What is in England’s Early Years Curriculum?
EYFS, short for Early Years Foundation Stage, is a series of guidelines on the learning and development of children up to five years old.
EYFS applies to England. Scotland has the early years Curriculum for Excellence, Wales has Foundation Phase and Northern Ireland has Curricular Guidance for Pre-School Education.
In England, these guidelines are set by the government and it is mandatory that all paid nurseries and childminders follow EYFS standards. Schools also follow EYFS when a child is in Reception class, before moving onto Key Stage 1 in Year 1.
As this is the first stage in a child’s development, most learning targets are met through games and activities. Each child’s progress is tested by observation from an early years practitioner or health visitor when they are aged two, three and five.
What does an EYFS curriculum include?
The EYFS curriculum covers seven key areas of learning deemed essential for a child’s early years development. Each term, your childcare provider will cover skills in each of the seven areas.
As of September 2021, early years settings have been using a revised EYFS, as set out by the Department of Education. The revised version introduced new Early Learning Goals (ELGs).
Communication and Language
Often learned through role play, children might practise listening to others, listening to stories, using descriptive language to express themselves or tell a story, or expanding their vocabulary.
Early Learning Goals:
- Listening: To listen during larger and smaller group discussions, clarify their understanding of what they have heard with comments and questions and hold back and forth conversations.
- Speaking: To express their ideas, feelings and explanations, using new vocabulary, different tenses.
Activities to support learning:
- Role play
- Listening to others sharing experiences and opinions
- Listening to stories
- Using descriptive language to express themselves or tell a story
- Learning new words to expand their vocabulary
Physical Development
Early Learning Goals:
- Gross motor skills: Develop balance, coordination and the ability to negotiate obstacles and use their strength in a controlled way, plus to confidently use movements like running, jumping, hopping and skipping.
- Fine motor skills: To properly hold and use a pencil, plus other small tools like pens, paintbrushes, knives, forks, spoons, scissors etc.
Activities to support learning:
- Games that involve running, jumping, throwing and catching
- Using equipment such as climbing frames
- Older children might also discuss healthy living and how they feel after exercise
- Drawing, colouring, painting and crafts
- Eating independently using cutlery
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Early Learning Goals:
- Self-regulation: Learn to recognise their own and others’ feelings and how best to respond, learn to follow instructions and control their impulses and behaviour.
- Managing self: Building independence and perseverance, understanding right and wrong and that rules are there for a reason, learning about personal hygiene and healthy habits.
- Building relationships: To cooperate with others and be sensitive to each other’s needs, to form positive relationships and friendships.
Activities to support learning:
- Practising sharing and taking turns
- Following instructions and rules and understanding why
- Exploring their own needs, interests and feelings
- Learning about and respecting each other’s differences
- Practising independence and self-care
Literacy
Early Learning Goals:
- Comprehension: Show that they understand stories being read to them by retelling and discussing the story in their own words, confidently use vocabulary they have learned in stories, rhymes, poems etc.
- Word reading: Be able to say a sound for every letter of the alphabet (such as ‘puh’ for P) and some digraphs (such as ‘thuh’ for th), read some words using this skill.
- Writing: Write letters and some simple words and sentences.
Activities to support learning:
- Singing nursery rhymes to explore rhymes and syllables
- Learning the alphabet and digraph sounds verbally
- Matching sounds with the letters of the alphabet
- Writing some letters, their names and other simple words
Maths
Early Learning Goals:
- Number: Understand how to say and write 1 -10 in order, be able to recognise 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 objects without counting, know number bonds up to 10.
- Numerical patterns: Count pas 20, explore and compare patterns and quantities in numbers up to 10.
Activities to support learning:
- Counting
- Identifying and drawing shapes
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing using objects
- Learning about weights and measures
Understanding the world
Early Learning Goals:
- Past and present: Learn about and discuss others’ lives and roles in the community and society, learn about the past and compare how things were then to now.
- People, culture and communities: Describe their own environment and culture and be able to compare it with those in other cultures, faiths and countries.
- The natural world: Explore the natural world and understand what is natural and what is man-made, understand changing seasons and weather and the effects they have.
Activities to support learning:
- Exploring their senses of sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch
- Learning about nature and seasons, often outdoor learning in a local park or woodland
- Looking at maps
- Exploring cultures, religion and cultural and religious festivals
- Practical experiments with science, such as seeing which objects float in a tub of water
- Using computers or other technology to begin children’s technical skills
Expressive Arts and Design
Early Learning Goals:
- Creating with materials: Explore different materials, textures and techniques for creating art and explain their process; use props effectively in role playing and storytelling.
- Being imaginative and expressive: Create and tell stories of their own, sing nursery rhymes and songs from memory.
Activities to support learning:
- Painting, messy painting, drawing and crafts
- Making music and singing
- Dancing, independently and as a group
- Role playing known stories (such as fairy tales) and their own stories
Development Matters
In 2012, with support from the Department of Education, Early Education launched a document for early years practitioners that detailed non-statutory guidance that supports them in implementing EYFS. The guidance helps early years practitioners to plan their curriculum, with emphasis on the four characteristics of effective learning.
These are:
• A unique child
• Positive relationships
• Enabling environments
• Learning and development
Conflict of beliefs
If an area of your child’s EYFS learning conflicts with your beliefs, you can ask for them to be exempt. For example, you might not want them to learn about religious festivals that conflict with your family’s faith, or about farms if they are vegan.
Speak to their key worker at nursery, who will be able to tell you whether your request requires a formal exemption request. If it does, you’ll need to write a letter explaining how your religious or philosophical beliefs conflict with the curriculum. If the nursery grants you an exemption, it will last for one year, after which you’ll need to reapply.
How do I work in early years ?
Visit our careers advice page which has information about registering with colleges for childcare courses –
If you are interested and looking for more information about childcare jobs visit our nursery jobs page