The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum

The early years foundation stage sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure 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 future progress through school and life.

The early years foundation stage 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 of opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed regularly and reviewed
• partnership working between practitioners and with parents/carers
• equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every child is included and supported
• learning and development  requirements covering the areas of learning, the early learning goals and the assessment arrangements at the end of reception year in school
• safeguarding and welfare requirements that cover the steps providers must take to keep children safe and promote their welfare

The four guiding principles

There are four guiding principles in the EYFS, we believe it is important that these principles are used when implementing the seven learning and development areas in the EYFS.
The principles are: - 

1. A unique child

   Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self assured.

   Positive relationships

   Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.

   Enabling environments

   Children learn well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents/carers.

   Learning and development

   Children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years settings, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

   Within this theme are seven areas of learning and these must shape the educational programme in early years settings. All areas are interconnected but there are three areas that are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, for building children’s capacity for learning and to help them form relationships and thrive.

Areas of learning and development

• Within the learning and development principle of early years foundation stage, there are seven areas of learning, which shape the educational programme in early years settings. These 7 areas are split between prime and specific areas of learning.

  The 3 prime areas are:

• Communication and language development - giving children opportunities to speak and listen in a range of situations and to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves.
• Physical development - providing opportunities for young children to be active and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy food choices.
• Personal, social and emotional development - helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.

• The 4 specific areas are:

• Literacy development – encouraging children to read and write, both through listening to others reading and beginning to read and write themselves. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials – books, poems, and other written materials, to ignite their interest.
• Mathematics – providing children with opportunities to practise and improve their skills in counting, calculating simple additions and subtractions, and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.
• Understanding the world – guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
• Expressive arts and design involves supporting children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.