TEY-10.2

What you need to know BEATRICE MERRICK IS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF EARLY EDUCATION Beatrice Merrick takes you through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Reforms and what it will mean for your setting... Much remains the same, but there are changes and the devil is in the detail. 24 Teachearlyyears.com F rom September 2021, there will be changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), applicable to all early years providers from birth to five. For all childminders and PVIs and many schools there’s no need to worry: you have a year until the changes become statutory, so you have plenty of time to get to grips with the changes. However, schools were given the option to be early adopters from September 2020 before Covid-19 hit and, despite having since been given the option to opt out again to focus on supporting children’s return in the autumn, some may still be planning to go ahead with early adoption. If you work in a school make sure you know whether or not it is an early adopter. What stays the same The EYFS is a well-respected framework around the world, and a survey of practitioners we carried out in 2019 confirmed that practitioners did not think it needed much in the way of reform. So it’s good news that the overall structure of the EYFS will remain the same. Key components that remain include: 1. The overarching principles, often expressed as a formula: the unique child + positive relationships + enabling environments = learning and development. 2. The seven areas of learning and development. 3. The distinction between prime and specific areas. 4. The characteristics of effective teaching and learning (COETL). The safeguarding and welfare requirements also stay the same, apart from a small amendment to add a duty to promote good oral health. But not quite the same Much remains the same, but there are changes and the devil is in the detail. For instance, the COETL are weakened in the new framework. The current framework says: “In planning and guiding children’s activities, practitioners must reflect on the different ways that children learn and reflect these in their practice” and then sets out the three characteristics. The new framework says: “In planning and guiding children’s activities, practitioners must reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust their practice appropriately.” This is muddled, as the COETL are about how children learn, not how quickly. Moreover, the requirement to report on the COETL in the EYFS Profile has been watered down to a choice instead of a requirement. Recent research emphasises the importance of the COETL for children’s future learning so if anything they should have had a greater emphasis. The COETL should remain a key focus for your observations, so adding a comment in the Profile should not be time- consuming, meaning there is no need to discontinue this important practice. In the new framework, the explanation of the relationship between the prime and specific areas is not as clear as before. The current framework says: “Practitioners working with the youngest children are expected to focus strongly on the three prime areas, which are the basis for successful learning in the other four specific areas” (our emphasis). In the new framework this changes to “Practitioners working with the youngest children are

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