Evaluation Of The Early Year 's Foundation Stage

Theories of development and frameworks to support development are incredibly important to us working with children and young people. They help us to understand children, how they react to things/situations, their behaviour and the ways they learn. Different theories and ways of working with children have come together to provide frameworks for children’s care, such as Early year’s foundation stage (EYFS) which is used within all child care settings. This encourages us to work together, help and check the development of babies, children and young people, to keep them healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to

The early years framework emphasises a personal and individual approach to learning and development because valuing a child’s individuality, ideas and feelings is an important part of developing an individual approach to the learning and development. A child has universal physical needs such as food, drink and shelter and psychological needs such as love, affection, security, friendship which are essential to maintaining their quality of life. In recognising and trying to meet an individual child’s needs each child’s age, physical maturity, intellectual abilities, emotional development, social skills and past experiences and relationships need to be considered.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum in England differs greatly in structure and content to the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand; this therefore makes for an interesting comparison. The EYFS was introduced in England, in 2008, by the DfE as a framework that ‘sets the standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five’ (DfE, 2012). Alternatively, Te Whariki was founded in New Zealand, in 1996, based on the aspirations for children ‘to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society’ (Ministry of Education, 1996). Throughout this essay, the EYFS

This assignment will show what services are available in early year’s settings and for young people to support positive development. It will show what assessments we carry out within my setting and I will also critically analyse agencies that are available for referrals, transitions and safeguarding for children and young people.

The Foundation Phase was introduced to nursery level children at the start of the 2008-2009 academic year and each year after until all students in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 2 were taking part in this first stage of the new Welsh Curriculum (DCELLS, 2008a). The curriculum for the Foundation Phase is set out in The Framework for Children’s learning for 3 to 7-year olds in Wales (The Framework) (DCELLS, 2012). The main focus for the Foundation Phase curriculum is that the children learn by gaining first-hand experience through activities that may challenge them but are enjoyable so that they the children seek out experimental learning and active involvement themselves (DCELLS, 2008a). The Framework has several key messages (DCELLS, 2008a) and they link with the experiences that the children should be having. To get a better understanding of the experiences the children ought to be receiving it’s best to go back to the research and the reasons why the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) decided to change the curriculum.

The Foundation Phase is constructed to provide consistency to each child’s education during a crucial stage of their development. However, the consistency does not affect the challenge of the curriculum: Children are given more opportunities to enhance their knowledge through practical activities, open ended questions and problem-solving. The proposals made up by the Welsh Assembly Government [WAG] for the

The Foundation Phase is constructed to provide consistency to each child’s education during a crucial stage of their development. However, the consistency does not affect the challenge of the curriculum: Children are given more opportunities to enhance their knowledge through practical activities and problem-solving which are both unrestricted allowing room for enhancement (DCELLS, 2008b). The proposals made up by the Welsh Assembly Government [WAG] for the Foundation Phase included a curriculum that reinforced and enhanced those put in practice by the Awdurdod Cymwysterau, Cwricwlum ac Asesu Cymru’s [ACCAC] document “Desirable Outcomes for Children’s Learning Before Compulsory School Age (2000)” (DCELLS, 2008b, p. 3).

The Foundation Phase curriculum was created and planned to be a progressive framework which takes place over the first four years of a child’s education (3-7 year olds). The Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7-year olds in Wales (“The Framework”) aims to meet the wide range of needs of the children across the Foundation Phase by providing them with the opportunity to develop a large range of skills which they will be able to use for future learning and apply to their everyday life. The curriculums main focus is the holistic development of the child and the aim to build upon their past learning experiences, skills and knowledge. The Framework sets out 7 key areas of learning which include: “Personal and Social Development, Well-Being and Cultural Diversity”, Language, Literacy and Communication Skills”, “Mathematical Development”, “Welsh Language Development”, “Knowledge and Understanding of the World”, “Physical Development” and “Creative Development”. These 7 areas of learning should be taught in a cross curricular way so that the children can develop all 7 of these skills/ area no matter what lesson they are having. “They should not be approached in isolation.” DCELLS (2008:14).

