Welcome to Early Years (EYFS) at Hindley Junior and Infant School
At Hindley Junior and Infant School, we live by our school motto: Believe and Achieve. We firmly believe that “Behind every young child who believes in themselves is an adult who believed first.” Our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides an exciting, engaging, and thought-provoking curriculum tailored to meet the needs of every single child. By balancing a well-structured curriculum with purposeful play, child-led interests, and high-quality interactions, we ensure we are getting it right from the very start—building the vital academic, social, and life skills our children need to thrive.
Our Philosophy and Aims
We are dedicated to giving your child the best possible start to their education within a safe, happy environment where they feel a true sense of belonging. Our key aims are to:
- Promote Holistic Development: We actively remove barriers and unlock opportunities, nurturing well-rounded, confident young citizens.
- Raise Aspirations: Through life-enhancing experiences, we encourage our children, families, and community to Believe and Achieve, equipping them with the cultural capital needed for lifelong success.
- Prepare for Future Success: We establish the foundational knowledge, skills, and routines necessary for future schooling and life in modern Britain.
- Maintain High Expectations: We hold high ambitions for every child, regardless of their starting point, providing targeted, tailored support to achieve excellent outcomes.
Our Sequential Approach: Our curriculum is intentionally designed so that new knowledge and experiences connect to what children already know. This systematic approach ensures vital concepts are embedded into their long-term memory, perfectly preparing them for Key Stage 1.
Curriculum Implementation & Teaching
In our Early Years setting, we expertly blend explicit, adult-led instruction and small-group time with high-quality, focused continuous provision.
By utilising distributed practice, we regularly revisit key concepts to ensure deep, permanent learning takes place. Our ambitious framework ensures all children make robust progress across both the Prime and Specific areas of learning, successfully working towards the Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
Areas of Learning: Bringing Our Curriculum to Life
1. Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
We empower children to be safe, happy, and confident individuals. We teach effective self-regulation strategies and use co-regulation to help them understand and manage their emotions. Through warm adult guidance, children learn to form strong friendships, resolve conflicts calmly, and follow daily routines.
We explicitly weave our school’s Seven Core Characteristics into daily life:
Respect, Resilience, Honesty, Determination, Confidence, Cooperation, Ambition
2. Physical Development
Our fantastic outdoor environment acts as an extension of the classroom, offering constant opportunities for discovery and collaboration, rain or shine.
- Gross Motor Skills: Climbing frames, den building, and large-scale construction enhance core strength, upper body stability, and coordination.
- Fine Motor Skills: Intricate indoor and outdoor tasks—using tools, malleable materials, and creative resources—build the dexterity needed for writing.
- Structured Progress: Daily fine motor activities and weekly physical activity sessions support progressive physical growth.
3. Communication and Language
Communication sits at the very heart of everything we do. Our well-trained staff expertly “tune in” to children’s play—commenting, repeating, and rephrasing to expand vocabulary and stimulate critical thinking. Our language-rich environments feature vibrant communication spaces, and children are explicitly taught active listening and how to use “talk partners” to collaborate.
4. Reading and Phonics
From day one, children are immersed in high-quality stories, rhymes, and poems. We use the Systematic Synthetic Phonics (SSP) approach Read Write Inc. Children learn new sounds daily, practice reading and writing words, and take part in regular retrieval practice.
- Targeted Support: Regular assessments ensure children work in progress groups tailored to their needs so no child is left behind.
- Home Reading: Phonics-matched books are sent home daily to build confidence and fluency.
5. Writing
Children are encouraged to write and mark-make daily through a clear progression of skills. We begin with large-scale mark-making and sensory play, moving steadily to pre-writing shapes and correct letter formation linked to our phonics program. Creative storytelling initiatives are used to spark imagination and build confidence in early writing.
6. Mathematics
Maths is seamlessly woven into our daily routines—from counting children during registration to tracking the calendar and voting for our daily stories. We follow a structured mastery approach, breaking the curriculum into manageable blocks. This hands-on method ensures children build a deep, secure understanding of numbers, shapes, spatial awareness, and patterns.
7. Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Our curriculum centres around the child’s place in the world, providing rich, real-life experiences like nature walks, community visits, and hands-on exploration. We celebrate the similarities and differences among families, cultures, and festivals, guiding children to explore scientific concepts and talk about the past.
8. Expressive Arts and Design
Our creative curriculum fosters a lifelong love for the arts. Children independently explore colours, textures, and materials using a broad range of mediums (paints, clay, textiles) and techniques (printing, collage, sculpture). We introduce them to diverse, inspiring artists to broaden their cultural horizons and encourage unique self-expression.
Our Learning Environment
Our EYFS environments are calm, beautifully organised, and purposeful spaces designed to support independent learning. We use carefully planned, high-quality resources to engage young minds, foster curiosity, and promote creativity. Quiet spaces are available for reflection, and we proudly display the children’s work to foster a deep sense of pride, ambition, and belonging.
Parental Engagement: Working Together
We pride ourselves on building strong, collaborative relationships with parents and carers to ensure we get it right from the start. We keep you closely involved in your child’s learning journey through:
- Explore and learn sessions: Children are welcomed into our classroom for short bursts to familiarise themselves with the environment. Parents are welcome into school to collaborate in the hall.
- An Open-Door Policy: Friendly staff available before and after school to discuss your child’s day.
- Themed days: Parents are invited in to celebrate key events such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
- Trips: We always ask for parent volunteers to support our exciting trips.
- WOW experiences: We will invite you to attend a number of extra events such as Church visits and the Christmas Nativity.
- Parental Workshops: Focused sessions providing practical ideas to support reading, phonics, and early maths at home.
- Digital Communication & Updates: Regular updates, notices, and celebrations of learning shared directly with families.
- Progress Meetings: Termly consultations to discuss your child’s incredible achievements, growth, and next steps.
- School events: We host a number of events that you can attend and enjoy together as a family such as Easter Bunny Bingo and the Summer Fair.
Useful links:
Topmarks – Free Interactive Learning Games, Maths Worksheets & Teaching Resources