EYFS

At Harlesden Primary School our vision is to develop well-rounded, happy, and resilient individuals who are prepared to achieve their best in all areas of life, and this begins in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).  From the moment pupils join our school in Nursery, we aim to nurture and support each individual child to achieve their unique potential in all areas of learning. We believe that children deserve the best start and we understand how quickly they develop in the first years of their lives.

We are fully committed to the purpose and aims of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework. We embed the four guiding principles of a unique child who needs positive relationships and enabling environments and who learns and develops in different ways and at different rates within our settings.

Through a varied and rich curriculum in our Early Years Foundation Stage, we are able to foster the 7 areas of learning and development outlined in the framework. These are: Communication and Language, Understanding the World, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Expressive Arts and Design, Mathematics, Physical Development, and Literacy. We use a yearly curriculum map for EYFS that is carefully structured to ensure continuity and progression throughout.  There is a balance of adult and child initiated activities; this caters for the whole child allowing them to enter the activity at their appropriate level.

In Reception we use the Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) within the first six weeks of pupils starting school. This is an informal form of assessment with the teacher and child completing simple, enjoyable activities together. The RBA is used to take a snapshot of each individual child’s knowledge and skills when starting Reception. The teacher will use the RBA to help your child thrive in their Reception year by planning experiences and activities that extend them in areas where they’re strong, and give them extra support in areas that they find more challenging.

We foster a love of reading in the EYFS, and use a scheme called ‘Read, Write Inc’ to teach children how to read. Beginning in Autumn 1, the children in Reception are taught the set 1, single letter sounds, progressing throughout the year until they can eventually orally blend and read books. In Nursery, the children are introduced to environmental and instrumental sounds to build their listening skills before they are taught set 1 sounds during spring 2 and summer terms. We also offer a ‘Book Sharing’ programme. Each child takes home a book each week to read with their family, this introduces them to a wide range of books and supports them to learn to develop their fluency and understanding.