EYFS Best practice: All about ... Best practice in the EYFS

Over the next year, early years practitioners will be concerned to learn more about the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which becomes statutory from September 2008. However, the good news is that since the EYFS builds on and has been developed from the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (2000), Birth to Three Matters (2002) and the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding (2003), then much of what it contains will already be familiar to most members of the early years workforce.

So, what are the main messages for implementing the EYFS? What are the principles of effective practice in the early years? And what responsibilities and expectations will practitioners have under the new framework?

A Principled Approach

The EYFS embodies all the principles of the documents referred to above, in addition to those of the pioneers of early education. Together these state that the individuality and uniqueness of the child and what the child can do are the starting point for early years education. They also confirm the central role of relationships and the environment in this process.

Finally, they highlight the way in which the child's learning and development occur as a result of interactions between the child, the adults and the environment (Bruce 1991). These areas are now set out in the EYFS as four themes:

- A Unique Child

- Positive Relationships

- Enabling Environments

- Learning and Development

These themes act as reminders of the principles of the EYFS. The principles themselves expand on the themes. Each principle is underpinned by four commitments, which explain and extend it through the Principles into Practice Cards (1.1 - 4.4). These elements are the starting point for understanding and implementing the EYFS and are the foundations for the whole of the framework.

Effective Practice

Effective practice flows from the EYFS principles, and reassuringly, because practice in early years settings has shared many of these same principles, we can assume that most of them are already the focus of practice in most early years settings.

Where this is not the case, then understanding and adopting the principles and commitments of the EYFS should be the starting point for getting ready to implement and develop effective practice. Assessing what training will be required for this will form part of the planning process as individuals and early years settings prepare to get ready for implementing the EYFS.

Aims of the EYFS

The overarching aim of the EYFS is to help babies and young children achieve the outcomes of Every Child Matters (ECM) (2003), which are:

- Be healthy

- Stay safe

- Enjoy and achieve

- Make a positive contribution

- Achieve economic well-being

These outcomes are directly referred to in the EYFS document, especially in the Principles into Practice Cards. For example, when the key person role is operating successfully in a setting, practitioners will know that they are addressing the ECM outcome 'Stay safe', highlighted on Key Person (PiP Card 2.4). This is not to suggest that this system alone is sufficient in meeting this outcome. However, taken together with other aspects of effective practice, it makes a significant contribution to keeping children safe.

A Unique Child

So, let us briefly examine what effective practice looks like in the EYFS. As indicated earlier, the child is recognised as a unique person whose development is individual, with each domain of development being regarded as equally important. This approach is inclusive, since it recognises individual differences and requires settings to be ready for children, rather than the reverse. Therefore, an understanding of child development is crucial to the role of all practitioners in the EYFS.

The EYFS recognises, too, that young children are vulnerable and need to be kept safe, and that concern for their health and well-being is an integral part of their entitlement. This implies that practitioners will be expected to support them in this respect.

It is fair to say that all these points were always implicit in effective practice before the introduction of the EYFS. This means that, as previously, people who work with children must continue to have their best interests at heart, and be willing to work within the current legal requirements.

Initial and ongoing training focuses on these important areas. Trainers, supervisors, manager, headteachers and other leaders will recognise their responsibilities in ensuring that all these things, including child protection and health, are suitably addressed in training programmes. The expectation is that effective practice will develop in line with the commitments of this theme, building on much of the good practice that is already in place in so many settings.

Positive Relationships

The role of adults is vital in achieving the outcomes of the EYFS. Practitioners need to be responsive and reflective, putting the needs of children at the centre of their practice. Children develop positive attitudes when practitioners support them to have a sense of their own value as a person, ensuring their emotional and social needs are met. This is particularly important since we know from research that children's dispositions to play and learning are closely related to their self-concept and emotional well-being (Laevers 2003).

The EYFS also states that relationships are built upon respect for others, especially parents and carers, who know their children best. In addition, relationships with professionals from other agencies and from other settings the child may attend are also significant. Again, this should not be something new for most practitioners, since this approach is very common in most early years settings. However, the EYFS sets out many additional points for reviewing practice, giving much food for thought in relation to this theme/principle.

Enabling Environments

The environment has been described in Reggio Emilia as a third teacher, in addition to the child/teacher and parent. A similar theory underpins the theme of Enabling Environments, since it acknowledges that the early years environment is more than simply a dedicated space for children. So, understanding the power of the environment in enabling children to succeed is important for implementing the EYFS. This is why the commitments of Observation, Assessment and Planning; Supporting Every Child; the Learning Environment; and the Wider Context (PIP Cards 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) are the subject of this theme.

These commitments remind us that every child will feel best in an environment that supports their individual needs and development. This is achieved in the EYFS through an observational approach, where practitioners take time to really look at children, noting their responses, behaviours, skills and needs. The information gathered in this way is then used as the basis for informed decision-making about every child's experiences so that these are appropriate.

Observing young children's experience is essential if we are to recognise moments when our involvement will help children come to new understandings. But observation cannot be carried out in isolation from assessment and planning, since together these form a cycle, one leading from and to the other.

There should be also be a reflective approach to understanding the significance of what has been observed. This can include the views of individual children, families, the key person and other significant people who have involvement with the child.

