EYFS Curriculum

EYFS Curriculum Intent Statement

At John Burns Primary School we:

• provide a high-quality, broad and balanced EYFS curriculum that is relevant to the needs of the children;
• place great importance on an EYFS curriculum that develops the whole child – socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually and spiritually;
• have high aspirations and firmly believe that pupils are entitled to an ambitious EYFS curriculum that is accessible to all, including children with SEND and disadvantaged backgrounds; and  
• have planned and sequenced an EYFS curriculum with distinct end points and themes which run through each area of learning leading to an accumulation of knowledge, skills and memories to draw upon in their next stage of learning.

The EYFS curriculum is designed to be challenging, engaging and exciting so that children can reach and exceed their potential. It is where our curriculum starts for every subject/area of learning, and is also designed to prepare all children for the start of Year 1.

Curriculum Design

We follow the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, updated September 2021, by the DfE. This framework specifies the requirements for learning and development in the Early Years and outlines three Prime Areas and four Specific Areas of learning we must cover. 

The three Prime Areas are: 

The four Specific Areas are:

The EYFS curriculum at John Burns is completely bespoke and ensures children access key concepts and skills to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding as historians, geographers, artists and designers. Planning is through a topic-led approach.  

Our topic curriculum of linked themes is based around a concept called ‘The 3Ps’ and includes the following specific areas of learning: Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

Other areas of learning are taught discretely at John Burns. These subjects include: Phonics, Literacy, Maths and Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED), as well as other aspects of Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design that are not included within topics.    

The term ‘3P’ represents an important Person, Place and Point (time/date). Half-termly 3P topics provide the focal points around which the learning is planned and taught. This approach equips children with the appropriate substantive and disciplinary knowledge needed to transition successfully into Key Stage 1. Both the EYFS curriculum and 3Ps curriculum will have laid the foundations for the National Curriculum. 

We view the design of the curriculum as an evolving and fluid process which takes into consideration: the needs and character of our children; the children’s prior learning; children’s experiences; the community in which school exists; the EYFS Framework and the educational research which is evaluated and relevant to our school. 

We have designed a curriculum which revisits knowledge and builds upon experiences so that our children know more, remember more and understand more.  We believe that repetition is key to development in the EYFS.