The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the current English curriculum for children aged from birth to the end of their first year at school.

It is broken down into four main themes:

A Unique Child
Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships.

Enabling Environments
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and carers. 

Learning and Development
Practitioners teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the prime and specific areas of learning and development.

Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Characteristics of Learning

These are the ways in which children think about, engage with and respond to activities, opportunities and difficulties they encounter. Bouncy Bear Childcare gives children opportunities to develop positive characteristics of learning which children can then use in the future. We think of them as useful tools the children can access to help them with their learning. They are:

Playing and Exploring – Engagement

• Finding out and exploring
• Playing with what they know
• Being willing to ‘have a go’

Active Learning – Motivation

• Being involved and concentrating
• Keeping trying
• Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

Creating and Thinking Critically – Thinking

• Having their own ideas
• Making links
• Choosing ways to do thing

The curriculum is split into three Prime Areas of Learning and Development and four Specific Areas of Learning and Development. The three Prime Areas are seen as fundamental to children’s learning and development and form the foundation which can be built upon with the four Specific Areas.

Prime Areas

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Communication and Language

Specific Areas

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

For more detailed information on the different areas of learning and development you can speak to your Key Person or alternatively look through the “Guidance for the Developmental Matters” document here.