What is the Early Years Foundation Stage?

(EYFS) is how the Government and early years’ professionals describe the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5.

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:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• 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:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• 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. Children under 2 will focus on the 3 prime areas initially during their development.

How will I know how my child is getting on?

During each academic year your child will receive 3 assessments completed by their key worker. These will be shared with you during a parents evening.

Parents evenings will give you the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, highlighting their strengths, but

Please feel free to look at the document below: “What To Expect In The Early Years”.
This is a useful document for parents to help understand your child’s development.