Welcome to EYFS – Iona

Saint Columba, an Irish monk, came to Iona in 563 AD and started a monastery there. From Iona, Christianity spread across Scotland and beyond. Today, many Christians visit Iona to learn about its history, pray, and feel closer to God in its peaceful and beautiful surroundings.

About EYFS

  • In Iona, we follow the EYFS document which combines the early years and the foundation stage, creating a national curriculum for the under 5’s.
  • Through specially chosen topics we plan for the 7 areas of learning. The 3 prime areas of Physical Development, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication and Language are our foundations upon which we build further learning through the 4 specific areas. The 4 specific areas are: Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.
  • All 7 areas of learning are reflected both indoors and outdoors, so no matter where the children are exploring they will be learning.

Thank you for all your support. 

Our class teacher is Mrs Wilby and our wonderful teaching assistant is Mrs Eaton.

Meet the Teacher

Please find below the EYFS Meet the Teacher presentation for the 2024-25 year. It outlines who is who in EYFS, an overview of our curriculum, communication and reporting and uniform expectations.

St Elizabeth’s Meet The Teacher Presentation Iona September 2024

Coming soon…

In reception we use an online learning journal called Tapestry, where we record photos, observations and comments to build up a record of your child’s experiences during their time with us. We also use it to keep you up to date with any changes or events happening within Iona class.

You can also use tapestry to share what your child has been doing outside of school.

The email address given to school during your application will have been used to set up an account linked to your child and an activation code sent to you via your emails. You can then set up your own password for your account and then access Tapestry on your computer by going to http://eylj.org/ or by downloading the Tapestry app via your smart phone.

As a school, we have been thinking about our Franciscan heritage and have decided to introduce seven values – based on the Franciscan values – to underpin all that we do at St Elizabeth’s. The seven values are: Joy, Forgiveness, Faith, Respect, Service, Peace and Stewardship. We will all strive to live out these values on a daily basis but each class will pay close attention to their own value.

In EYFS, our value is joy. The children are taught…

Starting in September 2024, EYFS (along with Year 2 and Year 6) will be following the new RED (Religious Education Directory), To Know You More Clearly, launched by the Catholic Education Service. This framework will be progressively rolled out across the school, replacing the Come And See scheme by the 2025 academic year.

“While nurturing the faith of Catholic pupils, the curriculum prepares all pupils to play their part as critical citizens in a plural and diverse culture. Topics covered include the relationship between faith and science; the problem of evil; nature of human freedom; rights of the unborn; plight of refugees and asylum seekers; war and peace.” (Catholic Education Service).

Advent Term 

Branch 1 – Creation & Covenant.
God made our beautiful world and everything in it.
God made me.

Branch 2 – Prophecy & Promise.
Mary was going to have a baby.
His name will be Jesus.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Shepherds  hurried to see Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus.

Lent Term 

Branch 3 – Galilee to Jerusalem.
The Wise Men visit Jesus.
Jesus welcomes the little children.
Jesus blesses the little children.

Branch 4 – Desert to garden.
Lent is a time to care for others.
Jesus died on a cross. It is a sad time.Jesus was given new life by God his Father.
Jesus rose and everyone celebrates.
Jesus was given new life by God his Father.
Jesus rose and everyone celebrates.
Love God and love everyone.

Pentecost Term 

Branch 5 – To the ends of the Earth.
Jesus went back to his Father.
He sent a special friend, the Holy Spirit, to look after us.

Branch 6 – Dialogue and encounter.
Friends of Jesus.

Read, Write, Inc.

Read, Write, Inc (RWI) is a phonic based approach to teaching reading. It involves pupils learning to read sounds and how to blend them together to read words.

RWI is a successful reading programme that enables every child to become a confident and fluent reader. It aims to teach all pupils to read at a pace that they are comfortable with.

The pupils learn 44 sounds (called speed sounds). These are the letter sounds and not letter names.

The speed sounds are divided into small groups. Once they have learnt all of the sounds in one group, they can move on to sound blending the letters in that group to read words.

(Ruth Miskin Training)​

Our writing lessons follow the Pie Corbett ‘Talk 4 Writing’ style of ‘Imitate – Innovate – Invent’; put simply ‘I do – We do – You do’. More information about this method of teaching can be found in the ‘Curriculum’ section of the website, under ‘English’. Our class will typically practise two genres each half term.

As part of our morning routine, children have a healthy snack (either fruit or vegetable), which is provided by the school.

Alternatively, the children can bring in their own healthy snacks from home. Again these must be either fruit or vegetable. Nuts or items containing nuts are not allowed.

Please click on the School Meals button on the right-hand side of the page to see our lunch menu.