At William Murdoch Primary School, we are passionate about Early Years education and firmly believe that the experiences children have at the start of their learning journey lay the foundations for future success. Our Early Years provision is rooted in a secure, nurturing environment that promotes children’s personal, social and emotional development alongside their learning. This strong foundation supports children to grow into confident, curious and capable learners as they move through school and beyond.

Our Early Years curriculum is guided by the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which is organised into seven areas of learning and development: three prime areas and four specific areas. Each area plays a vital role in supporting children’s growth and development and helps them to build the essential knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to thrive.

Alongside this, we place great importance on the Characteristics of Effective Learning: Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating and Thinking Critically. These, together with the prime areas, support children to become independent, reflective, sociable and resilient learners who are able to make meaningful connections across their learning and achieve the very best they can.

We have developed a carefully planned, knowledge‑rich curriculum that allows children to explore, question and develop a strong understanding of the world around them. Learning is thoughtfully sequenced so that new knowledge builds on what children already know and can do, supporting progress over time. Developing language and vocabulary is central to our approach; children are regularly exposed to rich, ambitious vocabulary that is carefully introduced, modelled and revisited to ensure understanding is secure.

Reading sits at the heart of everything we do in Early Years. High‑quality texts are carefully chosen throughout the year to link meaningfully with learning themes and to inspire children’s curiosity and love of stories. Daily story time and reading aloud are treasured parts of our routine, supporting children’s listening skills, word knowledge and love of language. We believe that listening to stories, poems and rhymes nurtures imagination, develops vocabulary and strengthens comprehension.

Phonics is taught daily through a systematic synthetic approach, in line with the school’s chosen phonics programme. This provides children with the essential building blocks for early reading and spelling. Reading books are carefully matched to each child’s phonic knowledge so that all children experience success and develop confidence from the very start of their reading journey.

Our mathematics curriculum is delivered through Power Maths, a Department for Education‑approved mastery programme aligned with the White Rose Maths schemes of learning. Using the Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract (CPA) approach, children develop a deep understanding of key mathematical concepts through practical exploration, representations and discussion. We prioritise depth of learning, giving children time to explore, practise and secure their understanding of mathematical ideas.

At William Murdoch Primary School, our Early Years classrooms are vibrant, welcoming environments where children are encouraged to explore, play and learn with joy. We are proud of our nurturing approach and our commitment to meeting the needs of all children, ensuring equality of opportunity from the very start of their education and inspiring a lifelong love of learning.