Early Years Foundation Stage

EYFS overview

Our aim is to build strong foundations for each child’s education, ensuring they settle quickly and form positive relationships with both staff and peers. We offer home visits to help your child become familiar with staff and to discuss any individual needs they may have. From the very start, we ensure a welcoming, safe, happy, and caring environment. We believe in the importance of play, both indoors and outdoors, to foster creativity, independence, and inquisitive thinking. Our engaging activities and resources encourage children to explore, think creatively, and persist, maximising their learning potential.

Working Together

We recognise that you know your child best and value working in partnership with you. We welcome regular conversations both at the door each day and through our communications app- Tapestry. We have a range of events such as workshops, in-class sessions, trips, whole-school events where you can get involved. Every child is special to us, and we get to know them individually to plan accordingly for good progress. Parents can read more about the EYFS in our Parent/Carer Handbook. 

EYFS curriculum

Within the frameworks of the EYFS statutory document and the curriculum guidance for EYFS, we provide meaningful and motivating play-based experienced and challenges which set children up with a solid foundation for the next stage of their school life.

The EYFS curriculum has seven areas of learning:

PRIME AREAS

• Communication and Language
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development

SPECIFIC AREAS

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

At Harry Gosling, we set high expectations and provide high-quality personalised support, delivering a curriculum which meets the needs and backgrounds of all. Each half term we focus on a specific aspect that we believe is important to our children’s development:

How the EYFS works

Teaching and learning follows an observation, planning, and assessment cycle. You can read about how teaching and learning happens in the EYFS in What to Expect in the EYFS. 

Children are ‘planted’ in an enabling environment- the ‘soil’ by the adult. Through the growth of ‘roots’- play, exploration, active learning, and creative and critical thinking, they start to grow the solid ‘trunk’ of the Prime Areas of Learning. With continued nurturing through the positive interactions of adults, the Specific Areas of Learning start to ‘branch out’ and grow. All elements are equally important and interconnected.

Communication and Language

Communication underpins children’s learning and development, and directly leads to their well-being and success in later years. We place a strong focus on extending children’s vocabulary, and supporting them to be confident communicators in a variety of ways using strategies like colourful semantics and Signalong. We provide plenty of opportunities for children to talk and develop their vocabulary, and work closely with a speech and language therapist linked to our school.

Read Write Inc. Phonics Programme

We introduce the 'Read Write Inc.' phonics programme during the summer term of Nursery. This early introduction helps familiarise children with the sounds and letters, preparing them for more structured phonics lessons that begin in Reception. The systematic programme is designed to develop early reading skills, supporting children in learning letter sounds, blending them into words, and eventually reading fluently. Progress is closely tracked, leading to carefully tailored teaching, ensuring no child is left behind.

NCETM Mastering Number and Numicon

We use the NCETM Mastering Number Programme alongside the Numicon scheme in the EYFS which is designed to help children develop a strong understanding of number and mathematical concepts. It is a visual and hands-on approach to teaching early mathematics. The scheme encourages active learning and helps children make meaningful connections between numbers and real-world applications, laying a solid foundation for their future mathematical learning.

Children with additional needs

We are committed to an inclusive environment that welcomes all. We have close links to outside agencies, including specialist speech support, who have regular time within our school. Through these partnerships we have developed a range of interventions that support children’s communication and routine needs, and teach all children to recognise and manage their emotions through a programme called ‘Zones of Regulation’.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We offer tours around the school on a regular basis. We look forward to welcoming your child to our EYFS and working together to support their development.