EYFS
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is designed with the unique child at its heart. By recognising every child as an individual and working closely in partnership with parents and carers, we support learning and development through play while carefully thinking about how to extend each child’s progress further.
PiXieS works in line with guidance from the Department for Education to ensure children in our care have the opportunity to develop and learn in accordance with government expectations.
The EYFS framework is built around four main themes, which celebrate the skills and abilities of babies and young children and highlight how growth, learning, development and environment work together.
The four themes are:
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A Unique Child – Every child is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
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Positive Relationships – Children learn to be strong and independent through loving and supportive relationships.
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Enabling Environments – Children learn and develop best in environments that respond to their individual needs and encourage close partnerships between practitioners, parents and carers.
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Learning and Development – Children learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework applies to all children in early years provision, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
The EYFS curriculum is organised into seven areas of learning and development.
Prime Areas
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Communication and Language – listening and attention, understanding and speaking.
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development – making relationships, developing self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behaviour.
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Physical Development – moving and handling, health and self-care.
These Prime Areas develop through positive relationships and experiences and remain central throughout the EYFS.
Specific Areas
The Specific Areas grow from the Prime Areas and help extend skills and knowledge:
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Literacy – reading and writing.
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Mathematics – numbers, shape, space and measure.
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Understanding the World – people and communities, the world and technology.
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Expressive Arts and Design – exploring and using media and materials, being imaginative.
For each area, the level of progress expected by the end of the Reception year is defined by the Early Learning Goals. These describe what children should typically know and be able to do by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
At PiXieS, we also recognise the Characteristics of Effective Learning, which describe how children engage with people and their environment:
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Playing and Exploring – engagement
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Active Learning – motivation
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Creating and Thinking Critically – thinking
We observe how each child learns and reflect on what we can provide to help them stay motivated, curious and confident.
Every child at PiXieS has an online Learning Journey through Tapestry. Parents are given their own secure login and can access their child’s journal at any time via the app or online. Key workers record observations of children’s achievements, often with photographs, and parents are encouraged to contribute by sharing special moments from home. From babyhood through to school readiness, this shared online journal helps us plan next steps and support each child’s ongoing development.
A parents guide to the EYFS https://foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/What-to-expect-in-the-EYFS-complete-FINAL-16.09-compressed.pdf
The British Values guide https://foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Fundamental-British-Values-in-the-Early-Years-2017.pdf
