"The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery."
Erik H. Erikson
The EYFS
As a registered childminder, it is a legal requirement that I follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework. This covers the stage of children's development from birth to the end of their first (Reception) year in school.
The EYFS comprises the Statutory Framework which contains my legal responsibilities for children's health, safety, learning and development as well as guidance documents that can help me to meet the statutory requirements.
The EYFS 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
The principles which guide the work of all early years practitioners are grouped into four themes:
A Unique Child
A Unique Child – every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Positive Relationships
Positive Relationship – children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person
Enabling Environments
Enabling Environments – the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.
Learning & Development
Learning and Development – children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and inter-connected
How your child will learn
The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development.
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. The professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure 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 staff 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.
The following information comes from the Parents’ Guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. This can be found at http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2015/01/EYFS_Parents_Guide-amended1.pdf
Progress Check at 2 Years
At some point after your child turns 2, I will give you a written summary of how your child is progressing against the 3 prime areas of learning:
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communication and language;
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physical development; and
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personal, social and emotional development.
This is called the progress check at age 2.
This check will highlight areas where your child is progressing well and any where they might need some extra help or support – and how mums and dads and other family members or carers can work with me to help. You might find it useful to share the information from the check with other professionals such as health visitors (who can use it as part of the health and development review).
Please click on the file to download the letter and an example of how the check would look.
As a mum or dad, 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.
When your child is 5
At the end of the EYFS – in the summer term of the reception year in school – teachers complete an assessment which is known as the EYFS Profile. This assessment is carried out by the reception teacher and is based on what they, and other staff caring for your child, have observed over a period of time. Another important part of the EYFS Profile is your knowledge about your child’s learning and development, so do let your child’s class teacher know about what your child does with you: such as how confident your child is in writing their name, reading and talking about a favourite book, speaking to people your child is not so familiar with or their understanding of numbers. All of the information collected is used to judge how your child is doing in the 7 areas of learning and development.
