The Early Years Foundation Stage
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world". Nelson Mandela
What is the EYFS?
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is how the Government and early years professionals describe the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5. This is a very important stage as it helps your child get ready for school as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. From when your child is born up until the age of 5, their early years experience should be happy, active, exciting, fun and secure; and support their development, care and learning needs. These are our core values at Little Ladybirds, where we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
It sets out:
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The legal welfare requirements that everyone registered to look after children must follow to keep your child safe and promote their welfare
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The 7 areas of learning and development which guide professionals’ engagement with your child’s play and activities as they learn new skills and knowledge
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Assessments that will tell you about your child’s progress through the EYFS
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Expected levels that your child should reach at age 5, usually the end of the reception year; these expectations are called the “Early Learning Goals (ELGs)”
How my child will be learning
The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development. At Little Ladybirds, your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:
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Communication and language;
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Physical development; and
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Personal, social and emotional development.
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:
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Literacy;
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Mathematics;
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Understanding the world; and
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Expressive arts and design.
These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. In our setting we ensure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like a curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it's suitable for very young children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that we can follow your child's unique needs and interests.
Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.
How can I help with my child's learning?
All the fun activities that you do with your child at home are important in supporting their learning and development, and have a really long lasting effect on your child’s learning as they progress through school. Even when your child is very young and is not yet able to talk, talking to them helps them to learn and understand new words and ideas.
If you make the time every day to do some of the following things with your child it will make a real difference to your child’s confidence as a young learner.
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Sing and tell nursery rhymes
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Talk about the numbers, colours, words and letters you see when you are out and about
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Allow your child to cut out and stick pictures from magazines
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On a trip to the supermarket, talk about all the different packaging shapes
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Talk to your child at every opportunity – e.g. what you are doing that day
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Share a book
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Use the weather – shadows, rain puddles, snow, wind, mist and sun – to extend your child’s vocabulary
You can find the Early Years Foundation Stage which includes the early learning goals at www.foundationyears.org.uk. The foundation years website also includes a range of resources and contacts.