On this page you will find all the information you need to know about life in EYFS for Nursery and Reception Children.
Early Years Foundation Stage
At Chiseldon Primary and Nursery School, we offer a vibrant, nurturing environment where our Nursery and Reception children thrive together through play-based learning. Our unique free flow continuous provision allows children to choose their own learning paths, enabling them to explore their interests in a fun and engaging way. With adult-directed tasks tailored to their individual needs, we ensure that every child's learning is both meaningful and relevant.
Our curriculum covers the seven key areas of learning:
1: Personal, Social and Emotional development; "...involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviours in groups; and have confidence in their own abilities." EYFS 2024
2: Physical Development; "...involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their coordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical opportunity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food." EYFS 2024
3: Communication and Language; "....development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich learning environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations" EYFS 2024
4: Literacy; "...development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest." EYFS 2024
5: Mathematics; "... involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measure." EYFS 2024
6: Understanding the World; "... involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment." EYFS 2024
7: Expressive Arts and Design; "... involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology." EYFS 2024
We believe in fostering independence and a strong sense of community, which is why our children actively participate in whole school OPAL play times and lunches. Here, they not only learn valuable skills but also forge friendships that last a lifetime. Join us in creating joyful learning experiences for your little ones!
Nursery
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Nursery
Our Nursery takes from age 2 all the way until pre-school age children.
We say goodbye to our parents/carers at the door in the morning and join in with our morning activities, which vary from morning yoga to squiggle dancing. We operate a free flow provision whereby we cater for the child's individual stage of development and what exactly they need to achieve their full potential.
Children in Nursery will need:
- Appropriate clothing - either school uniform or clothing that you don't mind getting messy.
- Appropriate shoes- such as trainers/daps or school shoes something that your child can walk/ run/ climb in comfortably.
- Water bottle- With only water in please
- Coat- Who knows what the English weather is doing so a coat, even a foldable one is always good to have.
- Wellies- a pair we can keep in school, as the weather is up and down and we will go outside in ALL weathers, these are beneficial to have.
- Sun Hat
- Suncream
- Nappies if needed
- Spare clothes- accidents happen, plus we get very messy!
Please can ALL of your child's items be named!!
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Reception
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Reception
Our Reception Class is the next stage on in EYFS where we focus more on direct learning such as English, Maths and Handwriting, ensuring the children have the key skills they need to build upon through their educational journey through school. Play based learning is still a key and vital role of Reception Life and they will have opportunities to take ownership of their learning by choosing topics that interest them and building an environment around this!
At 8:25, we say goodbye to our parents/carers at the door in the morning and join in with Early Morning Tasks which vary from fine motor skills, name writing, question building etc. We operate a free flow provision whereby we cater for the child's individual stage of development and what exactly they need to achieve their full potential.
Children in Reception will need:
- School Uniform.
- Appropriate shoes
- Water bottle- With only water in please
- Coat- Who knows what the English weather is doing so a coat, even a foldable one is always good to have.
- PE Kit- our PE day is on a Wednesday afternoon. Please can every child have their P.E. kit in school on this day. This should consist of black sports trousers/leggings or shorts, a t-shirt in your child's house colour or a white t-shirt and trainers. Please can your child have their trainers in school at all times as we do a daily mile run.
- Wellies- a pair we can keep in school, as the weather is up and down and we will go outside in ALL weathers, these are beneficial to have.
- Sun Hat
- Suncream
Please can ALL of your child's items be named!! 30 jumpers is a lot to search through to find just one!
Children in Reception will be expected to complete daily homework to embed the key knowledge and skills taught,
The homework expectations are as follows:
- Reading: Please spend about 10 minutes reading their phonics books each evening.
- Phonics Practice: Up to 10 minutes practising the sounds they are learning, which will be assigned on DoodleSpell.
- Doodle Maths: Pupils should aim to be in the green zone on Doodle Maths.
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Please Take a Look at our Termly Updates.
Here you will find key information for the term and our AMAZING learning!
