and are well prepared for Year 1.
