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. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) 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 learning and development requirements of the EYFS cover:

• the areas of learning and development which shape all activities and experiences for children at Twinkles and the early learning goals that Twinkles help all children work towards (the knowledge, skills and understanding children should have at the end of the academic year in which they turn five); • assessment arrangements for measuring progress (and requirements for reporting to parents and/or carers). The EYFS learning and development requirements comprise: 

• the seven areas of learning and development and the educational programmes (described below);

• the early learning goals, which summarise the knowledge, skills and understanding that all young children should have gained by the end of the Reception year; and

• the assessment requirements (when and how we must assess children’s achievements, and when and how we should discuss children’s progress with parents and/or carers).

There are seven areas of learning and development that shape our educational programmes at Twinkles.  All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

These three areas, the prime areas, are:

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

We also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

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