A Guide for Parents…
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage?
This is the stage in your child’s life that gets them ready and prepares them for school, as well as for their future learning and successes. The EYFS was created to ensure your child’s first five years are happy, active, exciting, fun and secure, as well as to support their development, care and learning needs.
All nurseries, pre-schools, reception classes and childminders who are registered to deliver the EYFS must follow a legal document called the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
What is the EYFS Framework?
The EYFS Framework is there to support all professionals working in the Early Years age group. It has a large emphasis on the adult’s role in helping the children develop.
It sets out:
What does this mean for parents?
Within the EYFS there are a set of welfare standards that everyone must follow which will ensure your child is as safe as possible. These include the maximum numbers a setting can have in their care at any given time and the need to carry out risk assessments.
How your child will be learning:
Your child will be learning skills, acquiring knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the three prime areas first:
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in four specific areas:
We will use these to plan your child’s learning and activities. Activities will be suited to your child’s unique ways of learning. They will learn by playing and exploring, being active and through creative and critical thinking, which will take place inside and outside.
How do I know how my child is getting on?
It is important that we work together, sharing information about your child, what they have done at home and during their time with us. There are various assessment steps throughout the EYFS but we will continually be assessing and building on your child’s skills.
When your child starts with us, we will make initial observations to establish where your child is at their stage of development and this will form a baseline to mark their ongoing progress. These initial observations will be shared with you and your input and help with these are very much valued.
You are welcome to look through your child's Learning Journal and chat to your Key Person about progress and development. We welcome your input into your child's Journal, as this makes it a wonderful developmental record that you can look back on in years to come.
What is the Early Years Foundation Stage?
This is the stage in your child’s life that gets them ready and prepares them for school, as well as for their future learning and successes. The EYFS was created to ensure your child’s first five years are happy, active, exciting, fun and secure, as well as to support their development, care and learning needs.
All nurseries, pre-schools, reception classes and childminders who are registered to deliver the EYFS must follow a legal document called the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.
What is the EYFS Framework?
The EYFS Framework is there to support all professionals working in the Early Years age group. It has a large emphasis on the adult’s role in helping the children develop.
It sets out:
- the legal welfare requirements that everyone registered to look after children must follow to keep your child safe and promote their welfare;
- the seven areas of learning and development which guide professionals’ engagement with your child’s play and activities as they learn new skills and knowledge;
- assessments that will tell you about your child’s progress through the EYFS;
- the expected levels (Early Learning Goals) that your child should reach at the age of 5, which is usually at the end of their reception year.
What does this mean for parents?
Within the EYFS there are a set of welfare standards that everyone must follow which will ensure your child is as safe as possible. These include the maximum numbers a setting can have in their care at any given time and the need to carry out risk assessments.
How your child will be learning:
Your child will be learning skills, acquiring knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the three prime areas first:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Physical development
- Communication and language
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in four specific areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
We will use these to plan your child’s learning and activities. Activities will be suited to your child’s unique ways of learning. They will learn by playing and exploring, being active and through creative and critical thinking, which will take place inside and outside.
How do I know how my child is getting on?
It is important that we work together, sharing information about your child, what they have done at home and during their time with us. There are various assessment steps throughout the EYFS but we will continually be assessing and building on your child’s skills.
When your child starts with us, we will make initial observations to establish where your child is at their stage of development and this will form a baseline to mark their ongoing progress. These initial observations will be shared with you and your input and help with these are very much valued.
You are welcome to look through your child's Learning Journal and chat to your Key Person about progress and development. We welcome your input into your child's Journal, as this makes it a wonderful developmental record that you can look back on in years to come.
