Childcare Office

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

Why do I need to know about the EYFS?

  • Cambridge Universities' Holiday Playscheme (CUHP) is open to children from October of the Reception year until your child turns 16. If your child has started School and is in Reception, we are legally bound as your childcare provider to ensure your child's learning and development requirements are delivered through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework.

  • Children do best when parents and professionals work together.

  • It is important to remember that you know more about your own child than anyone else. The Playscheme team will be asking about your child and sharing information with you about your child's progress. We will contact you to ask you and your child to collaboratively complete an ‘All About Me’ form which discusses likes dislikes etc. of your child. We will contact your child's school with your permission (indicated on the Annual Registration Form) to retrieve information about your child's assessment scales by completing a ‘Six Areas of Learning’ form complete with your child's current stages of development. This will help to form the basis of our activities and on-going observations.

  • Understanding what your child is doing when they are at Playscheme will help you to notice how well they are developing and learning. CUHP therefore will ensure every effort is made to share observations recorded or witnesses during the day on collection of your child. We will provide you with a ‘Parent Communication Book’ which will note early learning goals and any special moments of achievement that your childPlayworkers wish to share with you. At the end of Playscheme, both you and the School will receive a copy of your child's observations and any supporting photo's as evidence of development through the early learning goals. Any feedback you have for us is beneficial to ensure we continue to provide a rich and stimulating environment for your child.

The part you play in your child's learning and the choices you make will make a difference to their future.

What is the EYFS?

The EYFS is a stage of children's development from birth to the end of their first year (Reception) year in school (until the 31st August after your child's fifth birthday).

The EYFS Framework describes how early years practitioners should work with children and their families to support their development and learning.

It describes how your child should be kept safe and cared for and how all concerned can make sure that your child achieves the most that they can in their earliest years of life.

It is based on four important principles:

A Unique Child
Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Positive Relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.
Enabling Environments
The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.
Learning and Development
Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Developments are equally important and interconnected.

Why is the EYFS important?

It is called the Early Years Foundation Stage because it gives a secure foundation for future learning. Childhood is important and we want all children using the Cambridge Universities' Holiday Playscheme to have many enjoyable, successful and satisfying learning experiences. We aim to develop positive attitudes to learning in all our children.

Children learn best from experiences that are suitable for their stage of development. Play is the key to the way young children learn. Through play children can develop confidence for learning, social skills needed for personal development, and skills needed for writing, counting and exploring their environment. In this way children become more independent and are able to tackle simple problems.

Finally, The Early Years Foundation Stage is about you and your child working in partnership with us at Cambridge Universities' Holiday Playscheme to ensure your child's needs are appropriately met.

Why are the years from birth to five so special?

The EYFS ensures every child achieves the 5 outcomes of the ‘Every Child Matters’. The years from birth to five see the greatest growth and learning for all children.

  • Staying safe.
  • Being healthy.
  • Enjoying and achieving.
  • Making a positive contribution.
  • Achieving economic wellbeing.

Early learning is the key to your child's future and families make the greatest difference at this stage.