Welcome to our Early Years
St Mary’s is a family school and we know that starting school is not only a milestone in a child’s development, but is a big step for each family. Our goal is to support you in this transition to school and we do so in a variety of ways.
- We meet in the summer holidays for a Teddy Bears Picnic to help transition your child into our school.
- We offer a stay and play session prior to your child starting school so they can meet the teachers and adults from our Reception class.
- We visit you and your child at home - this enables your child to meet us again in a familiar environment. It also ensures that we can discuss any concerns with you prior to your child starting school.
You can find further information about our EYFS by clicking the link below.
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EYFS Curriculum Documents 2025 | [pdf 163KB] |
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The Reception Year
Chldren start St. Mary's in Reception. We aim to provide an engaging and dynamic learning environment that offers children ample opportunity to learn inside and out. We believe that there is no such thing as bad weather, just ineffective clothing! We carefully plan our provision to allow children to gain independence when accessing resources, asking for what they need and developing key skills across all seven areas of the EYFS curriculum. We start our phonics sessions as soon as children enter reception - this ensures that they are equipped to transition into year 1 when the time comes.
At St. Mary's, we aim to nurture resilient children who enjoy a challenge. We plan our tasks and activities to support children in their next steps whilst also savouring the moment they are in - they are only little for such a short time!
We offer our youngest learners a curriculum which ensures that they thrive in a talk-rich classroom supported by skilled staff. We support children in using the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning. These are;
- Play and engagement
- Active learning and motivation
- Creating and thinking critically
