EYFS

What is the EYFS?

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for children’s learning, development, and care from birth to the end of Reception. All nurseries, schools, and childminders are required to follow it.

It sets out requirements for:

• Safeguarding and welfare
• Staff qualifications and suitability
• Adult-to-child ratios
• Health and safety standards
• Learning and development expectations

The EYFS is set by the Department for Education and inspected by Ofsted.

What Has Changed?

The EYFS framework has been updated to make it simpler, clearer, and more focused on what matters most — high-quality interactions with children.

Key changes:

• No longer needing lengthy written reports for every child
• Emphasis on demonstrating understanding through daily interactions and observations
• Less paperwork, more time spent supporting children’s learning and development

These changes allow our educators to focus on engaging with children and sparking curiosity, rather than spending time on unnecessary documentation.

How We Track Progress

We use termly assessments to review each child’s progress and plan next steps in learning and development.

We also use the Famly app to:

• Log observations and milestones
• Share progress in real time with families
• Include observations from home, giving a full picture of your child’s learning

Following assessments, families are invited to a Working in Partnership Evening, where we:

• Celebrate achievements
• Share updates and next steps
• Work together to support your child’s development both at nursery and at home

What This Means for Children

With less paperwork, our educators can spend more time:

• Building strong relationships
• Supporting communication and language
• Encouraging curiosity and exploration
• Planning meaningful next steps

We get to know each child deeply — what they know, what they can do, and what they are ready to learn next — and use this knowledge to guide their development.

How Parents and Carers Can Help

We believe children thrive when nursery and home work together.

Using the Famly app, parents and carers can share experiences such as:

• A first swimming lesson
• Family days out or trips to the park
• Baking or gardening at home
• A new favourite book

These insights help us create personalized, engaging learning opportunities that build on each child’s interests.

Together, we can nurture confident, curious, and independent learners.

Please visit the following link for the full document: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68c024cb8c6d992f23edd79c/Early_years_foundation_stage_statutory_framework_-_for_group_and_school-based_providers.pdf.pdf