At St. James’ Church of England Primary Academy, we are passionate about nurturing happy, confident and well-rounded children who develop a lifelong love of learning. We recognise that the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) plays a vital role in establishing the secure foundations on which children build throughout their educational journey.

Our Christian values of Love, Hope and Forgiveness underpin everything we do. These values are reflected in our daily expectations of being Ready, Respectful and Safe, helping children to develop positive learning behaviours and strong personal character.

We strive to ensure that every child develops physically, verbally, cognitively, spiritually and emotionally while fostering a positive attitude towards school and learning. We achieve this by creating a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment, both indoors and outdoors, that responds to each child's individual needs, interests and stage of development. Through this approach, children learn to value themselves and others, embracing the importance of being ready, respectful and safe in all that they do.

We understand and celebrate the significance of outdoor learning in the early years. At St. James’, children are provided with rich opportunities to develop their gross motor skills, imagination, resilience and natural curiosity through meaningful outdoor experiences. We encourage children to explore, take appropriate risks, solve problems and create their own narratives, supported by carefully planned resources and skilled adult interactions.

Our indoor environment is equally purposeful, offering a wide range of opportunities to develop fine motor skills, creativity, communication and independence. Through engaging provision areas such as Funky Fingers, Small World and Creative Development, children are encouraged to explore, investigate and deepen their learning. Both our indoor and outdoor environments are thoughtfully enhanced to reflect the changing seasons, children's interests and high-quality texts, creating inspiring spaces that promote curiosity and engagement.

Reading lies at the heart of our curriculum. We are committed to fostering a love of reading from the very beginning of each child's school journey. Through carefully selected, high-quality texts, children are exposed to rich language, diverse experiences and meaningful stories that support the development of vocabulary, oracy and comprehension skills.

To ensure every child becomes a confident and successful reader, we teach phonics through the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised programme. This systematic and rigorous approach enables children to develop the essential skills of blending and segmenting, building secure foundations for reading and writing. Daily phonics sessions provide children with opportunities to practise and apply their knowledge, ensuring that learning is progressive and matched to individual needs.

Children read fully decodable books that are carefully matched to their current phonic knowledge, allowing them to experience success and develop confidence, accuracy and fluency as readers. Regular reading practice sessions help children apply their phonics skills while developing their understanding and enjoyment of texts.

We believe that reading opens doors to imagination, curiosity, knowledge and opportunity. By combining a strong phonics foundation with a rich, language-filled environment and a wide range of high-quality literature, we strive to instil a lifelong love of reading and storytelling in every child.

At St. James’, children learn through a balance of child-initiated play and purposeful adult-directed experiences. Learning is engaging, challenging and enjoyable, allowing children to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in meaningful contexts. We value the importance of our local community and make use of local resources and experiences to enrich our curriculum. Our skilled adults provide high-quality interactions that extend children's thinking, deepen learning and support sustained progress. As role models, they inspire children to become confident, independent and enthusiastic learners.

We recognise that strong partnerships with parents and carers are fundamental to children's success. By working closely with families and valuing their insights into their child's early experiences, we are able to plan effectively for each child's learning and development. Together, we support children to thrive both at school and at home.

At St. James’, we are committed to giving every child the very best start to their education, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to flourish and reach their unique potential.