A parents guide to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
- Why do I need to know about the EYFS?
- What is the EYFS?
- What are the EYFS Principles?
- Why are the years from birth to five so special?
- What can parents/ carers do?
- Why is it important?
- How will my child learn?
Why do I need to know about the EYFS?
- The EYFS is about the care your child will receive from birth to five years.
- Children do best when parents and professionals work together.
- Understanding what your child is doing when they are with others will help you to notice how well they are developing and learning.
- The part you play in their learning and the choices you make will make a difference to their future.
- It is important to remember that you know more about your child than anyone else. At Stanford School we will be asking you about your child and sharing information with you about your child's progress.
What is the EYFS?
- It is a stage of development from birth to the end of their first year at school.
- The EYFS framework describes how schools should work with children and their families to support their development and learning.
- It describes how your child should be kept safe and cared for and how we can all make sure that your child achieves the most that they can in their earliest years of life.
- It is based on four basic principles.
What are the EYFS Principles?
Theme: A Unique Child
Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self assured.
Theme: Positive Relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and Early Years staff at school.
Theme: Enabling Environments
The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.
Theme: 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 interconnected.
Each principle applies to all children from birth, and is supported by four commitments that describe how the principles work.
Why are the years from birth to five so special?
The years from birth to five see the greatest growth and learning for all
children.
At Stanford School, we want you child to:
- Enjoy good health
- Be happy
- Feel safe
- Be successful
Early learning is the key to your child’s future and families make the greatest difference at this stage.
What can Parents/carers do?
Parents and carers are the child’s first teachers. When they are with you, learning can happen anywhere at any time, a few examples are:
- Reading things together
- Playing games, singing nursery rhymes
- Talking about what you can see in the park or on the street.
- Counting the stairs as you go up and down
Why is it important?
It is called the Foundation Stage because it gives a secure foundation
for future learning. Childhood is important and we want all children at
Stanford School to have many, many enjoyable, successful and satisfying
learning experiences. We aim to develop positive attitudes to learning in
all our children.
All children learn best from experiences that are suitable for their stage of development. Play is the key to the way young children learn. Through play children can develop the confidence for learning, social skills needed for personal development, and skills needed for writing, counting and exploring their environment. In that way children become more independent and are able to tackle simple problems.
How will my child learn?
All children learn best from experiences that are suitable for their
stage of development. Play is the key to the way young children learn.
Through play children can develop the confidence for learning, social skills
needed for personal development and skills needed for writing, counting and
exploring their environment. In that way children become more independent
and are able to tackle simple problems.
Finally, The Early Years Foundation Stage is about you and your child working in partnership with us at Stanford School to ensure your child’s needs are best met.