September 2023 will mark the start of a new academic year and for some practitioners, you may be starting, returning to, or moving into the Early Years Foundation Stage from another key stage of education. Whether you are a seasoned professional or at the very beginning of your Early Years career, it is good practice to take time to think about what the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework is and how it applies to your practice.

This four-part series will focus upon key aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (DfE, 2021/23). Each week there will be a different focus, which will cover topics such as underpinning legislation, implementing the forthcoming changes to the framework and how to effectively support children with SEND.

The statutory framework for the early year’s foundation stage

In 2008, the Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS) was introduced in England for all providers of early childhood care and education. The EYFS amalgamated and replaced existing frameworks and documents for under 5’s, including the Every Child Matters government initiative and the curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The purpose of the EYFS was to provide a statutory and cohesive framework for early years education and care, which promoted the learning and development of young children.

Furthermore, a key aim of the EYFS was to improve overall outcomes for all children and to support disadvantaged children by helping to close the attainment gap. The framework additionally set out clearer safeguarding and welfare requirements, with key roles and responsibilities for providers and practitioners. The EYFS has been subjected to several revisions, with the most recent coming into effect from September 2023. 

Who does the EYFS apply to?

The EYFS is a statutory framework, which means all early years education and care providers in England have a legal requirement to implement it in their practice with all children aged 0 to 5 years old. Providers include “maintained schools; non-maintained schools; independent schools (including free schools and academies); all providers on the Early Years Register; and all providers registered with an early years childminder agency.” (DfE, 2021/23:4).

The areas of learning and development

The EYFS has seven areas of learning and development which all early years providers must use as a structure for their curriculum. The seven areas are all important and interlink with one another, however, there is a distinction made between ‘prime areas’ and ‘specific’ areas of learning and development.

The prime areas of learning and development are identified as:

• Communication and Language
• Personal, emotional, and social development
• Physical development

These prime areas provide the foundation for all other areas of learning and development. Therefore, there is a strong focus upon the prime areas with the youngest children in early years settings.

The specific areas of learning and development are identified as:

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design

The specific areas build upon and strengthen the prime areas of learning and development. They provide opportunities for children to learn about the world around them and help them to make sense of their life experiences as they grow.

Within the seven areas of learning and development, there are also Early Learning Goals, which are ‘typical’ developmental outcomes that children are expected to reach by the end of the EYFS. There are 17 Early Learning Goals, which provide the assessment criteria for early years practitioners to make accurate and informed judgements of children’s development, informing the completion of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. This profile is a statutory assessment that must be completed for each child when they reach the end of the EYFS, after they turn 5 years old. The profile is used to support the transition to KS1.

Development matters

Alongside the EYFS, the Department for Education additionally published a non-statutory curriculum guidance document, which aims to support the learning and development requirements of the statutory EYFS framework. The non-statutory guidance document, ‘Development Matters’ (DfE, 2021b), provides statements on what children will be learning to do under each area, with suggestions on how practitioners can support and encourage their development at each stage. Furthermore, the guidance gives an overview of the ‘characteristics of effective teaching and learning’, in addition to the seven areas of learning and development (as outlined above). There are three characteristics of effective teaching and learning;

• Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
• Active learning - children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things (DfE 2021b:12-19)

The characteristics of effective teaching and learning are elements of the EYFS which encourage practitioners to reflect upon the different ways in which children learn.

Earlier versions of the Development Matters guidance were criticised for being too prescriptive and for setting rigid age brackets, which did not take into consideration that all children can learn and develop at different rates and in their own unique ways. Although the Development Matters document is not statutory, it is widely used as a measure of children’s progress and to track their development. Under earlier versions, too often children were being incorrectly assessed as delayed in their learning and development due to the rigid age brackets. Fortunately, this has been recently addressed, with an update made in 2021, which broadens the age brackets of learning and development for young children. Furthermore, the updated guidance places more emphasis on using professional knowledge to make informed judgements about a child’s learning and development, rather than using a ‘checklist’ approach.

A note of caution on ‘school readiness’

Within the introductory chapter of the EYFS, it states that the framework “promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life”. (DfE, 2021a/2023:5). From my own practice and research surrounding the concept of ‘school readiness’, it is often a misconception that it is associated with children moving from Pre-school to the Reception year of primary school. Although children will need support in making this transition, in the context of the EYFS, it specifically applies to the end of the Foundation Stage and children transitioning from Reception into Year 1.

Safeguarding and welfare requirements

Within the EYFS, there are clear safeguarding and welfare requirements that all early years providers must adhere to. The underlying principle of the safeguarding and welfare requirements is based upon the acknowledgement that children learn and develop best when they are safe, healthy and feel secure. The requirements, therefore, support settings in ensuring they are providing high quality care and education in a safe, nurturing and secure environment which supports children’s overall learning, development and wellbeing. The safeguarding and welfare requirements outline the statutory roles, responsibilities and other legal duties of settings and practitioners. The safeguarding and welfare requirements cover topics such as child protection, suitable people, staff qualifications and the ratio of staff to children. Additional broader topics covered within the requirements are aimed at supporting children with SEND by promoting their health and managing their behaviour.

Part two of this series will focus upon some of the key legislation which underpins the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, to which practitioners must also give consideration within their practice.