Learning and Development

Effective practice in the EYFS also focuses on:

- how babies and young children learn

- the relationship between play and learning, and approaches to it

- the six areas of learning and development.

How Babies and Young Children Learn

Babies and young children learn from every experience, no matter how great or small, regardless of what adults may plan. So every occurrence or event is potentially a learning experience for the young child. The art of helping children learn is to provide experiences that interest them and to 'listen' to the messages children themselves convey. We need to be alert to children's signals and ready to help them move on when they are interested in new things. Adults need to be flexible when planning, because children learn best when they have some choice in what they can do, and we know that 'children learn through first-hand experiences, in activities they have chosen', as it says in Play and Exploration (PiP 4.1).

The Relationship between Play and Learning

Play and Exploration (PiP 4.1) states that 'In their play children learn at their highest level'. This highlights the important link between play and learning, reminding us that play is a powerful medium for learning and that when children play, they also learn. However, we should never forget that if play stops being pleasurable it is no longer play.

It is known that 'play and exploration promote brain development' (ibid). It also fosters imagination, helps children to be confident and competent, and offers a context through which children can explore their fears and anxieties. Play is also a medium through which children develop new skills and concepts. This often occurs alongside promoting positive attitudes to themselves, their learning and their achievements.

So, practitioners need to create the conditions that offer rich opportunities for play where children enjoy themselves while exploring, testing ideas, imagining, discovering and learning. This is learning at its best, because it emerges from the child's play and what the child is interested in.

Because children learn through a combination of play, talk and interaction, the quality of interaction is fundamental in supporting learning. The EYFS reminds us that creativity and critical thinking are enhanced when children are supported by practitioners who involve them in 'sustained shared thinking'. This involves adults and children interacting together, often informally, to 'solve a problem or extend understanding or imagination'. The aim of this approach is to increase the amount of 'cognitive challenge' the child encounters.

Six Areas of Learning and Development

The EYFS stresses that for babies and young children, all the areas of learning and development are equally important and they are all connected with one another. This is an important factor to bear in mind. While a child may engage in just one or two activities in a session, they still often experience many aspects of learning and development.

For example, a child may be fascinated by water, emptying and filling a watering can endlessly in the same spot. This activity may fulfil many of the child's needs - they may find the repetition comforting; they may be constantly amazed by the way the water disappears; they may feel a sense of control and mastery at doing something unaided. They may also be learning something about the properties of liquids - that they flow, that they can be poured and so on. All these experiences are part of the child's initial explorations which, in time, and with appropriate intervention, will become part of the child's wider learning and the basis for future activity.

The next step will often be determined by the child. They may want to pour the water in the can on the plants or they may wish to fill smaller containers with it; they might want to add it to soil or dry sand to create mud or wet sand. Whatever avenue of development the child takes will lead them to another stage of learning.

When we analyse these experiences we can immediately see that they can contribute to every area of learning and development, provided adults are involved in some of the ways discussed - being involved with the child in solving a problem, or providing further resources or ideas that the child can choose to pursue.

Research has shown that many of the most effective learning episodes are child-initiated, rather than adult-directed, often when adults are directly involved with children in their play, sparking their imagination through open-ended questioning (NEFR 2004). Having high expectations of children is also an important factor in learning, although this must be tempered by an understanding of each child's individual development.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- DfES (2002) Birth to Three Matters (DfES Publications, London)

- DfES (2003) National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding (Nottingham)

- DfES (2007) Early Years Foundation Stage (HMSO, London)

- Laevers, F (2003) Experiential Education: Making care and education more effective through wellbeing and involvement (Leuven University / Centre for Research in Early Childhood and Primary Education,) accessed at: http://www.leadersdesktop.sa.edu.au/leadership/files/links/ExperientialE ducationIntro.doc

27 Aug 2007.

NEFR Bulletin (2004) 'What do we know about effective early learning activities?' National Education Research Forum: Summer 2004 accessed at:

http://www.nerf-uk.org/pdf/NERFBulletinIssue1.pdf?version=1

26th August 2007

QCA (2000) Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, London: QCA

TSO (2003) Every Child Matters The Stationery Office: Norwich

Summary

Over the next year every practitioner and leader of an early years setting catering for children from birth to five will be on a learning journey themselves, as they become familiar with the EYFS. As with any learning journey, it is essential to build on what the learner already knows and can do. Implementing the EYFS does not mean throwing out everything that was done before and starting afresh.

What it does mean is making connections between what we already know/do and what the EYFS advocates. Some useful issues to consider in this process are the extent to which current practice is:

- based on partnership with parents and other professionals

- based on a sound understanding of child development

- inclusive, and recognises each child's individuality

- equally focused on all aspects of children's development - physical, emotional, social, linguistic, spiritual and cognitive - and takes into account the importance of safeguarding and protecting children

- consistent with the legal requirements for learning and development and for welfare set out in the statutory framework for the EYFS

- observation-led

- based on first-hand experiences and learning through play

- based on high-quality interaction.

From this point it will be important to become familiar with the principles and practice outlined in the EYFS package.

Finally, the EYFS is intended to give every child the best start in life. This is the purpose of our work with babies and young children, and should be central to every decision and action we take in our work. Thinking about how we can do this better is an excellent step to take in planning how to implement the EYFS.