Early Years Foundation Stage Westfield Primary Community School

Knowledge Organisers - Year 1 & 2- 2025/2026

Knowledge Organisers - EYFS - 2024 - 2025

Knowledge Organisers - EYFS - 2025-2026

Welcome to the Early Years Foundation Stage page (Reception & Nursery)

The Early Years Foundation Stage marks the beginning of most children’s school journey. At Westfield, we use the Development Matters framework to plan a carefully considered two-year cycle of learning. Our curriculum supports children across the seven key areas of learning:

Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

We have designed a skills-driven curriculum that is both structured and flexible, allowing us to adapt to the evolving interests and needs of our children.

Our Approach to Learning

We balance learning through a mix of whole class, small group and one-to-one teaching, alongside carefully planned Areas of Provision. These areas offer children opportunities to engage in open-ended, curiosity-led challenges, helping to deepen their understanding across all areas of learning.

We regularly reflect on each child’s progress and next steps, using these insights to create meaningful opportunities for success at every stage of their educational journey.

Communication and Language Development

Since 2019, we’ve proudly participated in the Early Talk for York project, which aims to boost children’s language and vocabulary and provide support for families who may need guidance around speech and language development. We use a wide range of strategies to nurture confident communication, including:

Close links with Speech and Language Therapists

Targeted activities in our dedicated Language Hub

Use the Wellcomm screening tool

A communication-rich environment across all areas of provision using ELKLAN

Phonics and Reading

We follow the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds phonics programme, with children participating in daily whole-class sessions to build strong reading and writing foundations. To support this, we use Collins Big Cat books, which align with the phonics scheme and encourage a love of reading both at school and at home.

Our Curriculum Themes

In the autumn term, our topics include All About Me and The Colour Monster, which support emotional development, self-awareness, and social interaction. Through these topics, we also enjoy performances of rhymes and stories that build teamwork and a love of learning.

Throughout the year, our curriculum explores a range of engaging themes, including:

Festivals and Christmas
The change in seasons
Animals and their habitats
Dinosaurs
Fairytales and mythical creatures
Human growth and development
Travel and the wider world
Healthy lifestyles
Superheroes
Aspirations for the future

While the skills content of our curriculum is carefully planned, we remain flexible and responsive to the children’s emerging interests, allowing their curiosity to help shape the direction of learning.

Working in Partnership with Families

We value strong partnerships with families and regularly invite you into school to take part in Family Learning sessions. This autumn, we will host a Story Time session and share updates via Marvellous Me. You’ll also receive invitations throughout the year for workshops on maths, phonics, and reading.

If you have any suggestions for future sessions or would like to know more about how you can support learning at home, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

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