Early Years Foundation Stage - EYFS

Munchkinz Pre-School Nursery’s learning curriculum is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) as set by the Government in regards to the Child Care Act 2006.  It gives professionals a ground structure on the key elements that children should be reaching by certain ages (development milestones) and what level children should be at when they join school (Early Learning Goals)

We base our planning and activities around the EYFS to ensure all that areas are covered. These are as follows:

Personal & Social Emotional Development

Communication & Language Development

Physical Development

Literacy

Maths

Understanding the World

Exploring & Using Media/Materials

Along with these we also use the Characteristics of Effective Learning to help us establish how the child is learning.  These are as follows:

Playing & Exploring

Active Learning

Creating & Thinking Critically

Finally we use the Scale for Well Being to help us understand how a child is feeling during an activity.  These are follows:

Extremely low (very unhappy)

Low (unhappy)

Moderate (neutral)

High (happy)

Extremely High (very happy)

Using all the above staff are not only able to teach children what they require for a good foundation base for future learning environments, but also in guiding children to build self-esteem and be confident learners from an early age.

Our monitoring methods then help us in highlighting any concerns we have with a child’s development and we are therefore able to quickly put in place a strong structure to help the child to overcome problems in their learning and be able to reach their full potential confidently.

Observations, Assessments & Planning

At Munchkinz Pre-School Nursery we are firm believers of development through play and as previously stated this statement is incorporated throughout our setting and also through our planning and teaching methods.

Each child’s key person is responsible in carrying out initial observations on children.  Firstly to determine the level the child is when they come to the setting and secondly, ongoing observations to help us to develop the child whilst they are in our care.  These are shared regularly with parents, not only to keep parents updated on their child’s learning journey but also to help parents assist their children with home learning. 

We believe that parents are and will always be the child’s main teachers and it is therefore important to us, that we build good working relationships with them to ensure that teaching methods are consistent so children become confident and build high levels of self-esteem.

Once we establish areas that any child needs guidance or help with, we incorporate their individual learning goals into our planned activities.  In this way, we can help each child develop through play in a relaxed environment where they do not feel pressurized.  Children become better learners as they are keen to take part in all the nursery’s activities.

2 Year Progress Check

With regards to the new EYFS regulations we carry out a full 2 year Progress Check on children to assess their developmental levels.  This is shared with parents and possibly other authorities like the child’s Health Visitor (with parents consent).  This helps us all to work as a team for the benefit of the child.  The Progress Check covers the EYFS areas and therefore helps in identifying very early any issues that may be highlighted so that the appropriate care and guidance can be offered to ensure younger children continue to develop to their best capability.