Here at Leatherhead Trinity, our Early Years Foundation Stage is based upon four principles:

• A unique child – developing resilient, capable, confident and self-assured individuals.
• Positive relationships – supporting the children in becoming strong and independent.
• Enabling environments – where opportunities and experiences respond to the individual needs of the child by developing a strong partnership between practitioners, parents/carers and the child.
• Learning and developing – An acknowledgement that children learn in different ways and at different rates.

Early Years at Our School: Nurturing the Whole Child

At our school, we believe early learning is a dynamic journey shaped by meaningful interaction, purposeful play, and nurturing relationships. Guided by the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage (2012), our curriculum fosters confidence, independence, and a lifelong love of learning.

We provide a safe, secure, and stimulating environment where each child is valued as an individual. Through hands-on experiences and thoughtful guidance from dedicated adults, children build self-esteem, develop key life skills, and grow at their own pace.

Our approach is holistic and child-centred—recognising that every child brings unique potential. We start from what they know, support their curiosity, and create space for them to thrive emotionally, socially, and intellectually.

Early learning here isn’t just preparation for the future—it’s a vital and enriching part of life itself.

The curriculum is planned to be:

• active - based on hands on involvement.
• personally meaningful - what children are interested in.
• experiential - learning by doing.
• exploratory - curiosity as a key motivator.
• developmentally appropriate - matching age and stage.
• social - stressing co-operation.
• creative - using invention and imagination.
• process-orientated - help given in appropriate stages.
• integrated - holistic approach to learning.
• rigorous - stressing the children's responsibility.

Through this, children develop a sense of self-worth and an ability to put that alongside a sense of others.

We encourage a 'sense of others' in all aspects of life and remind all the children of how they are 'role models' for each other. As adults, we have an even greater responsibility to 'set a good example' and therefore we encourage the children to listen as well as talk.

We feel very strongly that the partnership and communication with parents should be an open and honest one, built on mutual trust and respect. The children are closely monitored, and we hold parent consultations/evenings regularly during the year, however if the need arises we will make appointments to meet with parents at other times. An annual written report is given at the end of each academic year, e.g. Nursery and Reception.