About the Early Years Foundation Stage
As every parent knows, play is vital for children. Quite literally, it's through play that babies and young children learn, grow and have fun. It helps them understand the world and to develop socially and emotionally. Singing songs, reading together, playing games with letters and numbers and having fun with friends gives them a head start. That means not just a happy childhood; it also helps their self confidence, so they can handle what life brings them. All children should be able to play and learn in a fun environment with adults who understand and care about them. You should feel confident about leaving your child with our Nursery.
You will hear or may have heard
of EYFS or the Early Year’s Foundation Stage.
The government brought out some new
rules and guidelines, which started in September 2012,
and these guidelines are what all preschools, nurseries and schools
up to the end of reception are working with.
The EYFS breaks down into seven areas of learning.
The primary areas are:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Communication and
Language Development.
Physical Development.
The specific
areas are:
Understanding of the World.
Literacy.
Mathematics.
Expressive Arts and Design.
We set the nursery up so that each child coming
in can access all these areas of learning if they so wish, both
inside and outside. This is called free
flow, children can go in and out as they wish because
the outdoor area is a critical part of the learning environment and
equally as important as the inside.
We
lay activities out on the floor as well as tables as we find this
gives children plenty of space to move around and freedom of
choice.
All the areas of the nursery are brightly labelled, with visual clues to help your child know where to find what they need, encouraging them to be independent.
Within each of these seven areas of learning there are lots of learning goals which the key workers through play, observations, support, and good planning will help your child work towards.
Children will learn to respond, explore, express and communicate their ideas and use their imagination when they are given enough time to explore their ideas, imitate what they see, experiment with ideas and bring their own ideas into the process. We will give them enough time to do this.
Parents as Partners
Nobody knows your child better than you do and your input is vital to us. We welcome your comments and suggestions, as well as any concerns or questions you may have. Your child is very important to you, as you are important to your child; you are the most important people in their lives. We will work closely with you to ensure the best possible experience for their time with us.