Term 1 LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION
Welcome to Term 1, we are so excited to start off our amazing journey this year!!
We start back at school on Tuesday 2nd September and it is a dress up day to kick off our termly topic, children may come dressed as their 'favourite character of all time'
Please have a look on here for updates and photos of your children's learning, it's going to be a great term!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Mrs C-S
Topic Overview Term 1 LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Term 2- I Wonder Who??
As we dive into Term 2, our little learners are buzzing with excitement around the theme "I Wonder Who." The children have chosen a school role play that reflects their interests, exploring various learning opportunities within their selected area.
Come December, we’ll be transforming our role play into Santa's Grotto as we gear up for the festive season! This will lead us into our much-anticipated Nativity performance where Reception take a leading role. We will be exploring different festivals around the world, including Diwali, Remembrance Day, and Christmas.
With the weather changing, please ensure your child comes dressed appropriately for the chilly days ahead. It’s always helpful to name everything, as there's bound to be that one rogue glove without a name!
As always if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to speak to us!
Thank you for your support, and here’s to a wonderful and inspiring Term together!
Take a look at the Topic Overview for Term 2
Mrs C-S :)
EYFS Autumn 2 2025 Topic Overview.pdf
Term 3- I Wonder When
SHIVER ME TIMBERS!!!
Welcome to term 3 and the spring term 1. I can't believe we are here already.
The children have chosen a pirate role play where we will be looking at a pirates life and how it compares to our own.
Please take a look at our Topic overview for more information.
Mrs C-S
EYFS Spring 1 Topic Overview.pdf
Term 4- I Wonder Why
Welcome back to Term 4! We are going to be having an amazing term exploring I wonder why spring changes everything.
Please explore the termly overview to see what your child is going to be learning this term. Mr Habbitts. EYFS Spring 2 Topic Overview.pdf
W.B 23.2.26
Neptune Class have had an amazing start to the new term as we dive into our exciting enquiry, I Wonder Why Spring Changes Everything. The children have been busy spotting the signs of spring in our environment and bringing their ideas into the classroom through discussion, exploration and imaginative play. Our role-play area has been transformed into a vibrant garden centre, complete with plants, seeds, pots and watering cans. The children are having so much fun shopping, organising flowers, writing labels and caring for their plants. It has been wonderful to see their confidence, language development and teamwork blossom as they explore this hands-on learning space.
In English, Reception have begun an exciting unit based on The Big Book of Bugs, discovering fascinating facts about minibeasts and their habitats. They are developing their questioning skills and using new vocabulary as they prepare to create their own fact file about a bug of their choosing. Nursery are thoroughly enjoying the story Mr Wolf’s Pancakes by Jan Fearnley. They have been joining in with repeated phrases, retelling parts of the story and exploring the characters through role-play and creative activities.
In Maths, Reception are building confidence when comparing numbers to 10, using the vocabulary “more than” and “fewer than” in practical activities and games. Nursery are exploring numbers to 10 through much-loved nursery rhymes such as 10 Green Bottles, using actions and props to support their counting and number recognition.
In PE, we are continuing to develop our throwing and catching skills. This week we have been using basketballs, practising control, coordination and teamwork while building our confidence and resilience.
WB 09/03/2026
It has been a wonderfully busy and exciting week in EYFS. The children have been finishing their fact files inspired by The Big Book of Bugs, using their developing knowledge to share interesting facts about a range of mini-beasts.
In Maths, the children have been working on the concept of one more and one less, using practical activities to help secure their understanding.
Our topic “I wonder why spring changes everything” has truly come alive in the classroom. We welcomed a very special delivery of eggs, and the children were thrilled to watch them hatch into fluffy, energetic chicks. Our caterpillars have also grown significantly in size and will soon form their chrysalises before transforming into beautiful butterflies. Seeing these lifecycles unfold has filled the children with curiosity and wonder.
This week has also been Art Week, and EYFS have enjoyed using their fine motor skills to create stunning dot-work art pieces. Their creativity and concentration have been wonderful to see.
It has been a week full of learning, discovery and excitement. Well done EYFS!
