Working in partnership with our parents is our key goal as you undoubtedly are the most important person in your child’s life. We are here to support you as a family and your child and it is important for us to work together to help your child develop to their full potential in their early years.

In the early years, we often refer to the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) so we thought it would be beneficial to share with you, what the Early Years Foundation Stage is.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) looks at the stages of development from birth to the end of the child’s first year in school. These years see the greatest growth and learning for your child.

The EYFS is based on 4 overarching principles, which together, shape good practice in early years settings:

A Unique Child

Every child is unique.  They are consistently learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships

Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.

Enabling Environments

Children learn and develop well in environments where their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and yourself as a parent and/or carer.

Learning and development

Children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates.
The framework covers the education and care of your child within the early
years setting, including children with additional needs.

So what does this mean for you and your child?

The EYFS supports practitioners to provide play experiences that enable your child to expand their knowledge and skills to support their learning and development in their early years.  As practitioners, we recognise your child’s strengths and areas they may need additional support with.
This support may come from within the nursery or from other professionals.

It is important for your child to feel secure in their surroundings, this is aided by having a ‘Key Practitioner within the setting who will get to know you and your child well and will form a positive and interactive relationship with you both.  Your child’s key practitioner is based in your child’s room and spends plenty of quality time with their key children as individuals and in their group.

The activities and experiences that we provide for your child will underpin the skills they need to work towards the Early Learning Goals in the following 7 areas:

Prime Areas

Communication and language
Physical Development
Personal, social and emotional development

Specific Areas

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Art and Design

Learning and development are crucial from birth.  The 7 areas within the EYFS are all of the equal importance however for children under 3 years old the Prime areas are our focus.  These ‘3 Prime’ areas support your child’s initial skills and give them the basis to develop in the ‘4 Specific’ areas when in our pre-school room.

In partnership with parents, we will use our observations to plan future activities that relate to children’s current interests, needs and the world around them.

Your child has an individual learning journey where we record observations, photos and other information that is kept as an on-going record of their developmental journey.  As a commitment to your child, it is important that we regularly meet and discuss your child’s progress and look towards their future next steps.

Parents can apply for exemption for their child if they feel that the learning and development requirements of the EYFS, or some element(s) of it, conflict with their religious or philosophical convictions.

If your child attends more than one childcare provider, we would very much like to work with them to discuss your child’s development and work together to provide cohesive care.

If you have any further questions about early education or the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) please talk to your child’s key practitioner who will be able to offer further information.

Alternatively, visit https://Foundation Years.org.uk