Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

Last updated: 14 September 2009

The EYFS is a comprehensive framework which sets the standards for learning, development, and care of children from birth to five. Effective learning opportunities require planning and organisation. All early years settings in England that receive nursery education grant funding are required to plan learning opportunities in line with the Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The EYFS offers great flexibility. However, early years practitioners may need to adapt activities in order to meet the particular needs of new arrivals. This section provides guidance on how you might do this.

The EYFS is based on four themes:

A Unique Child
Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.

Enabling Environments
The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.

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.

Areas of learning and development and early learning goals

The EYFS is organised into six areas of learning and development:

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

Early learning goals have been identified within the areas of learning and development. Children will be at different stages towards achieving these goals, depending on their age and stage of development.

A range of guidance has been produced to help practitioners plan to meet the diverse needs of all children so that most will achieve and some, where appropriate, will go beyond the early learning goals by the end of the foundation stage.

Useful web links

Please note: QCA is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

National Strategies: Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning, Development and Care for children from birth to five

Early Years Foundation Stage principles

Pre-School Learning Alliance

Save the Children

Save the Children - Home from Home

Sure Start
Sure Start is part of the Government's drive to eradicate child poverty. By involving parents and a range of agencies in initiatives to boost young children's development, it aims to give children in disadvantaged areas a much better start in life.

Sure Start local programmes work with parents-to-be, parents and children to promote the physical, intellectual and social development of babies and young children, particularly those who are disadvantaged, so that they can flourish at home and when they begin school.

Sure Start has produced much useful guidance material for early years practitioners, as well as a foundation stage information pack for parents, available in a number of languages.

Refugee Council

Salusbury World