Early Years Foundation Stage (0 – 60 months+)
A safe secure and happy childhood is important, each child needs to be able to make the most of their abilities and talent as they grow up. The Early years foundation stage sets out a standard to teach each child with the knowledge and skills, thus providing the right foundation for good future progress to become school ready and in their future lives.
Every child deserves the best possible start in life and support that will enable them to fulfil their potential. Children in their early years (0-5 Years) develop quickly, their experiences at an early age impact on their future.
The Areas of learning help a child engage with others and their environment, this will be through play, creations, exploring, thinking and active learning, these will help a child feel supported and keep them motivated in an effective way. These areas of learning will shape the experiences and activities for all children in my care.
Prime Areas
These 3 areas of learning is where a child will develop quickly, these areas support their learning in all other areas throughout their early years and school years of learning.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This area teaches children to talk about and show their feelings, along with understanding and being able to follow rules and manage their behaviour in turn understanding the consequences of unacceptable behaviour.
Helping them become self-aware and giving them self-confidence to choose their own activity or speak and give their own ideas in a grouped activity. Learning to share and take turns, co-operating with others in their ideas of play, while being sensitive to their needs and feelings , Making a base for them to progress in making good positive relationships with other children and peers.
Physical Development
This area will also involve teaching children how to help themselves with their own personal needs, their basic hygiene, help with toileting and dressing themselves, this again building on the their self-confidence.
Communication and Language
Helping children from an early age the importance of listening and understanding in a range of different situations. Teaching and engaging children during listening and communication activities, encouraging them to verbally participate and express their own ideas, views but also showing awareness of listening to others. This area will give children the ability to understand given instructions.
Specific Areas
These areas are essential to give knowledge and skills to help children progress and participate in society successfully.
Literacy
Children need a wide variety and range of reading material from books, poems, magazines etc. Their being read too and their interaction is vital to help them link sounds and letters, they will be able to understand and use sentences themselves to tell others about what they have learnt.
All children will use their phonic knowledge to start writing, as this will match the sound of the word. They will be taught and encouraged to write very simple sentences that they themselves can read back to you. This will include words that are spelt correctly along with phonetically sounding words.
Mathematics
This provides children with the skills of understanding numbers in counting and how to use them in calculations of simple subtraction and addition sums. Maths will also give children the skills to understand how to solve number problems including sharing between others.
They will gain knowledge of of how to describe shapes, compare quantities, size, weight measurements and understand spaces, distances and time.
Understanding the World
Children like to explore and learn new exciting things around them, this involves encouraging children to observe the outside world in a positive way Showing them their own community/local environment and what it has to offer, they can learn about families, other peoples cultures and the places/countries they live in.
Technology is ever expanding, children will learn it is used in many in different ways for different reasons, they will select and use this for particular purposes.
Expressive Arts and Design
This is a great way for children to express themselves through play and being creative with a wide range materials and media. A variety of activities involving music, dance, role-play, art and design helps them use their imagination, sharing their feelings,ideas and thoughts to others.
