What is the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)?
The EYFS sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth until the end of the reception year of primary school. It builds upon, and will replace, the existing frameworks: Birth to Three Matters, the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, and the National Standards for Daycare and Childminding. The guidance and legal requirements in the EYFS will help to ensure that children receive a high quality experience regardless of the type of setting they attend.
Who is involved?
All childcare providers, for children from birth to five, across maintained, private, voluntary and independent sectors will have to provide the EYFS. This includes day nurseries, childminders, playgroups, children’s centres, pre-schools and maintained and independent schools.
Between now and September 2008, local authority early years advisers will ensure all early years providers are aware of the EYFS and have the support to help them implement it. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) are reworking their inspection arrangements to tie in with the new EYFS. Trainers and those trainees in the early years sector also need to familiarise themselves with the EYFS and training institutions must ensure they incorporate the EYFS principles in their suite of courses.
Including all children
The EYFS is for all children in settings outside their home. It emphasises the right of children and their families to be included and welcomed in all settings and requires practitioners to promote positive attitudes to diversity and difference and to meet the individual needs of all children whatever their background, needs or abilities. This is reflected in the four principles that sit at the heart of the EYFS:
- A unique child - every child is a competent learner from birth, who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- Positive relations - children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person
- Enabling Environments - the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning
- Learning and development - children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates, and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.
All early years workers should put these principles into practice whether they work from their homes as a childminder or in a nursery, playgroup, school or pre-school. The way they do this will vary according to the age of the child and their stage of development.
The EYFS provides guidance on different ages and stages, on what practitioners might observe children doing, and gives examples of effective practice and appropriate planning and resourcing at each stage.