Daycare and childminding

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) brings together: Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (2000), the Birth to Three Matters (2002) framework and the National Standards for Under 8s Daycare and Childminding (2003), building a coherent and flexible approach to care and learning. All providers are required to use the EYFS to ensure that whatever setting parents choose, they can be confident that their child will receive a quality experience that supports their development and learning.

Children, families and child development

The EYFS is based on principles of inclusion which means that early years providers oppose discrimination and prejudice and welcome all families and children. They provide care and education for a wide range of children in environments that enable children to feel safe and supported and which extend their learning and development.

Throughout the EYFS stress is placed upon understanding each child and their family as unique, with different needs and concerns. Children’s development is presented under six overlapping phases. This overlap is intended to emphasise the fact that there can be big differences between the development of children of similar ages. At the same time age can be a cue, when taken with all other factors, to indicate that development may be atypical and that a child may need extra support.

EYFS materials

The EYFS package is a pack of resources which contains the regulatory and legal framework for early childhood education and care together with wider guidance. It comprises:

• Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage booklet which sets out both the welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements which must be followed by all providers in delivering the EYFS. The welfare requirements cover safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare, suitable people, premises, environment and equipment and the documents and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of settings. The learning and development requirements set out providers’ duties under each of the six areas of Learning and Development and include the early learning goals.
• Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage booklet which provides some further guidance on the legal requirements, details of the areas of Learning and Development and on key areas such as the EYFS principles and assessment.
• A1 poster which sets out the four guiding Principles of the EYFS and gives an overview of sixteen Commitments that providers need to follow in order to put the Principles into practice. This will be helpful to use with parents and professionals to introduce the EYFS.
• 24 cards which give practitioners the Principles and Commitments at a glance as well as introductory guidance on putting the principles into practice. They also provide details of the requirements for the areas of Learning and Development as well as an overview of child development.
• CD-ROM which contains all the information from the booklets as well as more in-depth information on all the Principles and Commitments covered on the cards. It allows practitioners to access information and video clips on effective practice, research and resources and to tailor their route to meet their own needs.

Links

Wherever possible, links are made on the cards and in the CD-ROM to other parts of the EYFS, for example, to each of the booklets. There are also some key documents to which links are made. The CD-ROM allows users to find their own paths to making wider links across the EYFS and beyond.

Every Child Matters

Every Child Matters is the government agenda which focuses on bringing together services to support children and families. It sets out five major outcomes for children:

• being healthy;
• staying safe;
• enjoying and achieving;
• making a positive contribution;
• economic well-being.

Each Principle into Practice card highlights a link to one of the five Every Child Matters outcomes. Using the EYFS effectively will enable settings to support children in meeting the outcomes. For further information visit www.everychildmatters.gov.uk

Key Elements of Effective Practice (KEEP)

Effective practice in the early years requires committed, enthusiastic and reflective practitioners with a breadth and depth of knowledge, skills and understanding. Effective practitioners use their own learning to improve their work with young children and their families in ways which are sensitive, positive and non-judgemental.

Therefore through initial and on-going training and development practitioners need to develop, demonstrate and continuously improve their:

• relationships with both children and adults;
• understanding of the individual and diverse ways that children learn and develop;
• knowledge and understanding in order to actively support and extend children’s learning in and across all areas and aspects of Learning and Development;
• practice in meeting all children’s needs, learning styles and interests;
• work with parents, carers and the wider community;
• work with other professionals within and beyond the setting.

The Principles into Practice cards carry links to this document, which is an evaluation tool for local authorities, illustrating the key elements of early years expertise required to implement the Principles for early years care and education.

KEEP, Key Elements of Effective Practice (DfES ref 1201-2005G).

Key Stage 1 and the Primary Framework

Links are made to Key Stage 1 (KS1) in the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage booklet. The Primary Framework for Literacy and Mathematics [899Kb] and the EYFS have been developed alongside each other. The Primary Framework provides an overview of EYFS outcomes for school-age children and therefore contains some of the information that practitioners in schools need to work with children from birth to five. It matches the EYFS; however practitioners in schools need to access the full EYFS. Some children will not meet all the early learning goals in the EYFS, and Year 1 teachers need to know how to support and extend their learning to help them meet the early learning goals from the EYFS in Year 1 of primary school. The Primary Framework and the EYFS help nursery, Reception and KS1 teachers see how the six areas of the EYFS link to literacy and mathematics in KS1.