Early Years Foundation Stage (England)
All
registered childcare providers in England caring for children under
5 must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). They are
registered and inspected against the requirements of the EYFS by
Ofsted.
The EYFS framework sets the standards for the learning,
development and care of children from birth to the end of the
Foundation Stage – this is 31 August after their 5th birthday. It
brings together three separate frameworks:
- Birth to Three Matters
- the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage
- national standards previously used for the registration and
inspection of early years providers.
Much of the information in the
EYFS pack will already be familiar to existing registered
childminders as were previously inspected against the national
standards by Ofsted* and worked with the Birth to Three Matters
framework. Accredited childminders offering early years education
will also be familiar with the Curriculum Guidance.
Local authorities are required to offer training on the EYFS so
contact the early years department of your local authority to find
out what's on offer in your area.
If you're an NCMA member, make sure you read Who Minds?, your
NCMA membership magazine, for more updates and guidance on
implementing the EYFS.
In 2008 NCMA published EYFS:
Getting Started (PDF, 1.2mb), a booklet looking at the
role of childminders in the EYFS framework.
A round-up of the 2009 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
results from the DCSF show that 23,000 more children have
achieved a good level of development and that gaps in achievement
have narrowed in the first year since the introduction of the Early
Years Foundation Stage.
In 2011, Dame Clare Tickell led a review into the EYFS, to which NCMA
contributed,