What Is the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework?

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework is a government document that all schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers in England must follow. It sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old. The standards ensure your child will learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe.

Below are some of the key points from the new EYFS reforms that include relevant changes for Nursery:

• Early Years staff will be spending less time on large amounts of written observations and assessments for evidence collection. This means they can spend more time supporting and engaging with the children and their learning and development needs.

• Pupils will no longer be assessed against statements from an age band categories. Instead, staff will use their experience and knowledge to monitor if a child’s learning and development is on track for their age.

• There is an emphasis on improving pupil’s language and vocabulary through increasing opportunities for conversations, reading of a wide range of books and holding discussions around activities in other areas of learning.

• Literacy and numeracy skills focused on in the EYFS have been adapted to better match up with the National Curriculum that starts in year 1.

• Safeguarding and welfare of pupils is still of upmost priority, with the added mention of teaching pupils about the importance of good oral health and how to keep teeth clean and healthy.

How Will I Know How My Child Is Doing?

Instead of having a key person meeting each term, every 6 months your child’s key person will complete a ‘snapshot’ which will detail your child’s interests, what they have been learning and what they plan to do to move their learning on. You will be involved in this process through either a phone call or a meeting with the key person. We will assess your child against Opal developmental milestones and we will indicate whether your child has ‘met’ them or is ‘working towards’ them. The ‘snapshot’ will then be reviewed after two months so that you know what progress they have made.

We will continue to use Opal (learning journal) so that you can see what they have been learning and we would still appreciate your contributions on there too.