Consistently judged by Ofsted as ‘outstanding’, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Rye gives a secure, supportive and stimulating environment in which pupils are nurtured and valued and helped to become enthusiastic, confident and independent learners.

First-hand experiences, exploration and play create meaningful and exciting contexts for learning, both indoors and outside, in Rye’s beautiful gardens and grounds. Pupils are encouraged to talk about their experiences and steadily extend their interests and abilities. The emphasis on developing strong communication skills fosters the ability to work co-operatively, happily and effectively with one another.

Rye’s specialist Early Years team offers a broad curriculum which provides a strong foundation for future learning and promotes progress across the spectrum of Early Years education:

* Personal, social and emotional development
* Communication, language and literacy problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy knowledge and understanding of the world
* Physical development
* Creative development.

Achievements are celebrated, efforts praised, and pupils are enabled to thrive and grow, keen to learn and keen to succeed.

The EYFS programme is a two-year programme, the first year in our Nursery Class and the second year in our Reception Class.

We study various topics through books, art, clay, drama, music, ICT, cookery, physical education, crafts and model-making.

We introduce synthetic phonics, and literacy is taught through a structured reading scheme.

Numeracy is introduced through daily activities including counting games, weighing activities and measuring.

The children are encouraged to participate in dance and music, and they are gradually introduced to the principles of writing and the use of computers.

Children join us from the term in which they reach their third birthday.

In the first year the programme is flexible, pupils attending for between two sessions and the full ten sessions a week, often building up attendance steadily throughout the year.

Morning sessions are from 8.45am to 12.30pm, afternoon sessions from 12.30pm to 4pm, and the before-school and after-school care programme gives an extended day from 7.45am to 6.30pm.

As an integral part of the school, the EYFS children have use of whole-school facilities, including the sports hall.

Children play in a dedicated outdoor space during morning and afternoon breaks, weather permitting, and the outdoor space is also used for learning activities.

Pupils are regularly taken around the school grounds to learn about the natural world, observing animals, birds and insects, studying the trees, shrubs and plants and discovering the characteristics of the seasons.

The children are also taken on excursions to local places of interest.

Rye St Antony is registered with the Department for Children, Schools and Families as an Early Years provider, and participates in the EYFS voucher scheme.