Opinion: In my view - Why we welcome the EYFS
Steve Alexander, chief executive of the Pre-school LearningAlliance
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
In response to the Open Eye campaign, the Pre-School Learning Alliance would like to reassure parents and carers that the Early Years Foundation Stage will not be damaging our youngest children.
The Alliance has always promoted play as the principal means through which children learn, and has incorporated the belief that parents are children's first and most enduring educators.
Far from being 'prescriptive, severe, or overly cognitive', the EYFS is a play-based framework that brings together and builds on the Birth to Three Matters and Foundation Stage frameworks. There are no set attainment targets for children under five. The learning and development grids in the practice guidance are not, and were never intended to be, a checklist to measure children's development in a rigid or formal way. They simply chart typical pathways of development and are a useful reference guide for practitioners during observation.
Applying the EYFS framework across all settings means children's learning and development will be promoted wherever they access care and education. Their activities must be based on play, exploration and active learning, and promote creativity and critical thinking. The Alliance is pleased to endorse these key themes, principles and commitments. We welcome the approach which prioritises children's emotional needs, positive attachment relationships with their carers, and environments providing high quality resources and rich opportunities for play.
The Pre-school Learning Alliance is in a privileged position, being able to see the impact the EYFS has in many settings where practitioners will be putting principles into action. Practitioners, parents, managers, tutors and early years education organisations have been fully involved in shaping the direction and content of the framework though consultation since 2006.
