Early Years Foundation Stage

The best possible start

Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right.

At Cheadle Hulme Pre-School we follow The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

The EYFS has seven areas of learning and development which are important and inter-connected.

Three areas are particularly important for building a foundation for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, forming relationships and thriving.

These are the three prime areas:

• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social and emotional development

A further four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied.

• literacy
• mathematics
• understanding the world
• expressive arts and design