At Southbury, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) encompasses provision for children aged two to five. We are proud to offer Nursery places for two-year-olds through the government-funded Terrific Twos programme, enabling early access to high-quality early education.

We recognise the Early Learning Goals (ELGs), as set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, as key developmental milestones that children are expected to achieve by the end of the Reception year. However, our curriculum extends well beyond these goals. It is carefully designed to be both child-led and literature-rich, with our carefully selected Core Books forming the backbone of topic immersion and thematic exploration.

Continuing with The Power of Reading, we engage children in meaningful contexts that promote not only early language acquisition and comprehension but also curiosity, empathy, and deeper understanding of the world around them. These texts act as a springboard into wider learning, allowing children to explore topics across all areas of the EYFS curriculum in an engaging and developmentally appropriate way.

Learning opportunities are intentionally planned to be purposeful, embedded, and experiential, enabling children to practise and consolidate key knowledge and skills. We use a continuous provision model, where carefully planned resources and environments are made consistently available across the setting. This ensures that children have ongoing access to meaningful, open-ended learning experiences that reinforce prior teaching and foster independence, creativity, and sustained shared thinking.

As children progress into Reception, the structure of the day begins to incorporate more formal learning opportunities. Children take part in daily phonics sessions, as well as regular carpet times for Maths and Literacy, where key concepts are explicitly taught through engaging, interactive sessions. These whole-class and small-group inputs are balanced with opportunities to explore and apply learning independently through continuous provision, ensuring that all children are supported to achieve a strong foundation for their future learning.

Our planning remains responsive and dynamic, with the needs, interests, and developmental stages of the children always at the forefront. This flexible approach allows practitioners to skilfully adapt provision in real time, ensuring that learning remains relevant, challenging, and inclusive for every child.