Curriculum Intention

Our curriculum is designed to provide regular opportunities for the children in our school to learn, show and promote our school values. This begins when children join our school in Reception. Our Catholic values underpin everything we do and what we aim to achieve for our children.

We provide first-hand learning experiences and allow our children to become excellent communicators, build interpersonal skills, develop resilience, take risks and become creative, critical thinkers. We do this with Christ at the heart of all we teach, so our children to grow with kindness and respect for all.

Our Early Years curriculum recognises that children join us at different starting points, having had different experiences. We build upon their prior knowledge based upon their unique needs and interests.

Curriculum Impact

The impact of our curriculum is measured by our children being confident, curious learners who are ready to access the National Curriculum when they move into Year 1. The children are well equipped with the skills to communicate confidently to ensure their own needs are met and positive relationships are formed and maintained. The children are keen to take on new life experiences and learning opportunities and are on their journey to becoming lifelong learners. They treat themselves and others with dignity and respect.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

Our focus is to make learning meaningful, exciting, memorable and inclusive. We do this to nurture a love of learning. Our curriculum considers not only what the children are learning but how this learning is happening. 

There are 3 main characteristics that drive our teaching and learning:

• playing and exploring
• active learning
• creating and thinking critically

These characteristics underpin learning across all areas and support children to become resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured learners. 

Playing and Exploring – Engagement

This characteristic refers to children’s natural curiosity and willingness to engage with new experiences.

Children at St. Augustine’s…

• Show curiosity about objects, events, and people
• Use their senses to explore the world around them
• Engage in open-ended activity
• Initiate activities and take risks and learn by trial and error
• Pretend objects are things from their experience (symbolic play eg. a box is a car)

Active Learning – Motivation

This focuses on children’s ability to persist with activities and their drive to achieve goals.

Children at St. Augustine’s..

• Get involved
• Maintain focus on our chosen tasks
• Showing high levels of energy and fascination
• Persist when difficulty or challenges occur
• Enjoy our achievements and proud moments
• Driven by intrinsic motivation 

Creating and Thinking Critically – Thinking

This refers to children’s ability to think independently and develop their own ideas.

Children at St. Augustine’s…

• Have their own ideas
• Make links between ideas
• Find new ways to do things
• Test ideas and make predictions
• Develop strategies for doing things

Areas of Learning

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets out 7 key areas of learning. These help your child develop the skills they need for school and life. There are 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas. 

The prime areas are the foundation for everything else your child will learn. Without developing these skills your child will find it hard to access the specific areas of the EYFS framework. Some examples of what is included in each area is included below.

Prime Areas

1. Communication and Language

• Listening carefully and understanding others
• Speaking clearly and expressing ideas, wants and needs
• Having conversations and learning new words

2. Physical Development

• Running, jumping, climbing, balancing (gross motor)
• Using tools like pencils, scissors, and paintbrushes (fine motor)
• Learning about health, hygiene, and independence

3. Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

• Making friends and forming positive relationships 
• Managing emotions and solving problems
• Building confidence and resilience
• Develop a positive sense of self and make healthy and safe choices

Specific Areas

These are more subject focused and built upon the skills of the prime areas.

4. Literacy

• Learning to read words and sentences 

• Comprehend language and what they have read 
• Writing letters, words, and simple, phonetically plausible sentences
• Enjoying books, rhymes, poems and stories
   

5. Mathematics

• Counting, comparing, and using numbers to 10 (and beyond)
• Having a deep understanding of numbers to 10
• Recognising shapes and patterns in numbers
• Solving problems (like sharing or measuring)
   

6. Understanding the World

• Support children to make sense or the world and their community
• Exploring nature, places, and people
• Talking about the past and present
• Using technology and noticing how things work
• Developing an understanding a social, cultural and ecologically diverse world
   

7. Expressive Arts and Design

• Developing an artistic and cultural awareness to support their imagination and creativity
• Drawing, painting, building, and creating
  Singing songs, dancing, and acting out stories from different cultures
• Exploring colour, texture, and musical sounds

Phonics:

Please click on the link below to access information about the teaching of phonics in our school.