Development: Using The Early Years Foundation Stage

Engaging education for growing minds

We are proud to provide children with a high standard of education, using the Early Years Foundation Stage which we use as a support with our practice to ensure your child’s development happens at an appropriate stage for their age.

There are two key objectives to the EYFS:

To deliver quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress.
To secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child and are assessed and reviewed regularly.

Explore, interact and communicate

Our nursery team assess the ongoing development of all our children by:

Observing children using our iconnect system as they act and interact in their play within everyday planned and unplanned activities. The prime areas of learning will be solely focused between the ages of 0 and 36 months in order to ensure children have secure foundations before progressing to the specific areas of learning. Parents will be able to access our Parents Zone via an app, where they will receive regular updates including their child’s daily routine, activities and achievements.
Summative assessments will be shared with parents during six monthly meetings, discussing the child’s development and how this will be continued to be supported with the nursery and home environment. Parents will also be invited to three monthly engagement events consisting of Mother’s Day Tea, Dad’s Breakfast Morning, Grandparent’s Day, Sports Days etc. At the end of the academic year you will be invited to a graduation ceremony to celebrate your child’s progression and readiness for school.

Using the Early Years Foundation Stage as reference, here’s a breakdown of what your child will be taught through a variety of planned activities that are both adult and child led.

Communication and language development
We give children the opportunity to experience a rich language environment to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to be able to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Physical development
We create the best environment for young children to be active and interactive, and to develop their coordination, control, and movement. This also includes development towards making healthy choices in relation to food.

Personal, social and emotional development
Early years are a formative time for children in developing a positive sense of themselves and others, as well as forming positive relationships and developing respect for others. This area of development also covers social skills and learning how to manage their feelings and appropriate behaviour in groups.

Mathematics development
This involves giving children the opportunity to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems, and describing shapes, spaces and measure.

Understanding the world
We guide children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment they live in.

Expressive art and design
We create an environment for children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. They also develop skills in sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

Literacy development
We encourage children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write.

Creating an inclusive setting
We pride ourselves on differentiating the curriculum to support your child’s individual needs. We work in partnership with parents and other agencies to create an Educational Health Care plan (EHC) with realistic goals. Our highly experienced staff in Special Educational Needs (SEN) ensure you and your child are supported to the highest standard.

Providing high quality learning experiences
You’ll find at least two practitioners with an Early Years Teaching Status. Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) is an award for those who wish to become experts in the 0-5 age range. This qualification is designed for highly qualified staff who will lead delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework in the early years sector.

We pride ourselves differentiating the curriculum to support your child’s individual needs.