Early Years at St Mary & All Saints: Let Our Light Shine

At SMAS, our EYFS is where the spark of learning begins. We believe every child has a unique light to shine, and our mission is to provide a safe, nurturing environment where they can develop the confidence to make a difference—to themselves, their peers, and the world around them.

Our Values in Action

We don't just teach the curriculum; we live our values through play and discovery:

• Kindness: Building warm, positive relationships and learning to care for our community.

• Respect: Valuing ourselves, our environment, and the diverse adults and peers we encounter.

• Resilience: Finding the courage to try new things, take risks, and keep going when things are tricky.

• Curiosity: Igniting a love of learning through an enquiring mind and creative expression.

How We Learn

We follow the Statutory Framework for the EYFS, balancing child-led exploration with expert adult-led teaching. Our indoor and outdoor environments are designed to be an "extra teacher," offering stimulating resources that challenge children to become independent, lifelong learners.

We focus on the three Prime Areas—Communication, Physical Development, and PSED—and apply these through Literacy, Maths, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts.

 

A Partnership for Progress

Every child's journey is unique. From the National Baseline onwards, our experienced teachers and Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) use high-quality observations to map out "next steps" tailored to your child’s strengths.

We work hand-in-hand with parents and carers, sharing information regularly to ensure that by the time our pupils reach their Early Learning Goals, they are ready to step into the rest of their school life with their light shining brightly.

 

The Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage (Revised 2025)

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework was developed to support children’s learning and development from birth to five years.  The Areas of Learning and Development in the Framework have three prime areas:

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

 

We also support children in four specific areas through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied these are:

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