Development Matters In The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating and Thinking Critically support children’s learning across all areasCharacteristics of Effective LearningengagementPositive Relationships:Enabling Environments:what adults could dowhat adults could provide Play with children. Encourage them to explore, and showyour own interest in discovering new things. Help children as needed to do what they are trying to do,without taking over or directing. Join in play sensitively, fitting in with children’s ideas. Model pretending an object is something else, and helpdevelop roles and stories. Encourage children to try new activities and to judge risksfor themselves. Be sure to support children’s confidencewith words and body language. Pay attention to how children engage in activities -the challenges faced, the effort, thought, learning andenjoyment. Talk more about the process than products. Talk about how you and the children get better at thingsthrough effort and practice, and what we all can learn whenthings go wrong. Provide stimulating resources which areaccessible and open-ended so they can beused, moved and combined in a variety of ways. Make sure resources are relevant to children’sinterests. Arrange flexible indoor and outdoor space andresources where children can explore, build,move and role play. Help children concentrate by limiting noise, andmaking spaces visually calm and orderly. Plan first-hand experiences and challengesappropriate to the development of the children. Ensure children have uninterrupted time to playand explore.A Unique Child:Positive Relationships:Enabling Environments:observing how a child is learningwhat adults could dowhat adults could provide Support children to choose their activities – what they wantto do and how they will do it. Stimulate children’s interest through shared attention, andcalm over-stimulated children. Help children to become aware of their own goals, makeplans, and to review their own progress and successes.Describe what you see them trying to do, and encouragechildren to talk about their own processes and successes. Be specific when you praise, especially noting effort suchas how the child concentrates, tries different approaches,persists, solves problems, and has new ideas. Encourage children to learn together and from each other. Children develop their own motivations when you givereasons and talk about learning, rather than just directing. Children will become more deeply involved whenyou provide something that is new and unusualfor them to explore, especially when it is linked totheir interests. Notice what arouses children’s curiosity, lookingfor signs of deep involvement to identify learningthat is intrinsically motivated. Ensure children have time and freedom tobecome deeply involved in activities. Children can maintain focus on things thatinterest them over a period of time. Help them tokeep ideas in mind by talking over photographsof their previous activities. Keep significant activities out instead of routinelytidying them away. Make space and time for all children tocontribute.Finding out and exploring Showing curiosity about objects, events and people Using senses to explore the world around them Engaging in open-ended activity Showing particular interestsPlaying with what they know Pretending objects are things from their experience Representing their experiences in play Taking on a role in their play Acting out experiences with other peopleBeing willing to ‘have a go’ Initiating activities Seeking challenge Showing a ‘can do’ attitude Taking a risk, engaging in new experiences, and learning bytrial and errorBeing involved and concentrating Maintaining focus on their activity for a period of time Showing high levels of energy, fascination Not easily distracted Paying attention to detailsActiveLearningmotivationKeeping on trying Persisting with activity when challenges occur Showing a belief that more effort or a different approach willpay off Bouncing back after difficultiesEnjoying achieving what they set out to do Showing satisfaction in meeting their own goals Being proud of how they accomplished something – not justthe end result Enjoying meeting challenges for their own sake rather thanexternal rewards or praiseChildren develop at their own rates, and in their own ways. The development statements and their order should not be taken as necessary steps for individual children.They should not be used as checklists. The age/stage bands overlap because these are not fixed age boundaries but suggest a typical range of development.Characteristics of Effective LearningPlayingandExploringA Unique Child:observing how a child is learning6

Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating and Thinking Critically support children’s learning across all areasCharacteristics of Effective LearningthinkingPositive Relationships:what adults could dowhat adults could provide Use the language of thinking and learning: think, know,remember, forget, idea, makes sense, plan, learn, find out,confused, figure out, trying to do. Model being a thinker, showing that you don’t always know,are curious and sometimes puzzled, and can think andfind out. Encourage open-ended thinking by not settling on the firstideas: What else is possible? Always respect children’s efforts and ideas, so they feel safeto take a risk with a new idea. Talking aloud helps children to think and control what theydo. Model self-talk, describing your actions in play. Give children time to talk and think. Value questions, talk, and many possible responses, withoutrushing toward answers too quickly. Support children’s interests over time, reminding themof previous approaches and encouraging them to makeconnections between their experiences. Model the creative process, showing your thinking aboutsome of the many possible ways forward. Sustained shared thinking helps children to explore ideasand make links. Follow children’s lead in conversation, andthink about things together. Encourage children to describe problems they encounter,and to suggest ways to solve the problem. Show and talk about strategies – how to do things –including problem-solving, thinking and learning. Give feedback and help children to review their ownprogress and learning. Talk with children about what theyare doing, how they plan to do it, what worked well andwhat they would change next time. Model the plan-do-review process yourself. In planning activities, ask yourself: Is this anopportunity for children to find their own ways torepresent and develop their own ideas? Avoidchildren just reproducing someone else’s ideas. Build in opportunities for children to play withmaterials before using them in planned tasks. Play is a key opportunity for children to thinkcreatively and flexibly, solve problems and linkideas. Establish the enabling conditions for richplay: space, time, flexible resources, choice,control, warm and supportive relationships. Recognisable and predictable routines helpchildren to predict and make connections in theirexperiences. Routines can be flexible, while still basicallyorderly. Plan linked experiences that follow the ideaschildren are really thinking about. Use mind-maps to represent thinking together. Develop a learning community which focuses onhow and not just what we are learning.Having their own ideas Thinking of ideas Finding ways to solve problems Finding new ways to do thingsMaking links Making links and noticing patterns in their experience Making predictions Testing their ideas Developing ideas of grouping, sequences, cause and effectChoosing ways to do things Planning, making decisions about how to approach a task,solve a problem and reach a goal Checking how well their activities are going Changing strategy as needed Reviewing how well the approach workedEnabling Environments:Children develop at their own rates, and in their own ways. The development statements and their order should not be taken as necessary steps for individual children.They should not be used as checklists. The age/stage bands overlap because these are not fixed age boundaries but suggest a typical range of development.Characteristics of Effective LearningCreatingandThinkingCriticallyA Unique Child:observing how a child is learning7

Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, and Creating and Thinking Critically support children’s learning across all areasBirth - 11monthsA Unique Child:Positive Relationships:Enabling Environments:observing what a child is learningwhat adults could dowhat adults could provide Enjoys the company of others and seeks contact with othersfrom birth. Gazes at faces and copies facial movements. e.g. sticking outtongue, opening mouth and widening eyes. Responds when talked to, for example, moves arms and legs,changes facial expression, moves body and makes mouthmovements. Recognises and is most responsive to main carer’s voice: facebrightens, activity increases when familiar carer appears. Responds to what carer is paying attention to, e.g. followingtheir gaze. Likes cuddles and being held: calms, snuggles in, smiles,gazes at carer’s face or strokes carer’s skin. Make sure babies have their own special person in thesetting, who knows them really well and understands theirwants and needs. Tune in sensitively to babies, and provide warm, loving,consistent care, responding quickly to babies’ needs. Hold and handle babies, since sensitive touch helps tobuild security and attachment. Ensure that the key person or buddy is available to greeta young baby at the beginning of the session, and tohand them over to parents at the end of a session, so theyoung baby is supported and communication with parentsis maintained. Engage in playful interactions that encourage youngbabies to respond to, or mimic, adults. Follow the baby’s lead by repeating vocalisations,mirroring movements and showing the baby that you are‘listening’ fully. Notice when babies turn away, signalling their need forless stimulation. Discover from parents the copying games that theirbabies enjoy, and use these as the basis for your play. Talk with babies about special people, such as their familymembers, e.g. grandparents. Ensure staff are aware of the importance of attachmentin relationships. Ensure the key person is paired with a ‘buddy’ whoknows the baby and family as well, and can step inwhen necessary. At times of transition (such as shift changes) make surestaff greet and say goodbye to babies and their carers.This helps to develop secure and trusting three-wayrelationships. Plan to have one-to-one time to interact with youngbabies when they are in an alert and responsive stateand willing to engage. Display photos of family and other special people. Share knowledge about languages with staff andparents and make a poster or book of greetings in alllanguages used within the setting and the community. Repeat greetings at the start and end of each session,so that young babies recognise and become familiarwith these daily rituals. Involve all children in welcoming and caring for oneanother. Give your full attention when young children look to youfor a response. Enable children to explore by providing a secure base forthem. Help young children to understand the feelings of othersby labelling emotions such as sadness or happiness. Play name games to welcome children to the settingand help them get to know each other and the staff. Regularly evaluate the way you respond to differentchildren. Ensure there are opportunities for the child to playalongside others and play cooperative games with afamiliar adult. Provide matching items to encourage adult and childto mimic each other in a cooperative game. e.g. twoidentical musical instruments. Seeks to gain attention in a variety of ways, drawing othersinto social interaction. Builds relationships with special people. Is wary of unfamiliar people. Interacts with others and explores new situations whensupported by familiar person.8-20 months Shows interest in the activit

This non-statutory guidance material supports practitioners in implementing the statutory requirements of the EYFS. 2 A Unique Child Positive Relationships Enabling . settings throughout the EYFS as a guide to making best-fit judgements about whether a child is showing typical development for their age, may be at risk of