A significant factor that divides the approach the most is the role of assessment/ documentation. Equally, both approaches emphasis the need for documentation of children work. They carefully displaying and documenting children’s thoughts and progression of thinking; making their thoughts visible in many different ways. Nevertheless, assessment is only a requirement in the EYFS with the exception for children to meet their level of development. The EYFS work on a system of observation, assessment and planning. Due to, the practice guidance for the EYFS which states ‘All effective assessment involves analysing and reviewing what you know about each child’s development and learning.. and to plan

In contrast, Dennis, Rueter, & Simpson (2013) validate authentic assessment with a case-study of a child transitioning from Early Childhood Intervention Services into public school. This exemplifies the intricacies required for progress monitoring by using methods of authentic assessments i.e. interviews, observations (running records, anecdotal records, ABC Analysis) portfolios and a performance-based assessment to confirm that this process not only identifies delays, but “...provide a basis from which the teacher can design a targeted strategy for a child or group of children” (p.191). As a result, a plan was developed to help the case-study learner transition into his/her new setting.

There are many different types of assessments that are used during different situations and some during different times during the year. Each assessment has its own uses and also its own ‘rules’, which can be categorized as formal and informal. Formal assessments are assessments usually given through tests and are referred to as standardized tests. Informal assessments are assessments is mostly given in natural settings and include tools such as running records and anecdotal notes. This research paper will focus on formative assessments that have been standardized and will answer the questions of what, why and how. Assessments, based on my understanding, can be simplified into three different areas and each area is essential to the overall success of children as they become adults. The areas are considered to be the ‘purposes of assessment’. The three areas include screening assessment, diagnostic assessment and also instructional assessment. When thinking of using assessments in Early Childhood Education the important key questions to focus on is why, what and how. Why means knowing why an assessment is needed. For what purpose is the assessment being used? What means deciding on what type of assessment should be used, in what situation. First, will it be an informal assessment? Or a formal assessment? And last is how the assessment will be used. This includes the setting, time and the process of the assessment. Understanding the key questions of why, what and how is

The main focus of this report is the use of assessments in Early Years Education. These assessments are of different kinds depending on the purpose for which they are conducted. Assessments for high stake purposes test the feasibility of programs in achieving state goals and are usually required by government agencies and funding bodies. The other more common assessment is undertaken to observe a child's progress. It helps to determine the most effective mode of instruction for him/her and for notifying parents of their children's development. This report focuses on the latter and highlights programs that have been implemented in different school settings and the learning outcomes from each program. It is hoped that this report will provide readers with some best practices that can make learning assessment even more effective consequently ensuring that the objective of the No Child Left Behind program i.e. to reduce learning gaps between children from different backgrounds is achieved.

Te Whariki is an integrated curriculum this is evident by the woven mat (Ministry of Education 1996. P13) this shows how the arts and literacies can be integrated, throughout the New Zealand curriculum Te Whariki in a New Zealand context. To form the mat there are four lots of principles which include; Holistic Development, Empowerment, Family and community and relationships. There are also five lots of strands including contribution, communication, exploration, well-being and belonging. The principles and strands which are interwoven all support and promote the child’s holistic development.

Assessment is an important part of a high-quality, early childhood program (NAEYC, n.d.). Teachers need to assess student’s learning throughout the school year in order to monitor their progress. With this information, educators can plan developmentally appropriate curriculum and individualized instruction for each child. Assessments help to identify students who may need additional support and determine if they need intervention or support services. Kiddie Academy utilizes both formal and informal assessments of children. Each has benefits and limitations depending on what information the teacher is looking for. Early childhood educators often use informal observation methods to collect data on their students as these methods are easier to use and more appropriate for program planning (Radecki, Sand-Loud, O'Connor, Sharp, & Olson, 2011). Informal assessments can be used more often. They are not data driven, but rather performance and content driven (Appl, 2000). And, they can be used to gather information about a child’s development in their natural environment. Overall, assessments of young students help to keep teachers and the program curriculum responsive to the needs of each child.

In Aotearoa, the early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki has an immense focus on children’s holistic development which is fostered and guided by interconnecting principles and strands that construct the curriculum. Within the strands, there are goals that teacher’s educators must follow to provide high quality teaching to sustain and fulfil the curriculum.