Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance
Early Years Education
The aim of the EYFS is to help young children achieve all the Every Child Matters outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being.
Principles into Practice
There are four themes that express important principles underpinning effective practice in the care, development and learning of young children. Each principle is supported by four commitments which describe how the principle can be put into practice.
The four themes of the EYFS are:
A Unique Child
Recognising that every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. The commitments are focused around child development, inclusive practice, keeping safe and health and well-being.
Positive Relationships
This describes how children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person. The commitments are focused around respecting each other, parents as partners, supporting learning and the role of the key person.
Enabling Environments
Recognising that the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning. The commitments are around observation, assessment and planning, supporting every child, the learning environment and the wider context.
Learning and Development
This describes how children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and inter-connected. The commitments are focused around play and exploration, active learning, creativity and critical thinking and areas of learning and development.
The EYFS is made up to six areas of learning and development. All areas of learning and development are connected to one another and are equally important. The six areas are:-
* Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
* Communication, Language and Literacy.
* Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy.
* Knowledge and Understanding of the World.
* Physical Development.
* Creative Development.
In every area the Early Learning Goals state what each child is expected to achieve by the end of the reception year in their education.
All of these areas are interconnected with each other and we at Coten End Pre-school teach these principles through planned, purposeful and interesting activities that are age and stage appropriate.
