THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE

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At Little Nest Nursery, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum. For each age group a set of structured benchmarks related to the early learning goals (strands) for every area of learning (subject) are used to assess your child in order to drive their learning experience each week. Children are assessed against these age and stage appropriate benchmarks throughout their time at Little Nest Nursery in order to provide individual tracking of their progress and attainment.

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“The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years’ providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.” UK Department of Education, Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, Setting the Standards for learning development and care for children from birth to five (2014)

Your child’s early years experiences should be happy, active, exciting, fun, secure and should support their development, care and learning needs.

 

Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through seven areas of learning and development. Children should mostly develop the three prime areas first:

• Communication and language

• Physical development

• Personal, social and emotional development

 

These prime areas are the most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in four specific areas:

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the world

• Expressive arts and design

 

These seven 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.

 

With the EYFS, children learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking, which takes place both indoors and outside.