EYFS
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is designed with the unique child at its heart. By recognising each child as an individual and working in close partnership with parents and carers, we support children’s development through play while carefully considering how to extend their learning further.
PiXieS works in line with guidance from the Department for Education to ensure that children in our care are given the opportunity to develop and learn in accordance with government expectations.
The EYFS framework is built around four key themes, which celebrate the skills and capabilities of babies and young children, and recognise the important relationship between growth, learning, development and the environment in which children are cared for and educated.
The Four Themes of the EYFS
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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 positive and supportive relationships.
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Enabling Environments – Children learn and develop best in environments that respond to their individual needs and where strong partnerships exist between practitioners, parents and carers.
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Learning and Development – Children learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework supports all children in early years provision, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Areas of Learning and Development
The EYFS curriculum is made up of seven areas of learning and development.
Prime Areas
These are fundamental and develop through positive relationships and meaningful experiences:
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Communication and Language – listening and attention, understanding and speaking
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development – making relationships, self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behaviour
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Physical Development – moving and handling, health and self-care
Specific Areas
These grow from the Prime Areas and help to extend children’s 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 of learning, children’s progress is measured against the Early Learning Goals, which describe what children are expected to know and be able to do by the end of the Reception year.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
At PiXieS, we recognise that children engage with learning through the Characteristics of Effective Learning, as outlined in the EYFS:
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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 support them in remaining confident, motivated and effective learners.
Learning Journeys
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 children’s achievements through observations, often supported with photographs. Parents and carers are also encouraged to contribute by sharing special moments and achievements from home.
From a child’s first days as a baby through to starting school, this shared online journal supports assessment, planning next steps, and celebrating each child’s individual development journey.
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
