Our Early Years Foundation Stage
Building Strong Foundations for Lifelong Success
At Brookfield, we believe that every child deserves the strongest possible start to their educational journey. Our Early Years provision is built around a simple but ambitious vision: to nurture curious, confident and creative learners who are ready to thrive at Brookfield and beyond. We have exceptionally high aspirations for every child and believe that all children, regardless of their starting points, can achieve highly within a nurturing and inclusive environment.
We provide a rich, purposeful and highly engaging learning environment, both indoors and outdoors, where children are encouraged to explore, investigate, create and collaborate. Every space is carefully designed to spark curiosity, promote independence and develop children's thinking through meaningful play and high-quality adult interactions.
Our ambitious curriculum is rooted in the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage and informed by Development Matters. Through carefully planned learning experiences, children develop the knowledge, vocabulary, skills and confidence they need to become successful learners, effective communicators and active members of our school community.
A Love of Learning from Day One
Children at Brookfield benefit from daily teaching in the essential foundations of learning, including:
- Systematic, high-quality phonics
- Early reading and language development
- Handwriting and fine motor development
- Creative writing and storytelling
- Mathematics and early number sense
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Physical development and outdoor learning
- Understanding the world through exploration and enquiry
- Expressive arts, creativity and imagination
Alongside direct teaching, children spend significant time learning through carefully planned provision that encourages them to think deeply, solve problems, take risks and learn alongside their peers. Our classrooms and outdoor spaces are designed to inspire investigation, conversation and sustained engagement.
Expert Support for Every Child
We know that children learn best through warm relationships and expert guidance.Our skilled practitioners carefully observe, assess and respond to children's learning throughout the day, using high-quality interactions, questioning and modelling to extend thinking, develop language and deepen understanding.
Developing children's communication and language is central to our provision. Through stories, conversation, singing, role play and purposeful talk, children build the vocabulary and confidence they need to express their ideas and understand the world around them.
Assessment is an integral part of our practice. Through ongoing observation, professional dialogue and careful monitoring of progress, staff identify next steps in learning and provide timely support or challenge where needed. This enables every child to make strong progress from their individual starting points.
Inclusion at the Heart of Everything We Do
At Brookfield, we are committed to ensuring that every child succeeds. We recognise that children develop at different rates and that some may require additional support to flourish.
Working closely with families and specialists where appropriate, our staff identify needs early and provide targeted support that enables children with SEND to access the full curriculum and achieve their potential. We are proud of our inclusive culture, where every child is valued, celebrated and supported to belong.
Ready for the Next Stage
By the time children leave Reception, they are confident communicators, enthusiastic readers, resilient problem-solvers and creative thinkers. They have developed the knowledge, skills and learning behaviours that will enable them to flourish throughout their education.
Most importantly, they leave Brookfield with a love of learning, a sense of wonder about the world around them and the confidence to embrace new opportunities and challenges.
Our aim is simple: to ensure every child becomes a curious, capable and confident learner, ready for anything.