Offer children many different experiences and opportunities to play freely and to explore and investigate. Make time and space for children to become deeply involved in imaginative play, indoors and outside.

Make sure you are prepared for the next upcoming event or festival by implementing our event-specific activities and display resources. Expressive Arts and Design: Practitioners understand that toddlers are learning to be independent, so they will sometimes get frustrated. Encourage babies’ exploration of the world around them. Suggestions: investigating the feel of their key person’s hair or reaching for a blanket in their cot. Some children get much less support for their learning at home than others. By knowing and understanding all the children and their families, settings can offer extra help to those who need it most. Pre-reception providers do not need to use the early learning goals, but the changes are included here so you can see a child’s expected level of development by the time they turn 5.

Teaching about the latest events?

babies may pull themselves up by using the edges of a low table to reach for a toy on top of the table Around 12 months, does the baby ‘take turns’ by babbling and using single words? Does the baby point to things and use gestures to show things to adults and share interests? This colourful poster shows the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning taken from Development Matters 2020. In September 2020, some schools elected to use the new early learning goals, which were fully rolled out to all schools in September 2021. While the EYFS Statutory Framework and early learning goals set in place the expectations and levels of attainment for children by the end of their reception year, they do not set a mandatory path to those goals, recognising the individual nature of development, especially in early years children. Find other resources, which we think you’ll find useful, below:

Expressive Arts and Design gives children the freedom to express themselves using the media and outlets they resonate with the most, preparing them to become confident individuals who have a strong sense of self. Chat with babies and toddlers all the time, but be careful not to overwhelm them with talk. Allow babies and toddlers to take the lead and then respond to their communications. Development Matters includes more guidance about children’s communication and language. Language is the foundation of children’s thinking and learning. Health colleagues, like health visitors or speech and language therapists, offer vital support to this work.We have republished Development Matters. While it’s not compulsory, we recommend that you use it with the new statutory framework. The change Assessment is about noticing what children can do and what they know. It is not about lots of data and evidence. The Natural World - This area explores the natural world, seeking to help children understand the seasons and other living organisms.

Creating with Materials - Children can experiment with different ways to make or present art. This includes looking at different media, like drawings or sculptures, and different materials, like colouring, painting, or building. Play supports building core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, coordination, and agility. By creating games and opportunities for both indoor and outdoor play, children gain a variety of experiences. And, they get to do this while having fun with their peers! In the final school term within the year in which a child turns five, the attainment of each individual child is measured against the early learning goals. This information is documented and this is known as the EYFS Profile (EYFSP). The EYFS Development Matters Framework describes the Specific Areas of Learning as the ' essential skills and knowledge which children will need to function successfully as part of society'.

Other useful documents exploring the seven areas of learning

The curriculum is a top-level plan of everything the early years setting wants the children to learn. Join in with children’s play and investigations, without taking over. Talk with them about what they are doing and what they are noticing.

When children are at earlier stages of development than expected, it is important to notice what they enjoy doing and also find out where their difficulties may lie. They need extra help so that they become secure in the earlier stages of development. It is not helpful to wait for them to become ‘ready’. For example, children who are not speaking in sentences are not going to be able to write in sentences. They will need lots of stimulating experiences to help them develop their communication. That’s why the time you spend listening to them and having conversations with them is so important.

If you are a nursery leader or manager design your curriculum around the new educational programmes, not the early learning goals. Here you will find some more detailed information about each of the 7 areas of learning and development in the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (New EYFS 2021) . Early Learning Goals Using exaggerated intonation and a sing-song voice (infant-directed speech) helps babies tune in to language. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood. It starts with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, coordination and positional awareness. Children explore and develop through tummy time, crawling and play movement with both objects and adults. creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things