Curriculum Support

Resources > Early Years Foundation Stage

Many activities in the early years revolve around children developing an understanding of their environment. Settings encourage children to explore, observe, solve problems, predict, discuss and consider. ICT resources can provide tools for using these skills as well as being examined in their own right, with computers not the only ICT resources.

The Early Years Foundation Stage brings together the Birth to Three Matters (BTTM) framework, the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (CGFS) and the National standards for under 8s day care and childminding (the national standards) in a single quality framework for children from birth to the end of the school Reception year.

Foundation Stage practitioners need to take account of all six interdependent Areas of Learning and Development, giving them all equal status.

• Children can learn through the use of a digital camera: reflecting on past experiences; observing details; sharing personal likes and dislikes; sequencing events; recording and sharing significant events.
• Or through a programmable toy: pressing buttons causes an action; they can control the action – left, right, forwards, backwards; numbers of presses equals number of moves.

Areas of Learning and Development

Communication, language and literacy (CLL)
Children’s learning and competence in communicating, speaking and listening, being read to and beginning to read and write must be supported and extended. They must be provided with opportunity and encouragement to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes, and be supported in developing the confidence and disposition to do so.

Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy (PSRN)
Children must be supported in developing their understanding of Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding. They must be provided with opportunities to practise and extend their skills in these areas and to gain confidence and competence in their use.

Creative Development (CD)
Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision of support for their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example, through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology.

Knowledge and understanding of the world (KUW)
Children must be supported in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Their learning must be supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical ‘experiments’; and work with a range of materials.

Physical development (PD)
The physical development of babies and young children must be encouraged through the provision of opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of coordination, control, manipulation and movement. They must be supported in using all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and what they already know. They must be supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food.

Personal, social and emotional development (PSED)
Children must be provided with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others; respect for others; social skills; and a positive disposition to learn. Providers must ensure support for children’s emotional well-being to help them to know themselves and what they can do.