Early Years Curriculum Impact Statement

At South Street Primary School, we are committed to nurturing happy, confident, and engaged learners. Our Early Years curriculum is designed to foster both emotional well-being and academic achievement through a personalised, play-based approach that places each child at the heart of their learning journey.

We place a strong emphasis on emotional development, regularly using the Leuven Scales to assess well-being and involvement. Our dedicated staff engage in daily observations and interactions, using these insights to craft meaningful, responsive learning experiences tailored to each child’s interests, needs, and developmental stage.

Our curriculum is dynamic and inclusive, evolving each year to meet the diverse needs of our cohorts—including children with SEND, EAL, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We utilise PLODS (Possible Lines of Development) to guide next steps and ensure that learning through play is purposeful and impactful.

The success of our curriculum is evident in the enthusiasm and curiosity of our children. They thrive in our nurturing environment, making strong progress from their starting points. By the end of Reception, many children meet or exceed national expectations, equipped with the skills and confidence to continue their educational journey.

Our Early Years Intent: Why We Teach What We Teach

The EYFS curriculum at South Street Primary School aims to:

“support knowledge, confidence, risk-taking and autonomy in the children’s learning through play and playful interactions” so that “each child is supported according to their needs, by educators who use a range of different teaching and learning strategies, together with a comprehensive and relevant content knowledge, that they apply flexibly with contextual, individual and socio-cultural sensitivity.”
— Iram Siraj et al., 2018

At South Street Primary School, we are committed to creating strong foundations for every child, on which lifelong learning can be built. We provide a nurturing and inclusive Early Years environment where each child is recognised as a unique individual with their own strengths, interests, and needs.

We celebrate the diverse cultures, languages, and experiences our children bring, fostering a strong sense of identity, belonging, and respect for others. We are dedicated to inclusive practice, ensuring that children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are supported through personalised, responsive approaches that help them thrive.

We are passionate about broadening children’s horizons through new experiences and hands-on, experiential learning. From exploring nature in our school grounds to engaging with visitors, trips, and seasonal learning, we offer rich opportunities that spark curiosity and deepen understanding.

Recognising that many of our children face early challenges—particularly in speech, language, and emotional development—we prioritise language-rich, play-based learning and create communication-friendly spaces where children feel safe, nurtured, and inspired to explore.

Our holistic curriculum—co-created with families and with the children— promotes creativity, independence, and kindness. and encourages a love of reading, writing, number, and nature.  The foundations we provide aim to encourage each child to be happy, healthy, and to aspire to achieve their own dreams, goals, and aspirations for success.

Curriculum Overview

Using 0–5 Matters Guidance in Early Years Planning

At South Street Primary School we use the 0–5 Matters guidance to inform our planning and provision. It helps us identify each child’s current stage of development and plan meaningful next steps in their learning journey. By referring to the guidance, we can tailor our environment, interactions, and experiences to ensure they are developmentally appropriate and responsive to the individual needs, interests, and strengths of every child.

Our curriculum is underpinned by:

Overarching principles that guide the EYFS:

 A Unique Child

Positive Relationships

Enabling Environments

Learning and Development

Our curriculum provides opportunities for children to learn and develop through the interconnected:

Characteristics of Effective Learning:

• Engagement
  • Motivation
  • Creative and Critical Thinking

The Prime Areas of Learning and Development:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Communication and Language
  • Physical Development

The Specific Areas of Learning and Development:

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

These areas of learning and development add to the unique funds of knowledge that each individual brings to our school.

How We Teach

Our Early Years curriculum is rooted in play, exploration, and collaboration. We balance child-initiated learning with adult-guided teaching, creating a nurturing environment where children are active participants in their learning journey.

Plan, Do, Review and Message Boards

Children spend time each day in small groups with their key person, focusing on personal, social, and emotional development. Message boards help children recall past learning, introduce new ideas, and share their thoughts. Plan, Do, Review sessions and the Characteristics of Effective Learning are embedded throughout the day to promote motivation, engagement, and critical thinking.

Oracy and Communication

We prioritise oracy development throughout the day. Children are encouraged to express their ideas, listen to others, and build vocabulary through:

• Opportunities to talk and communicate during play
• Storytelling and role-play
• Plan, Do, Review times, where children share ideas, reflect on their learning, and respond to others
• Adult modelling of rich language and social courtesies, such as turn-taking, greetings, and polite conversation

These experiences help children become confident communicators and lay strong foundations for literacy and social development.

Learning Through Play and Purpose

• We believe that children learn best through hands-on experiences, allowing them to build knowledge from direct, first-hand encounters. These experiences not only deepen understanding but also support the development of meaningful and relevant vocabulary. As such, we prioritise offering a rich and varied range of experiences as an integral part of our curriculum, ensuring that learning is both engaging and rooted in the real world.
• In Nursery, early maths and literacy are taught through songs, stories, and everyday routines.
• In Reception, children experience more structured daily sessions in phonics, English, and maths, while still learning through play. 

Teaching Writing

Writing is taught through real-life, purposeful opportunities that help children see themselves as writers. They write messages, signs, and lists in meaningful contexts across the learning environment.

We also teach transcription skills explicitly, including:

• Letter formation
• Beginning to recognise patterns in spelling
• Phonics knowledge through the Little Wandle programme

This balanced approach builds both the mechanics of writing and the motivation to write, supporting confident, independent writers.

Reading and Language

• We follow the Little Wandle phonics programme.
• A love of reading is nurtured through cosy reading areas, story sharing, and regular visits to the school and local library.
• Carefully chosen texts support language development and progression from simple stories to independent reading.

Mathematics

• Our learning environments are mathematically rich, offering children daily opportunities to explore number, shape, and measures through interaction with the world around them.
• Children explore number, shape, and measures through hands-on activities and real-life contexts.
• Consistent use of visual and concrete resources helps build deep understanding and confidence.

Inclusive and Responsive Teaching

• All children learn together, with support tailored to individual needs.
• Observations inform planning, ensuring a bespoke curriculum that reflects each child’s interests and next steps.

Wellbeing and PSHE

• We use the Jigsaw programme to support emotional literacy, resilience, and mindfulness.
• The Leuven Scales of Well-being and Involvement are used regularly to monitor and support each child’s happiness, engagement, and emotional development.
• Children learn to build positive relationships and develop self-awareness in a safe, supportive environment.

If you would like further information about the curriculum, please contact Mrs Wynn in the school office.