A consideration of the principles and practice that underpin the Early Years Foundation Stage and how the current framework relates to young children’s needs and interests

IntroductionDfE (2013a) enunciates that the archeozoic age Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a set of statutory guidelines which every last(predicate) barbarian foreboding providers (including schools, nur series and baby birdrens centres) must adhere to in catering for minorren between the ages of 0 to 5, upon which time they leave behind enter full-time upbringing. The EYFS has been in circulation for several geezerhood, undergoing more revisions and amendments. The most recent version was published in September 2014 and is a simplified version of past documents, by having four overarching rules which is guided upon every churl is unique, children become strong with building positive affinitys, children learn and develop well in enabling surrounds and finally that children develop and learn at divers(prenominal) rates (DfE, 2014). These 4 argonas will provide the structure for this assignment. The EYFS seems to comprehensively cover all the needs which children may hav e in their formative years. It is also coincident with previous initiatives the government have devised, such as SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning), which implored t for each oneers and practitioners to adopt a holistic stance in educating their pupils (DfE, 2010) and Every Child Matters, which dysphoric that each child was an individual and should be treated as so (DfE, 2004).Principle 1- Every Child is UniquePerhaps the most not fitting principle espoused in the current early years framework is the need to recognise the child as an individual, one who is unique and should have c be custom-built to meet their needs (DfE, 2014). This is a point which seems to have sound theoretical backing. Bandura (1977) feels that children do develop in a unique manner, also giving credit to the fact that the social environs influences their knowledge, something the EYFS also seems to value. Bandura also feels that social interaction is something that is imperative to the chil ds development, which is agreement with the communication and language need set by the framework. Although Piaget (1952) does recognise that each child is an individual, he posits that their development amongst each other is fairly uniform, as he feels that children progress through a series of fixed stages, particularly in a cognitive manner. This seems to be slightly different to the message which the EYFS framework conveys, as they do recognise that children progress through stages, but the document expresses that their development may not be so homogenous rather each child is on their own unique erudition journey (DfE, 2014). In my own practice, children were treated as an individual, with an stress on the present, rather than adhering to a fixed model of child development. On my placement each child had their own box and folder where detailed notes on them were kept, which shows how they were being considered as individuals. It seems important to treat the child as an indivi dual so that they washbowl grow in stature and become someone who has an au indeedtic identity. This is something which is inherent with the theory of constructivism which advocates children being treated as individuals who make sense of their arena in a way which is unique to them, allowing them to build understanding in a way which is special to them (Bruner, 1961 22). This seems to ratify the ethos of the current EYFS framework in treating children uniquely, although parallel to this, it may also be pertinent to bear in mind that there are certain stages which children progress through. Even if each childs development is not uniform, there may still be some similarities between them, which necessitates the importance of consulting certain theoretical models of development.Principle 2- Children become strong and independent through positive relationshipsThis principle seems to be slightly paradoxical in nature. Piaget (1952) articulates the importance of children being active and independent whereas Vygotsky (1977) feels that guided participation (from an adult or doer) is prerequisite in fostering a childs development. The EYFS framework arguably combines these theoretical notions, recognising that children should have be independent and be able to explore, whilst being able to have a positive relationship with their key let on mortal, the adult who is most involved in their care (DfE, 2014). The framework elaborates that it is the keys person role to ensure that the child becomes settled into the environs, becomes comfortable in the setting and also to build a productive relationship with the parents. Whilst these are undoubtedly important, Bandura (1977) offers an wasted dimension of the key workers role, which is that they can model and display the desirable behaviours which the children they look after can copy and imitate, a phenomenon which Bandura feels is particularly hefty in influencing a childs development. Nutbrown and Page (2008) em phasise the importance of the key person, in that they should exude warmth, friendliness and possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills which will enable them to develop a rapport with the child and be able to contribute to their development successfully. A supposition could be do that many of the key attributes that a key person should possess are identical to that of a teacher in mainstream education.Nutbrown and Page (2008) also come up to of the importance of the key worker handling the transition for young children from being attached