The Black Country Schools

At The Black Country Schools, we believe early childhood is not simply preparation for school — it is the foundation for all future learning. Our EYFS curriculum provides high-quality teaching, rich experiences, and clear progression. It is intentionally designed to give every child the knowledge, language, and confidence to thrive.

Developed in collaboration with Julie Sherrington, an EYFS specialist, our curriculum aligns with the CUSP Early Foundations Framework and builds strong foundations for reading, writing, number, oracy, and personal development.

EYFS Curriculum Structure

Our EYFS curriculum is underpinned by three key principles:

1. Foundational Knowledge

Children are taught clearly sequenced, essential knowledge and vocabulary. This spans literacy, maths, understanding of the world, and expressive arts — with concepts revisited through play and teaching.

2. Opportunities and Experiences

Direct teaching is enriched through continuous provision and adult-guided activities. Children learn through meaningful play, exploration, and hands-on experiences across both indoor and outdoor environments.

3. Structured Storytime

A weekly book theme anchors every aspect of the EYFS experience. Core texts are carefully selected to introduce rich vocabulary, complex ideas, and diverse characters. These texts shape writing, talk, play, and cultural capital — ensuring children encounter literature with depth and meaning every week.

EYFS Areas of Learning

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
We explicitly teach self-regulation, empathy, and collaboration. Children learn to express feelings, build friendships, and understand fairness through adult modelling, storytelling, and purposeful interaction.

Communication and Language (CL)
We prioritise spoken language. Daily storytelling, drama, and structured conversation build children’s oracy, vocabulary, and sentence structure. Targeted speech support is provided using tools such as Wellcomm.

Physical Development (PD)
Children develop gross and fine motor skills through structured movement, handwriting readiness, and outdoor learning. Physical literacy and additional motor skills interventions are delivered by our PE coaches.

Literacy

• At Brierley Hill, children are taught phonics through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised
• At Brockmoor, phonics is delivered using Read Write Inc.

These are paired with high-quality texts and purposeful writing opportunities. Children engage in early writing with clear routines and growing independence.

Mathematics
Following the White Rose Maths framework, our curriculum builds conceptual understanding, number fluency, and mathematical language. Learning is embedded through stories, manipulatives, and problem-solving both inside and outdoors.

Understanding the World (UW)
Children learn about communities, history, nature, and the wider world through hands-on enquiry and discussion. Topics such as seasonal change, family traditions, and simple geography are explored across the year.

Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)
Children explore creativity through visual art, music, dance, and drama. Every provision area offers opportunities to express, represent, and perform ideas through a range of media and materials.

Lesson Structure

Every EYFS learning experience follows a structured sequence to support cognitive development:

1. Prior Knowledge Activation
2. Core Literature Hook
3. Explicit Teaching of Key Knowledge
4. Hands-On Exploration and Continuous Provision
5. Structured Storytime
6. Review and Reflection

This ensures children revisit, connect, and deepen learning over time.

Weekly Book Themes

A high-quality text anchors each week of learning. These books are chosen to:

• Introduce new vocabulary and language patterns
• Explore themes such as friendship, belonging, perseverance, and diversity
• Inspire writing, talk, and dramatic play
• Build shared cultural capital across Nursery and Reception

By centring the curriculum around a weekly text, we ensure children encounter powerful stories, develop emotional literacy, and build connections across the curriculum.

Curriculum Planning

Our Nursery and Reception Long-Term Sequences:

• Map all EYFS areas across the year
• Align with CUSP and Early Learning Goals
• Include themed core texts, vocabulary, and provision links
• Build progression from Nursery into Reception and beyond

This ensures a coherent, ambitious EYFS experience across the federation.

Further Information

For:

• CUSP Early Foundations knowledge documents
• Nursery and Reception long-term plans
• Support with implementation or collaboration

Please contact the CUSP team at cusp@unitysp.co.uk