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| home> Under5s Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage |
| under5s - Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage |
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| INTRODUCTION
The EYFS brings together:
The Birth to Three Matters framework, Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation
Stage, and the National Standards for Under 8s Daycare and Childminding.
An EYFS pack is available from the Department’s publications house on request (telephone DfES Publications orderline: 0845 60 222 60 and quote 00012-2007PCK-EN), and for free download from teachernet (at http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/EYFS ), along with the CD-Rom of all the resource materials which is also available on-line. What is in the pack ? 1 – Statutory Framework |
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BACKGROUND
The Early Years Foundation Stage – is a central part of the ten year childcare strategy: - Ensuring a consistent approach to care and learning from birth to the end of the Foundation Stage. - Incorporating elements of the National Standards. - Has a play-based approach - Focuses on stages of development rather than chronological, age based teaching and learning The overarching aim
of the EYFS is to help children achieve the Every Child Matters five outcomes:
1. Staying safe |
The EYFS aims to
help children achieve the 5 outcomes by:
1. Setting standards
The EYFS principles are grouped into 4 themes 1. A unique child. Principle – Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured 2. Positive Relationships Principle – Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person 3. Enabling Environments Principle – The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning 4. Learning and Development Principle – Children
develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas
of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.
WELFARE REQUIREMENTS There are 5 Welfare Requirements 1. Safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare
For each Welfare requirement there are: General requirements Specific requirements Statutory Guidance to which providers should have regard (Further information is provided in the Practice guidance)
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| STAGES
OF DEVELOPMENT
There are six stages
of development and each one is matched, in all 6 areas of learning, to
a photo of a baby or child in the practice guidance. The stages overlap:
1. Birth to 11 months
In order for children to learn successfully they need to be in a secure environment which is physically comfortable. Children can spend long days in a setting and need to have space where they can relax and rest. Babies and young
children make learning connections in their brains faster and better in
an enriched environment. Adult interactions which help support and extend
their learning make a big difference to learning, as does physical activity
during the session.
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| AREAS OF LEARNING
AND DEVELOPMENT
The EYFS is made up of six areas of learning and development
THE KEY PERSON Each child in a group setting must be assigned a Key Person A record of the names of each child’s key person must be kept A key person has special responsibilities for working with a small number of children, giving them reassurance to feel safe and cared for and building relationships with their parents In settings where there are staff working shifts it will be necessary to ensure that key persons are at the setting when their key children are dropped off or collected so that good relationships can be developed with the family. In schools it may be necessary to meet with new parents and carers to explain that each child has a key person who may be the teacher or teaching assistant. Headteachers will need to ensure that staff have time to discuss issues and share information. A key person plays
a vital role in a child’s life and must demonstrate consistency, sensitivity
and be responsive to the child’s needs. They must engage, interact and
connect with a child and their family. They will observe, assess, record
and plan.
OBSERVATION – ASSESSMENT – PLANNING The planning cycle STARTS with observation – ie. Detailed observations inform planning. Schedules and routines should flow with the children’s needs. All planning starts with observing children in order to understand their current interests, development and learning. (card 3.1, observation, assessment and planning. Long term planning Focuses on the environment and the role of the practitioner in supporting learning Supports high quality self-selected and child-initiated play and learning Changes over time to reflect changing interests Short term planning Should be based on observation Is flexible Challenges children’s thinking Extends children’s learning experiences Medium term planning 3+ (can be kept as a ‘bank’ of plans) Should be based on
children’s interests and predictable foci throughout the year (can incorporate
unplanned activities)
PROFILES Should be shared with parents, carers and children Chronologically arranged profiles make it easier for families to include material and show progress. A cross reference section can be kept in the back to cross reference evidence of progress in the 6 areas of learning Should include details from home visits, on-entry and transition information Should include dated and annotated observations, photos and samples of work, children’s comments, parent/carer comments, formative and summative assessments and summary statements and reports Used to inform planning and as a tool to support learning and areas of interest This summary contains information and extracts from the EYFS Statutory Framework and the Practice Guidance for the EYFS, published by the Department for Education and Skills, 2007 |
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| under5s - Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage |
| home> Under5s Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage |
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