Early years foundation stage (EYFS)

All schools and registered early years providers in the maintained, private, voluntary and independent sectors must follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This includes:

• Reception and nursery classes in maintained and independent schools
• Day nurseries
• Childminders
• Playgroups
• After school and breakfast clubs
• Holiday playschemes
• Children's centres

The EYFS is a single quality framework to support children’s learning and development from birth to five years (end of child's reception year).

Welfare requirements

All early years providers on the Early Years Register must meet the Welfare Requirements. These legal requirements are set out in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The welfare requirements fall under five headings:

• Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare
• Suitable person
• Suitable premises, environment and equipment
• Organisation
• Documentation

Each of these sections will have specific legal requirements that early years providers must comply with.

The welfare requirements are designed ensure that children and families are offered provision that is welcoming, safe and stimulating, and where children are able to enjoy learning through play, to grow in confidence and to fulfill their potential.

Early Years providers must ensure that all policies and procedures are explained to, and accessible to all parents, as well as further information regarding the provision.

Further information regarding the Welfare Requirements can be found in the documents table below.

Standards for learning and development

All early years providers on the Early Years Register must, by law meet the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The Practice Guidance and supporting resources provide information and advice to help practitioners meet the EYFS Principles in a way which reflects the needs of the individual children in their care and is appropriate to their setting.

The EYFS principles are grouped into four themes:

1. A unique child
   Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
2. Positive relationships
   Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.
3. Enabling environments
   The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.
4. Learning and development
   Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.

There are six areas of learning and development, which are equally important, connected and underpinned by the above principles of the EYFS.

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication, language and literacy
• Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development

None of these areas of learning and development can be delivered in isolation from the others. They are equally important and depend on each other to support a rounded approach to child development. All the areas must be delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities.

Children are competent learners from birth and develop and learn in a wide variety of ways. All practitioners should, therefore, look carefully at the children in their care, consider their needs, their interests, and their stages of development and use all of this information to help plan a challenging and enjoyable experience.

Plymouth early years transfer document

This document has been created to support the smooth, successful transition of children from setting to setting and on entry to school. The aim is to inform the next practitioner of the information they need about the child, so that the child’s individual needs can be met as soon as they start.

Transfer documents are individual to each child and give a holistic picture of the child, showing their journey so far. It will reflect all that the child’s key person knows or has observed about that child during their time in the setting.

Parents should be given the opportunity to read their child’s transfer document and asked to sign it before it is sent onto another early year’s provider or school.

Further information about the EYFS can be found below:

The EYFS for parents and carers [1MB]

Your child's learning, development and care [920KB]

EYFS learning and development framework [1MB]

EYFS welfare requirements [1MB]

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