Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at High Ash

Children join our Foundation Stage from a range of nursery settings. We visit all of these prior to starting to ensure a smooth transition to our school, alongside offering a series of transition sessions during the Summer Term so that our new children are familiar with the environment and staff before September.

Our learning spaces are welcoming, inspiring, and engaging. Children have continuous access to three vibrant environments, including an indoor learning zone, an outdoor courtyard, and our dedicated playground space.

Our Approach

• Ambition, Challenge & Year 1 Alignment: Our curriculum is built upon the latest statutory EYFS framework and Development Matters, adaptively tailored to ignite curiosity, maximise progress, and challenge every learner. Clear termly progressive milestones ensure foundational knowledge, core motor skills (using the IAACW Skills Ladder), and early concepts seamlessly prepare children for Key Stage 1.

• Early Disciplinary Inquirers: Children do not just explore—they learn how to think like subject specialists through child-initiated and adult-guided play. Practitioners explicitly model habits of enquiry so children learn to observe like Scientists, investigate family past and present like Historians, navigate environments like Geographers, and design with purpose like Engineers and Artists.

• Rich Language & Book-Led Learning: Reading and communication form the bedrock of our provision. Learning is designed around high-quality, progressive texts that foster a lifelong love of books and enrich children's spoken vocabulary. Practitioners use structured interaction models—including the SHREC framework (Share attention, Respond, Expand, Conversation) and "Watch, Wait, Wonder"—to model Tier 2/3 "Star Words" and extend thinking during play.

• Systematic Phonics & Reading: We follow the Read, Write Inc. scheme for Phonics, matching each child’s reading book directly to the sounds they have mastered. We partner closely with families by offering Phonics and Reading Workshops alongside termly "See Us Shine" sessions, where children share their achievements with their families.

• Structured Direct Teaching & Continuous Provision: Daily key inputs in Literacy (phonics, shared reading, story discussion) and Mathematics (cardinality, subitising, and spatial reasoning) equip children with core knowledge. They then independently apply, test, and refine these skills within high-quality play zones—including construction, role-play, small world, sand, water, and creative art hubs.

• Experiential Learning & Managed Challenge: Children engage in hands-on, real-world learning within specialised provision zones—such as our Peter Moorhouse woodworking bench and outdoor Forest School fire pit area. Supported by strict safety routines, children develop physical dexterity, perseverance, risk-benefit management, and positive learning attitudes.

• Co-Regulation & Continuous Formative Assessment: Practitioners hold weekly progress reviews to adapt continuous provision to children's immediate needs, helping them learn to edit, refine, and deepen their play. Clear co-regulation prompts and quiet reflection spaces support children's personal, social, and emotional development (PSED), fostering high levels of self-regulation and independence.