Leiston Primary School Early Years Curriculum Goals

At Leiston Primary School we aim for our learners to leave Early Years having achieved the following curriculum goals:

To make friends and get along well with others.

To see how special we are and work on our own and team goals.

To share what we are thinking and feeling.

To use our bodies in fun and exciting ways.

To enjoy and love reading books.

To learn about numbers and solve tricky puzzles.

To learn about ourselves, our friends, and the world around us.

To use our imagination and think carefully.

Welcome to the Autumn Term at Leiston Primary School Nursery

A warm welcome to all our new children joining us this term, and to those who joined during the Spring and Summer terms – we are thrilled to have you with us! It’s a joy to see so many happy faces, and we’re excited for all the learning, exploration, and fun the year ahead holds.

This Term’s Learning Theme:

“I wonder what is special…”
Throughout the Autumn term, alongside following the children’s own interests, we’ll be exploring this theme through a range of engaging and meaningful experiences. Possible areas of learning include:

• Ourselves and our birthdays
• Our families and friends
• Autumn and harvest
• Weather and rainbows
• Colours
• Celebrations such as Halloween, Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day, Diwali, and Christmas

Termly End Goals

By the end of the term, we aim for the children to:

• Follow a simple recipe to bake bread or make a cake
• Take part in and perform a Christmas play for their grown-ups

Sharing Books

If your child was with us last term, you’ll be familiar with our Sharing Books – a lovely way for children to enjoy stories with their adults at home. We will be reintroducing Sharing Books in the coming weeks. Books will be sent home weekly and changed regularly, allowing children to enjoy a wide variety of stories. Please ensure books are returned each week so your child can take home a new one to enjoy.

Communication and Language – This Term at LPS Nursery.

Supporting children’s communication and language is a key focus at LPS Nursery. Through stories, songs, and playful conversations, we are helping children to become confident communicators and active listeners.

This term, our Communication and Language learning intentions are:

• I am learning to use words that are important to me, like names of people and special objects.
• I am starting to ask questions like “who?”, “what?”, “when?” and “how?” to help me understand the world around me.
• I am beginning to understand and follow simple instructions.
• I know it’s okay to talk about what I want or need.
• I am learning that stories have different characters – some are real and some are pretend.
• I am starting to understand that stories have a beginning, a middle and an end.
• I can listen to longer stories and remember some of the key events.
• I can retell nursery rhymes and number rhymes from memory.
• I am learning to sing clearly and confidently.

As part of our phonics focus this term, we will also be exploring early sound skills through Phase 1 activities:

Weeks 1–4:

• Environmental sounds
• Instrumental sounds
• Body percussion
• Blending and segmenting

Weeks 5–10:

• Rhythm and rhyme
• Alliteration
• Voice sounds
• Continued blending and segmenting
• Revisiting environmental and instrumental sounds

These fun and engaging activities lay the foundations for strong listening and speaking skills, and help prepare children for early reading.

We begin the term with a two-week settling-in period, helping children feel safe and secure in their new environment before diving into our rich language curriculum.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) – This Term at LPS Nursery.

At LPS Nursery helping children feel secure, confident, and connected is at the heart of all we do. This term, we are supporting the children with the following PSED learning intentions:

• I am becoming more confident around unfamiliar people and in new situations.
• I can play with another child, joining in and adding my own ideas to the play.
• I am learning to take turns and follow simple rules.
• I am starting to understand and talk about my feelings, such as happy, sad, or tired.
• I know I can ask a grown-up for help when I need it.
• I am learning how to manage my behaviour in line with our nursery routines.
• I am growing in confidence to express myself and talk about what makes me unique.
• I know that eating healthy foods and looking after my teeth are good for me.

These skills and knowledge help each child develop the confidence and social skills needed to build friendships, manage emotions, and become increasingly independent in their learning journey.

Physical Development – This Term at LPS Nursery.

At LPS Nursery, we support children to grow in confidence as they learn to move, explore, and take care of themselves. This term, we’ll be helping children strengthen both their gross motor (big movements) and fine motor (small hand and finger movements) skills through a variety of fun and active experiences.

Our Physical Development learning intentions this term are:

• I can move my body in different ways, showing control and balance.
• I can move in time to music, stopping and starting when the music does.
• I can explore moving to different beats and rhythms – fast and slow.
• I can use my feet to climb, stepping one foot at a time.
• I can use mark-making tools like paintbrushes and scissors safely and confidently.
• I can make snips on paper using scissors.
• I can use one-handed tools like pencils or glue sticks with control.
• I can draw simple shapes like lines and circles using big arm movements.
• I can feed myself and ask for help when I need it, for example with opening lunch containers.
• I am becoming more confident in dressing myself and taking part in self-care activities.

We will also support children to develop their self-care and hygiene skills, helping them become more independent:

• I am learning to take care of my toileting needs most of the time.
• I know how and when to wash my hands, especially after going to the toilet and before eating.
• I know the importance of keeping myself clean and tidy.

These daily routines and physical play activities help children build confidence, independence, and healthy habits for life.

