Curriculum / Foundation Skills
Our approach is firmly rooted in the landmark Ofsted report, ‘Strong foundations in the firstyears of school’ (October 2024). This research highlights a vital educational principle: establishing deep, secure foundational knowledge during primary school is the ultimate catalyst for a child’s long-term academic success.
"Just like a house must be built on strong foundations, it is vital that primary learning builds on deep knowledge that is secure and retained. Foundational knowledge is the fundamental information and skills that open the door for pupils to access more complex learning later. Without these secure foundations, pupils are restricted in their ability to reason, analyse, and succeed as they progress through school."—Ofsted Primary Phase Subject Frameworks.
As a school, we are dedicated to ensuring that every child is fully equipped with the essential core skills. To achieve this, we explicitly teach, monitor, and secure the following foundational milestones across every key area of development.
At The Leys Primary and Nursery School, we recognise that long-term academic success depends entirely on early developmental milestones becoming completely automatic. This framework targets the four non-negotiable pillars of early readiness: Communication and Language, Executive Function, Physical Development, and Academic Foundations (Phonics and Number). If a child enters formal schooling with "shaky" baselines in these areas, their working memory becomes entirely overwhelmed by the basic mechanics of learning, leading to immediate cognitive overload. Rathert han using artificial tests, teachers track these observable, everyday behaviours during daily routines and child-initiated play to instantly spotlight individual gaps. This ongoing diagnostic profile directly shapes targeted early interventions and guarantees a seamless, successful transition into Key Stage 1.
EYFS checklist
(click below to view pdf attachment)
EYFS Checklist
Building directly upon the baselines established in our Early Years Foundation Stage, the KeyStage 1 framework at The Leys Primary and Nursery School ensures a seamless, progressive transition of skills across Communication and Language, Executive Function, and Academic Foundations (Reading, Writing, and Maths). We recognise that long-term academic success depends entirely on these early milestones evolving from basic readiness into fluent, independent automaticity. If a child enters Key Stage 1 with "shaky" prerequisites, their working memory becomes completely overwhelmed by the basic mechanics of tasks, leading to rapid cognitive overload. Rather than introducing premature complexity, this framework serves as our core instructional blueprint for Year 1 and directs targeted interventions across the primary phase. By deliberately aligning these milestones, we guarantee that the developmental gains made in EYFS are systematically secured, built upon, and sustained.
KS1 checklist
(click below to view pdf attachment)
KS1 Checklist
Building directly upon the secure foundations established in Key Stage 1, the Key Stage 2 framework at The Leys Primary and Nursery School ensures a coherent and progressive continuation of skills across Communication and Language, Executive Function, and Academic Foundations (Reading, Writing, and Maths). We recognise that long-term academic success depends on these early foundations developing into fluent, efficient, and transferable skills that can be applied independently across increasingly complex and unfamiliar contexts.
At Key Stage 2, pupils are expected to move beyond basic accuracy and demonstrate increasing automaticity, flexibility, and depth of understanding. This framework sets out the progressive skills, knowledge, and understanding expected across Years 3–6, while also clearly defining the secure end-of-Key Stage 2 expectations that pupils are working towards by the end of Year 6. We recognise that by this stage, pupils should no longer rely on working memory for basic skill execution; instead, cognitive resources must be available for reasoning, inference, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking. Where gaps in foundational knowledge persist, these must be explicitly identified and addressed to prevent cognitive overload and ensure full access to the curriculum.
Rather than introducing premature complexity without secure foundations, this framework acts as a structured instructional blueprint for Key Stage 2. It directs high-quality first teaching, informs targeted intervention, and ensures consistency of expectation across the primary phase. By deliberately aligning progression with end-point outcomes, we ensure that the developmental gains made in Key Stage 1 are systematically built upon, secured, and sustained through to the end of Year 6.
KS2 checklist
(click below to view pdf attachment)
KS2 Checklist