Early Years Foundation Stage
Our approach to learning, development and assessment
Learning through play
Being active and play supports young children’s learning and development through ‘doing’ and ‘talking’. This is how children learn to think about and understand the world around them. We use the EYFS statutory guidance on education programmes to plan and provide opportunities which will help children to make progress in all areas of learning. This programme is made up of a mixture of activities that are both child led and organised by our practitioners.
Special Educational needs coordinator (SENCO)
We have a legal duty to follow the SEND code of practice. Early years practitioners face a challenging task in identifying very young children with further needs and simultaneously offering support and advice to concerned parents, which requires a high level of expertise.
This is important for early year’s settings in supporting early identification and intervention for children with special educational needs and will be a beneficial contact for parents if they were to have any concerns about their child’s development.
The responsibility of the SENCO involves ensuring all practitioners in the setting understand their responsibilities to children with SEN and the setting’s approach to identifying and meeting SEND code of practice.
Observation and Assessment
We assess how young children are learning and developing through observations using an online learning journal ‘Tapestry’. We use information that we gain from observations, as well as from photographs or videos of the children, to document their progress and see where this may be leading them. We believe that parents know their children best and we will ask you to contribute to their assessment by sharing information about what your child likes to do at home and how you, as parents, are supporting their development.
We make periodic assessment summaries of children’s achievement based on our on-going development records. These form part of children’s records of achievement. We undertake these assessment summaries at regular intervals, as well as at times of transition, such as when a child moves into a different group or when they go on to school.
The progress check at aged ‘two’
The Early Years Foundation Stage requires that we supply parents and carers with a short written summary of their child’s development in the three prime areas of learning and development – personal, social and emotional development; physical development; and communication and language when a child is aged between 24 – 36 months. Your child’s key person is responsible for completing the check using information from on-going observational assessments carried out as part of our everyday practice, taking account of the views and contributions of parents and other professionals.
Characteristics of effective learning
We understand that all children engage with other people and their environment through the characteristics of effective learning that are described in the Early Years Foundation Stage as:
playing and exploring – engagement, active learning – motivation and creating and thinking critically – thinking.
We aim to provide for the characteristics of effective learning by observing how a child is learning and being clear about what we can do and provide in order to support each child to remain an effective and motivated learner.
Development Matters
Prime Areas
Personal, social and emotional development | Physical development | Communication and language
Specific Areas
Literacy | Mathematics | Understanding the world | Expressive arts and design.
Click the link below to view the full development matters book.