Literacy Learning – This Term as LPS Nursery.

At LPS Nursery, we nurture a love for books, stories, and early mark-making through exciting and engaging activities that help children understand the world of print and spoken language.

This term, our Literacy learning intentions are:

• I show interest in books, pictures, and signs in the environment.
• I am learning that print has meaning and that it can be used to give us information.
• I can name parts of a book such as the front cover, back cover, pages, and spine.
• I know that in English, we read text from left to right and top to bottom.
• I can join in with repeated phrases from familiar stories.
• I am developing early book-handling skills.
• I can express simple thoughts and preferences about stories we share.
• I know that stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
• I know that letters make sounds and are used to build words.
• I am starting to notice the first sounds in words and spot them in my environment.
• I can ascribe meaning to my own marks and the marks I see around me.
• I can draw lines and curves to support my early writing and mark-making.

We are also focusing on Phase 1 Phonics, which supports children’s listening and sound discrimination skills:

Weeks 1–4:

• Environmental sounds
• Instrumental sounds
• Body percussion
• Blending and segmenting

Weeks 5–10:

• Rhythm and rhyme
• Alliteration
• Voice sounds
• Continued blending and segmenting

Through stories, songs, nursery rhymes and playful exploration of sound, we help build the foundations for reading and writing, while fostering confidence and curiosity in all our children.

Maths Learning – This Term at LPS Nursery.

At LPS Nursery, we explore early maths through fun, hands-on experiences, songs, stories, and play. Children are encouraged to notice patterns, compare quantities, and explore shapes as they build a secure understanding of numbers and mathematical concepts.

This term, our Mathematical Development learning intentions are:

Number:

• I can say number names in order up to 5.
• I know the last number said tells me “how many” there are altogether.
• I can show finger numbers up to 3.
• I can count one item at a time and match each object with one number.
• I am starting to recognise numerals for 1 and 2.
• I can recognise 1, 2 or 3 objects without counting (subitising).
• I can talk about how I know a number of objects is 1 or 2 (e.g. “it’s all by itself” or “1 and 1 makes 2”).
• I enjoy singing number songs and rhymes to help with my counting.

Pattern:

• I can join in with repeated patterns and predict what will come next.
• I can create and continue simple ABAB patterns (like red-blue-red-blue).
• I can spot and fix a mistake in a repeating pattern.

Shape, Space and Measure:

• I explore and build with a range of 2D shapes and objects.
• I use everyday language to describe shapes (e.g. sides, corners, straight, flat).
• I can talk about size using words like “bigger,” “smaller,” and “same.”
• I can compare and sort items by size, shape, and colour.
• I can complete simple insert puzzles using shape recognition.

Colour Recognition:

• I can identify and name colours: red, blue, yellow, green, and purple.
• I can sort and match objects by colour.
• I enjoy exploring colours and mixing them during creative play.

Our maths learning this term will be supported by hands-on activities, daily routines, and opportunities for the children to explore and apply their learning in meaningful ways. Through songs, stories, play and practical experiences, children will develop confidence and curiosity with number, shape, pattern, and measurement.

Understanding the World – This Term at LPS Nursery

At LPS Nursery, we explore what makes us special by learning about our families, friends, and the world around us. Through engaging activities, stories, and play, children discover how the seasons change and explore a variety of celebrations and traditions.I can talk about the things that make me unique.

• I can describe how I am similar to and different from my friends and family.
• I can recognise and talk about special times and events for my family and friends.
• I can talk about what it means to grow up.
• I can talk about family celebrations.
• I can explore changes that happen in Autumn.
• I can talk about my immediate family and my role in it.
• I can talk about events and celebrations from different groups of people.
• I can explore what happens on cold winter days.
• I can recognise who is part of my family and talk about different family structures.
• I can understand that everyone has a birthday and talk about how birthdays are celebrated around the world.
• I can understand that some celebrations belong to certain cultures, like Diwali, Hanukkah, and Christmas.
• I can make Rangoli patterns using different materials.
• I can learn stories and traditions related to Autumn festivals.

Expressive Arts and Design Learning – This Term at LPS Nursery

At LPS Nursery, we inspire children to explore music, movement, and creativity through playful activities that encourage self-expression and sensory development.

This term, our Music and Creative Arts learning intentions are:

• I can create movement in response to music.
• I join in with simple, repetitive rhymes and songs.
• I can make choices about which materials to use when creating.
• I can join different materials together safely to build and craft.
• I can perform songs and dances in our Christmas performance.
• I know that different musical instruments make different sounds.
• I can listen carefully and share my thoughts and feelings about the sounds I hear.
• I know that there are different types of art and ways to be creative.
• I understand how different colours and materials can be combined to make new effects.
• I learn about art and craft traditions from different cultures, such as Rangoli patterns and Diwali decorations.

Throughout the term, children will explore a range of musical sounds, experiment with colours and materials, and develop their fine motor skills through creative activities. Our aim is to nurture confidence, curiosity, and an appreciation for the arts in all children.