to their parents before progressing to being looked after in the childrens centre. This is something which has been covered many times in empirical theories which surround childrens development. Bowlby (1951), an eminent psychoanalyst, put forward the theory of attachment, where he stated that infants form an attachment to a elementary caregiver (known as monotropy), typically with the mother, in the first few years of their biog raphy and should receive continuous care from this attachment figure for the first cardinal years of their life. This seems to align well with contemporary practice, with the majority of children going to nursery when they are around three years old (Gov.uk, 2014). Bowlby (1953) conceptualised the absence of such care as maternal deprivation, positing that this could have many ramifications for the child such as delinquency, apathy, reduced intelligence and depression. However, a criticism of Bowlbys attachment theory is that he did not acknowledge the influence of other stakeholders in the childs care, such as the father, key worker or extended family members. Elfer et al. (2003) concentrate specifically on the relationship between carers and the child, advocating that they should exude warmth and friendliness and not shy away from forming a strong bond with the infant for fear of perplexing it, as even a baby is able to discern between their parents and their carers.The literatu re expressed above seems to evidence the importance of the key worker in meeting the childs needs, something which the EYFS framework also gives credence too. Key workers are influential in helping children to gain some stability in the setting and become comfortable there and allowing them to thrive and prosper. If they form a good relationship with the child this can help them to achieve their early learnedness goals, particularly in how they communicate with others and explore the world around them (DfE, 2013b).Sylva et al. (2004) articulated the importance of the key worker being on good equipment casualty with the parent in their authoritative EPPE study, which asserted that each child should be assigned a key worker. Essentially, if the key worker has a good relationship with the parent this may allow children to form a better relationship with the key worker and have all of their needs fulfilled, it could also boost the reservation of certain groups of parents such as teen mums, something which my placement noted the importance of. DfE (2013a) also highlight the importance of key workers being suitably trained and meliorate so they can provide a good service to the children under their care. This was again apparent in the childrens centre which I visited, where the early years teachers had to be educated at least up to a Level 3 standard. In essence, children need to build positive relationships with those around them to become independent, and the key worker is at the centre of this.Principle 3- Children learn and develop well in enabling environmentsPiaget (1952) conjectured that babies are naturally inquisitive and want to explore the world around them and become active participants within it. Therefore it seems appropriate that there should be an environment which stimulates them to do that, intellectually, socially and building their autonomy and independence. Such environments are deemed to be enabling with the key worker again at the centre of cultivating and propagating such an environment, which could be potentially similar to the environment to the child is exposed to at home, to ensure greater consistency and continuity (DfE, 2014).However, structuring the environment in such a way may allow children to learn about concepts which will be of use to them in their development as an adult. The childrens centre where I was placed at were proponents of heuristic learning in getting the children to problem-solve and explore activities, with the emphasis being on play and reward, with items like treasure baskets used quite frequently (See Appendix A). Outdoor and indoor learning in the EYFs seems to be equally important, something which the government recognises and gives credence to in the EYFS framework, making it mandatory that childcare providers give access to an outdoor environment which is safe and has plenty of opportunities for play (DfE, 2014). Garrick et al. (2010) extend this, articulating that the environment of an EYFS setting should have abundant opportunities for play, including allowing children to indulge in creative pursuits (something their study valued highly), physical opportunities (like sports and outdoor play areas) and pretend play. If a centre did hold such an extensive range of opportunities, this could allow them to cater for a larger spectrum of learners as it is widely acknowledged that pupils thrive and learn in a concourse of different ways (Gardner, 2004). Furthermore, the potential for progression in the children could be enhanced if they were encouraged to develop a growth mindset by staff and enmesh in activities that they would not do normally, so they can become more familiar with varied tasks and not be reticent to challenges in their future life (Dweck, 2006).The indoor environment is imperative also to facilitating childrens development. As previously mentioned, there should be ample opportunities for children to engage in a wide shape of activities to stimulate them in different ways. A multi-sensory approaching can contribute significantly to the development of children and really aid them in reaching a high aim of maturity and cognition, as they interact with the world around them in different ways and become more flexible and adaptable. Steel (2012) infers