Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is how the government and early years professionals describe the time in your child’s life between birth and age 5.  It is a framework setting the standards for learning, development and care for children during this period. 

Nurseries and Reception classes follow the legal document called the EYFS Statutory Framework.

How Your Child Will be Learning

The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development. Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.

Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development.

These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:

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

These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. The professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like the curriculum you will find in KS1 and beyond, but it's suitable for very young children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child's unique needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. 

The Importance of Play

• Our children do not make a distinction between ‘play’ and ‘work’ and so neither do we as practitioners. 
• Children need time to become engrossed, work in depth and complete activities both indoors and outdoors. We spend a lot of time observing children and assessing their levels of involvement, then enhancing their play opportunities accordingly. 
• We offer opportunities for children to engage in planned and purposeful activities initiated by adults, but we also foster play which is developed by the children themselves. 
• This enables us to respond appropriately to children, informed by our knowledge of how children develop and learn and a plan a clear understanding of possible next steps in each child’s development and learning. 
• Our Early Years team are all highly trained skilled practitioners. Our provision prides itself in all children having good relationships with their teachers and Teaching Assistants, who all love to play!

British Values in EYFS

The staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage at Cutteslowe Primary School are committed to serving our families and embraces the multicultural, multi-faith and ever changing local community.

We follow equal opportunities guidance to ensure there is no discrimination against any individual or group whatever faith, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, political or financial status. The early years staff is determined to model, promote and reinforce British values for all children and families.

The five key British values are embedded into the ethos, principles and practice in our early years setting.

• 1.Democracy: Making decisions together
• 2.The Rule of Law: understanding that rules matter
• 3.Individual Liberty: Freedom for all
• 4.Mutual Respect: Treat other as you would like to be treated
• 5.Tolerance of those of Different Faiths and Beliefs : Treat others as you would like to be treated 

EYFS-Policy-Review-May-2026.pdf

Early-years-presentation.pdfCPS-Welcome-presentation-4.pdf

Useful Links for Parents and Carers

NHS Potty Training Guidance