Our Early Years Curriculum and Pedagogy

At Crosslee Community Primary School, our EYFS curriculum is deeply rooted in cognitive science and underpinned by the principles of the EYFS Statutory Framework (2024), Development Matters (2021)and the DfE’s Strong Foundations guidance. Together, these documents shape a curriculum that is ambitious, coherently sequenced and designed to give every child—regardless of starting point—the strongest possible beginning to their education.

Our aim is to provide opportunities for children to develop as independent, confident and successful learners with high aspirations, who know how to make a positive contribution to their community and wider society. Our curriculum is language‑rich, broad and balanced, ensuring that all pupils gain essential knowledge, skills and understanding as they begin their educational journey. It supports children to progress from their individual starting points and prepares them securely for the next stage of their education.

The Strong Foundations document emphasises the importance of:

• high‑quality adult–child interactions

• a well‑sequenced curriculum that builds knowledge cumulatively

• early language as the foundation for all learning

• responsive, knowledgeable practitioners

• rich, meaningful experiences that deepen understanding

These principles are embedded throughout our EYFS provision.

Curriculum Design and Progression

Our Nursery units are centred around Development Matters (2021), ensuring alignment with the non‑statutory guidance that supports children’s development across all seven areas of learning. In Reception, children revisit and deepen these units in a wider, more sophisticated way, enabling schema to build effectively. New learning connects to prior knowledge, supporting secure encoding into long‑term memory and managing intrinsic cognitive load (Sweller, 1998).

Our goal is for all children to be happy, engaged and motivated learners across all units.

Our Units of Learning

Below is an updated, progression‑focused overview of our Nursery and Reception units.

Nursery → Reception

Wonderful Me → Myself and My Health

Nursery: Children learn about physical similarities and differences, including age, height and features such as hair, skin and eye colour. They explore their likes and preferences, their place within their family and school community, and use their senses in exploratory play.

Reception: Children build on this by exploring personal history, family structures and community roles. They are introduced to emotional regulation strategies and learn about healthy lifestyles, including diet, exercise and mental wellbeing.

Family and Celebrations → Festivals of Light

Nursery: Children learn about celebrations such as birthdays, Diwali, Harvest, Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day and Christmas. They explore similarities and differences between celebrations and identify those celebrated in their own families.

Reception: Children deepen this knowledge by exploring Hindu, Jewish and Christian festivals of light and naming associated places of worship. They learn about day and night, light and dark, and observe seasonal change, nocturnal animals and shadows.

My Favourite Story → Stories Old and New, From Far and Wide

Nursery: Children learn how stories are structured and develop story language through traditional tales. They explore similarities and differences between stories.

Reception: Children explore traditional tales from a range of cultures, hear alternative versions and begin to invent their own. They compare aspects of stories from the past with their lives today.

Travel and Journeys → Travelling Around the World

Nursery: Children learn about different modes of transport and make connections with their own experiences and places around the world.

Reception: Children compare life in this country with other places globally. They explore famous landmarks, cities, cultures and languages. They consider different types of transport and their uses, and draw maps of the school and local area.

Growing → Growing and Changing

Nursery: Children learn about plants, animals and minibeasts and how to care for them. They explore the human life cycle and observe real butterfly life cycles. They learn about healthy eating and lifestyles.

Reception: Children deepen their understanding of plant life cycles by planting and growing seeds. They study the life cycle of chickens and articulate observations about weather and seasonal change. They engage in scientific exploration, including ice melting.

Amazing Animals → Animals and Their Habitats

Nursery: Children learn about farm and zoo animals, where they live, and the names of young animals.

Reception: Children explore a range of habitats around the world and why they are suitable for different animals. They learn about caring for the planet, including reducing, reusing and recycling to protect habitats.

Our Pedagogical Approach

Through the seven areas of learning, we provide topics that excite and engage children, building on their interests and broadening their experiences of the world. Our curriculum is delivered through a combination of:

• high‑quality adult‑led and teacher‑taught sessions

• purposeful, stimulating continuous provision

• skilful interactions that extend language and thinking

• opportunities for children to revisit, practise and embed learning

This aligns with the Strong Foundations emphasis on high‑quality interactions, curriculum coherence and meaningful play.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

Through our EYFS curriculum, children continually demonstrate their ability to:

• Play and explore

• Learn actively

• Create and think critically

These characteristics are central to our approach and underpin all learning experiences.

Our Commitment to Children and Families

At Crosslee Community Primary School, we value strong partnerships with parents and carers. Working together ensures that children are happy, independent learners who thrive and reach their full potential.

We recognise every child as a unique individual and celebrate the diversity within our community. We aim to inspire and motivate all children to participate actively in the curriculum, experience enjoyment and transition into Key Stage One with confidence and curiosity, ready to meet the challenges of an ever‑changing world.