that such an approach could have positive longitudinal consequences for the child, including improved academic attainment and retention of knowledge, which seems to be a sound rationale for such an approach. Whilst it seems essential that the indoor environment should be stimulating cognitively, it may be wise not to neglect the emotional aspect of it. Again, the key worker is at the centre of providing the warmth required in an enabling environment. Nutbrown and Page (2008) assert that they should show warm responses to the children under their care and react well to them.In essence, an enabling environment is make up of the components of suitable and stimulating indo or and outdoor areas, which the key worker is central in maintaining and facilitating.Principle 4- Children develop and learn in different ways and ratesThe final principle espoused by the EYFS framework is perhaps more concerned with the cognition of children, although it does refer to their social and emotional development in part. Nevertheless, Katz (1988, as cited in Carr, 2001, p.21) hypothesises that each child has a certain disposition, something which is distinct from learning it is concerned more with how they react to certain situations and the habits they adopt and carry out on a regular basis. In a later document, Katz (1993) elaborates that dispositions in young children are normally learned from those around or the environment they are raised in or looked after, which seems to resonate with Banduras (1977) theory of modelling mentioned earlier in the assignment. Katz (1993) also articulates that dispositions are strengthened when they are acknowledged and efforts are m ade to continue them (particularly if they are good habits), which seems to emphasise the importance of treating the child as an individual.It seems evident that all children learn and develop in different ways, as evidenced by the argument above. However, a conjecture could be made that there may be certain strategies which a practitioner or worker can implement which will result in children developing into sensible and mature adults. One way in which to do this is to cultivate a childs resilience in their ability to complete a task or try a new activity. Children may give up if they apprehend the task to be beyond their capabilities and not extend themselves to complete this. This could be a natural response from the child (particularly if the task is incommensurate with their skillset) or it could be something that they have learned over time. Dweck (1975 673) terms this as learned helplessness, where a child habitually gives up in the face of a contend task or adversity, poss ibly because of a lack of response from the adult in encouraging the child to complete the task and persevere.Combining the sentiments expressed by Katz and the argument above, could be essential in helping children to progress appropriately, particularly when faced with unfamiliar situations and tasks. Siraj- Blatchford et al. (2002) concluded in their Researching Effective Pedagogy in the azoic Years (REPEY) study that shared sustained thinking was crucial in helping a child to tackle new problems and persist. This is defined as 2 or more individuals (with at least one adult facilitator) working together to complete a task, although the authors stress that each person should be actively contributing to the task, and that there must be a progression towards an eventual solution, even if that is reached straight away. This coincides with Vygotskys (1977) theory of cognitive development, which posits that a child will enhance their zone of proximal development (the difference betw een what they can do on their own and with help) if they are supported by a more knowledgeable other such as an adult or more capable peer. Both arguments suggest that collaboration between adults and children is essential to further the childs development, although again the manner in which this is done should be unique to the child by using questioning which is appropriate to the childs level of cognitive development (Bloom et al., 1956).ConclusionThe rationale which underpins the EYFS framework is the need to treat the child as a unique individual and consider their needs at length, in a cognitive, emotional, social and physical sense to facilitate optimum development in them. There are several ways to ensure this, including that the environment is stimulating and appropriate enough for the childs needs, that they have access to a multitude of activities, that the key worker has a warm and fulfilling relationship with the child and that they encouraged to develop a growth mind s et and persevere with challenging tasks with the facilitation of another adult. Arguably, if a childcare provider follows all of the actions above and adheres to the EYFS framework, then this should allow for children to progress to the desired level of development and maturity.ReferencesBandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall.Bloom, B. S., Engelhart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H. and Krathwohl, D. R. (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives The classification of educational goals. Handbook I cognitive domain. New York David McKay Company.Bowlby, J. (1951) Maternal Care and Mental Health. World Health Organization Monograph.Bowlby, J. (1953) Child Care and the Growth of Love. London Penguin Books.Bruner, J. S. (1961) The act of discovery. Harvard Educational Review, 31 (1) 2132.Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings. London SAGE. segment for Family, Education and Skills (2004) Every Child Matters. Online. 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