Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework

The Government sets a framework for us to work within at Waltham Pre-school. This is called the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This framework begins from birth, moving through the Pre-school years and on into the Reception year at school, finishing at the end of the first year of school when the children move onto the National Curriculum.

We observe and assess your child’s progress on a regular basis, and provide regular feedback to you through discussions, parents evenings, small written reports and Tapestry- our easy-to-use, secure on-line learning journal. We will use our observations to plan activities for your child, ensuring they have every opportunity to achieve their full potential. 

The Early Years Foundation Stage is made up of seven areas of learning and development, three PRIME areas and four SPECIFIC areas:

PRIME areas

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) - Focusing on making relationships, self confidence and self awareness and managing feelings and behaviour.

Communication and Language Development(CLD) - Developing listening and attention, understanding and speaking skills. 

Physical Development(PD) - Covering moving and handling skills and development of health and self-care knowledge.

SPECIFIC areas:

Mathematics(MD) - Looking at numbers and space, shape and measures.

Literacy(L) - which looks at reading and writing skills.

Understanding the World(UtW) - investigating people and communities, the World and technology.

Expressive arts and design(CD) - which explores and uses different media and materials and encourages imaginative play.

By following the EYFS strategy we ensure every child gets the support they need to reach their potential and develop both physically and mentally.

An Introduction to the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum 0-5 years

1. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

2. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

3. The EYFS seeks to provide:

• quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress and no child gets left behind
• a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly
• partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers
• equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported.

4. The EYFS specifies requirements for learning and development and for safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. The learning and development requirements cover:

• the areas of learning and development which must shape activities and experiences (educational programmes) for children in all early years settings.
• the early learning goals that providers must help children work towards (the knowledge, skills and understanding children should have at the end of the academic year in which they turn five).
• assessment arrangements for measuring progress (and requirements for reporting to parents and/or carers).

5. The safeguarding and welfare requirements cover the steps that providers must take to keep children safe and promote their welfare.

Overarching principles

6. Four guiding principles should shape practice in early years settings. These are:

• every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
• children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
• children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
• children develop and learn in different ways (see “the characteristics of effective teaching and learning” at paragraph 1.9) and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

You will find opportunities such as these in abundance at our setting.