Welcome to Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Manadon Vale! Our EYFS is a happy, nurturing and exciting place where children are encouraged to explore, discover, create and learn through play. Starting school is a very special milestone, and we want every child and family to feel valued, supported and part of our school community from the very beginning.
Our experienced and caring team provide a balance of child-initiated play and adult-led learning, both indoors and outdoors.
Our team include myself Mrs Barber (Turtles teacher and EYFS lead), Mrs Bettison (Seahorse teacher), Mrs Frearson (HLTA), Miss Clarke, Miss Down and Mrs Glanville (TA’s).
Meet the team

Mrs Heather Bettison

Mrs Georgia Barber
Year group gallery
Here you will find some useful information for life in EYFS at Manadon Vale.
· Book Bag (named):
All children require a book bag which they will need to bring every day. This does not need to be a school branded one but will need to be named All uniform should be clearly named.
· Waterbottle (named):
A clear, waterbottle with a sports-flip lid. NO JUICE PLEASE!
· FruitSnack:
The children are invited to bring a healthy snack (clearly named) for their morning playtime snack. In addition to this they will have the opportunity to have milk each morning and choose a piece of fruit each day.
· PE Days
PE takes place twice a week:
Tuesday –Indoor PE
Friday –Outdoor PE
Children should wear their PE kit to school on both PE days.
· Reading Books
Reading is an important part of your child's learning journey, and we encourage families to enjoy reading together regularly.
Reading books are changed every Friday. Please ensure that your child's reading book and reading record are returned to school each Friday so that we can provide a new book for the following week.
· HomeLearning
Optional home learning activities are shared on Tapestry each week. These activities are designed to support and extend your child's learning at home in a fun and manageable way.
We love seeing what the children have been doing at home, so please feel free to share their learning, experiences and achievements with us through Tapestry.
· Spellings& Handwriting
Formal spelling and handwriting practice will begin after Christmas. We will provide further information and guidance for families when this starts. In the meantime, we encourage children to enjoy mark-making, drawing, writing their name and developing their fine motor skills through everyday activities and play.
Tapestry

Tapestryis the online learning journal we use at school to share your child’sachievements. We use this as an assessment tool throughout the year. Inaddition to this we ask parents to include any observations of learning orachievements from home. Please ensure you login to Tapestry for regular keymemos, letters and observations.
We are looking forward to a fun year and thank you in advance for working in partnership with us as your child starts their school journey.
Please ensure you login to Tapestry for regular updates.
Yearly Overview of Foundation Stage
We plan to deliver the following topics over the year, although these are open to change. This is because we often find learning opportunities following children’s interests or what is happening in the wider world.
Autumn 1
- All About Me
- Superheroes
- Autumn
Autumn 2
- Traditional Stories
- Christmas
Spring 1
- Dinosaurs
Spring 2
- New Life
- Easter
Summer 1
- A Life on the Ocean Wave
Summer 2
- A Life on the Ocean Wave (continued)
- Summer
For more information about the EYFS long term plan please see information attached on the right hand side of the page.
Termly Overview of Foundation Stage
EYFS Autumn Overview
📚 Literacy
We will explore All About Me, create family drawings, design our own superhero vegetables linked to Supertato, and begin writing simple autumn words.
🔢 Maths
We will develop our early maths skills by matching, sorting and exploring simple patterns using a range of objects and resources.
🌍 Understanding the World
We will explore the season of Autumn, noticing changes in the weather, trees, plants and the natural world around us.
🎨 Expressive Arts & Design
We will create self-portraits and autumn crafts, exploring different colours, materials and creative techniques.
🔤 Phonics
We will learn new sounds and begin to segment and blend simple CVC words.
✝️Religious Education
We will learn about Christian beliefs through stories, discussions and activities. We will also learn about why Christians perform
nativity plays at Christmas? We will also perform our own class nativity.
💛 Personal, Social & Emotional Development
We will focus on “Being Me in My World” and ‘’What I am Good at’’ developing our understanding of feelings, friendships, kindness and belonging.
🏃 Physical Development & Pe
We will complete a PE baseline assessment, play team games and enjoy a fun superhero assault course to develop our physical skills.
EYFS Spring Overview
🦕 Literacy: We will immerse ourselves in non-fiction texts about dinosaurs, learning interesting facts before creating our own dinosaur fact files and developing a story plan for Katie and the Dinosaurs.
🔢 Maths: We will explore numbers to 10 in depth, developing our understanding of counting, composition, number bonds, and odd and even numbers.
🌍 Understanding the World: We will explore dinosaurs, winter, new life and life cycles, and learn about Easter and how it is celebrated.
🎨 Expressive Arts and Design: We will explore a range of creative experiences, including dinosaur crafts, making binoculars, exploring the artwork of artist Berthe Morisot, and creating Easter crafts.
✝️Religious Education: We will explore the questions “Being Special: Where do we belong?” and “Why do Christians put a cross on their Easter Garden?”, developing our understanding of belonging, Christianity and Easter traditions.
💛 PSED: Through Dreams and Goals and Healthy Me, we will develop confidence, resilience and an understanding of how to make healthy and positive choices.
🔤 Phonics: We will continue to develop our phonics knowledge by learning and practising new sounds, blending and segmenting words, and applying our skills in reading and writing.
🤸 PE: We will develop our physical skills through fun gym activities, exploring shapes and movement, alongside fundamental games outdoors.
EYFSSummer overview
🔢 Maths: We will explore shapes by visualising, building, mapping, manipulating, composing and decomposing them, while making connections.
📚 Literacy: We will read under-the-sea texts, plan a Tiddler story, create pirate maps and sea-creature fact files, and write about rockpools.
🌍 Understanding the World: We will learn about pirates and seaside life in the past and enjoy a visit to the aquarium.
🏃Physical Development: We will practise dancing, sports day activities and team games.
🎨 Expressive Arts and Design: We will explore Frida Kahlo, learn pirate songs and create models using recycled materials.
💛 PSED: We will explore relationships and learn about changes as we grow and develop. We will also talk about the transition to Year One later on in Summer 2.
✝️Religious Education: We will explore the questions ‘’Which places are special and why? We will also explore ‘’ Which stories are special and why?’’
Year Notices:



























