Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for early years education in England. The term was defined in Section 39 of the British government's Childcare Act 2006.Childcare Act 200
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The EYFS has been periodically updated since its introduction. The latest version was published in March 2021 for implementation in September 2021. This framework consists of three sections: The Learning and Development Requirements, Assessment and The Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements.

Areas of learning

All pupils in the Early Years must follow a programme of education in seven areas, divided into 'prime areas' and 'specific areas'.

The three prime areas:
* communication and language
* physical development
* personal, social and emotional development

The four specific areas:
* literacy
* mathematics
* understanding the world
* expressive arts and design

Mathematics in EYFS

In the context of mathematics, the framework says children must be given opportunities to develop their skills in the following areas:

* Counting
* Understanding and using numbers
* Calculating simple addition and subtraction problems
* Describing shapes, spaces, and measure

Exemptions

The Childcare Act makes provision for exemptions from the Learning and development requirements for
# settings, under section 46(1)
# children individually, under section 46(2)

The circumstances under which exemptions may be granted are to be stipulated in the ''Early Years Foundation Stage (Exemptions from Learning and Development Requirements) Order'', which as of 20 June 2008 had not yet been laid before Parliament.

Consultation and Debates

The Department for Children, Schools and Families conducted a consultationEYFS Learning and Development Exemptions Consultation Documen
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The proposed circumstances were:

The DCSF response to the consultationDCSF Response to L&D Exemptions consultatio
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Opponents of the EYFS have argued that some of the Learning and Development targets are not appropriate for this age group."England young 'among most tested'"
BBC News, 2 February 2008, an
"Primary schools exert unnecessary pressure on students: report"
, AFP, 8 February 2008 (on reports of the Primary Review). Steve Biddulphbr>"Under-fives curriculum 'will harm children'"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 26 February 2008. Opponents claimed in the media that attempting to push under-5s into early literacy is ineffective or even counterproductive, possibly even producing reading difficulties in some children through the experience of early failure, and other problems including ADHD. These critics point to education systems in other countries where children start school at a later age but produce good academic results by the end of compulsory education. These media criticisms have been undermined by academic research showing that comprehensive approaches to early years education which, like the EYFS, include direct teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, and other skills along with child-initiated activities produce better outcomes than purely play-based approaches. Similarly, a review of the academic research by the Education Endowment Foundation has found that "beginning early years education at a younger age appears to have a high positive impact on learning outcomes".

Some people have also claimed that the curriculum is too prescriptive, criticising the burdensome nature of the assessments demanded of children and stress inflicted upon young children by the curriculum and assessment (as with SATs for older children)."Primary children 'suffer stress'"
BBC News, 12 October 2007.

In responding to critics' submissions to the consultation, the DCSF pointed out that the EYFS is "sufficiently flexible to accommodate a range of early years approaches".

References

{{Education in the United Kingdom

Child welfare in the United Kingdom
Education in the United Kingdom
Education in England
2008 in England