Early Years Foundation Stage 

INTENT

At Ashlands, we want our children to leave the Foundation Stage as resilient individuals with a positive sense of self and as confident communicators who share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. The curriculum will enable them to be active listeners who show mutual respect as they work with others, problem-solve, and make decisions.

As individuals, they will understand their role within the community and their value in serving others. The curriculum is designed to help children grow not only academically but spiritually—fostering kindness, empathy, and a sense of connectedness to others and the world.

We aim to instil a lifelong love of learning and nurture a sense of awe, wonder, and curiosity about the world around them. Fostering a love of reading will allow them to further explore and immerse themselves in stories and experiences that broaden their horizons, spark imagination, and deepen their understanding of life in all its fullness.

We want children to leave the Foundation Stage enriched by a wide range of meaningful, hands-on, and relevant experiences that help shape them into confident, thoughtful, and compassionate individuals.

IMPLEMENTATION

At Ashlands, our Foundation curriculum is designed to support our school vision of helping all children reach their full potential—academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually—regardless of their background, abilities, or additional needs.

We do this by building strong, nurturing relationships that allow children to thrive. High-quality adult interactions and expert teaching support each child’s development within a carefully constructed environment that promotes wonder, exploration, and purposeful play. Both indoor and outdoor provision is enriched with opportunities for reflection, collaboration, and creativity—supporting each child’s journey towards living life in all its fullness.

All children have access to a rich and diverse reading environment, filled with high-quality texts that represent their identities, interests, and the wider world. A robust, structured approach to phonics, alongside continuous formative assessment, ensures that all children are supported and challenged to meet their individual needs and make meaningful progress.

IMPACT

At Ashlands, the school values underpin all teaching and learning. Children are encouraged to show friendship, trust, and forgiveness when working with others; to pursue aspiration and perseverance in developing independence; and to practise compassion and respect when exploring different people, communities, and perspectives.

By the time children leave the Foundation Stage:

• Children’s fluency and mastery incrementally improve.
• Children know more, remember more, and can do more.
• Children achieve at least a good level of development and are ready for the next stage in their education—equipped with curiosity, confidence, and the ability to approach the world with kindness and joy.
• They have experienced a curriculum that supports their emotional, social, academic, and spiritual growth, enabling them to flourish and begin to live life in all its fullness.

Parents are kept informed about their child’s progress through regular parent-teacher conferences and end-of-year reports, which draw on insights from continuous assessment throughout the year.