Curriculum
What I need to know about the Early Years Foundation Stage: A Parent’s Guide
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The EYFS is a stage of children’s development from birth to the end of their first year in school (reception). During this stage there is a framework that governs the standards set for care and education in nurseries and
schools. The EYFS Framework is a new document that brings together documents that practitioners have previously used, such as the Birth to Three Framework, Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage and National Standards. From September 2012 it is a statutory requirement to deliver the revised EYFS in
nurseries and reception classes. It describes how early years practitioners should work with children and their families to support and enhance learning and development. It provides information on how your child should be cared for when they are in a setting, and how everyone involved in your child’s development can
help them achieve their potential.
The framework is based on four Themes and Principles and is supported by 16 commitments. It recognises children as individuals and competent learners. The EYFS is delivered through a well planned play based approach to
learning and development.
So what does this mean for you and your child?
For all children learning begins at birth. The EYFS will help practitioners provide appropriate play based experiences to enable your child to develop in all areas. It will enable practitioners to recognise your child’s
strengths and areas of development. The EYFS means that wherever your child is being cared for or educated between 0 and 5 years they will be following the same set of principles and they will be offered a ‘principled play based approach to learning and development’. The activities that are provided for young children will underpin the skills they need to work towards the Early Learning Goals in the following areas at the end of their reception year at school.
There are seven areas of learning and development that shape the revised EYFS.
There are 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas
The Prime Areas are:
· Personal, social and emotional development
· Physical development
· Communication and language
The Specific Areas are:
· Literacy
· Mathematics
· Understanding the world
· Expressive art and design
All areas are of equal importance and many activities will cover more than one area. Each area is divided up into stages of development and practitioners are able to identify resources and learning opportunities for
individual children dependent on their developmental needs, not just their age range.
The EYFS also encourages practitioners, parents and carers to work together to help children develop to their full potential. This means you will be given the opportunity to have an input about your child’s development.
If your child has a Special Educational Need and/or a disability, additional information is imbedded in the EYFS to enable practitioners to target work specifically to help them achieve their potential and progress
further.
What your child will be doing at nursery?
If you ask your child at the end of the day what they have done at nursery their answer will probably be something along the lines of “just played”. This is true, they have been playing, but at the same time have been
learning. The curriculum used in nurseries is centred around play based learning. Planning has actually gone into the opportunities for play on a daily basis and based on your child’s needs. This will ensure that each child’s individual needs have been taken into account to consolidate and extend learning through play.
How will we track your child’s progress?
For young children it is important that they are made to feel safe and secure in any environment and to aid this, the use of a ‘Key Person’ within the setting who builds positive relationships with both you and your
child, is of vital importance. Having a key person will enable you to discuss at any time, any issues that may arise regarding your child’s development. This key person will then document your child’s development in form of a ‘learning journey’. This learning journey is a file that is designed to be started from when they enter nursery at whatever age that may be, to when they leave.
It will document progression and development towards the Early Learning Goals. It will be a combination of photographic evidence and spontaneous observations to document progression within the Early Years Foundation Stage. This file will be kept in nursery and will be shared with you during informal parent’s evenings, you can of course see the file at any time.
What can you do at home?
Parents and carers are a child’s first teachers. When they are with you learning can happen at any time and anywhere, for example, through: praise and encouragement; reading things together; playing games, singing
nursery rhymes; talking about what you can see in the park and counting the stairs as you go up and down.
The EYFS is a stage of children’s development from birth to the end of their first year in school (reception). During this stage there is a framework that governs the standards set for care and education in nurseries and
schools. The EYFS Framework is a new document that brings together documents that practitioners have previously used, such as the Birth to Three Framework, Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage and National Standards. From September 2012 it is a statutory requirement to deliver the revised EYFS in
nurseries and reception classes. It describes how early years practitioners should work with children and their families to support and enhance learning and development. It provides information on how your child should be cared for when they are in a setting, and how everyone involved in your child’s development can
help them achieve their potential.
The framework is based on four Themes and Principles and is supported by 16 commitments. It recognises children as individuals and competent learners. The EYFS is delivered through a well planned play based approach to
learning and development.
So what does this mean for you and your child?
For all children learning begins at birth. The EYFS will help practitioners provide appropriate play based experiences to enable your child to develop in all areas. It will enable practitioners to recognise your child’s
strengths and areas of development. The EYFS means that wherever your child is being cared for or educated between 0 and 5 years they will be following the same set of principles and they will be offered a ‘principled play based approach to learning and development’. The activities that are provided for young children will underpin the skills they need to work towards the Early Learning Goals in the following areas at the end of their reception year at school.
There are seven areas of learning and development that shape the revised EYFS.
There are 3 prime areas and 4 specific areas
The Prime Areas are:
· Personal, social and emotional development
· Physical development
· Communication and language
The Specific Areas are:
· Literacy
· Mathematics
· Understanding the world
· Expressive art and design
All areas are of equal importance and many activities will cover more than one area. Each area is divided up into stages of development and practitioners are able to identify resources and learning opportunities for
individual children dependent on their developmental needs, not just their age range.
The EYFS also encourages practitioners, parents and carers to work together to help children develop to their full potential. This means you will be given the opportunity to have an input about your child’s development.
If your child has a Special Educational Need and/or a disability, additional information is imbedded in the EYFS to enable practitioners to target work specifically to help them achieve their potential and progress
further.
What your child will be doing at nursery?
If you ask your child at the end of the day what they have done at nursery their answer will probably be something along the lines of “just played”. This is true, they have been playing, but at the same time have been
learning. The curriculum used in nurseries is centred around play based learning. Planning has actually gone into the opportunities for play on a daily basis and based on your child’s needs. This will ensure that each child’s individual needs have been taken into account to consolidate and extend learning through play.
How will we track your child’s progress?
For young children it is important that they are made to feel safe and secure in any environment and to aid this, the use of a ‘Key Person’ within the setting who builds positive relationships with both you and your
child, is of vital importance. Having a key person will enable you to discuss at any time, any issues that may arise regarding your child’s development. This key person will then document your child’s development in form of a ‘learning journey’. This learning journey is a file that is designed to be started from when they enter nursery at whatever age that may be, to when they leave.
It will document progression and development towards the Early Learning Goals. It will be a combination of photographic evidence and spontaneous observations to document progression within the Early Years Foundation Stage. This file will be kept in nursery and will be shared with you during informal parent’s evenings, you can of course see the file at any time.
What can you do at home?
Parents and carers are a child’s first teachers. When they are with you learning can happen at any time and anywhere, for example, through: praise and encouragement; reading things together; playing games, singing
nursery rhymes; talking about what you can see in the park and counting the stairs as you go up and down.
