Nursery World - EYFS Best Practice in Schools

Rather than obsess over whether activities are free-flow, child-led and so on, teachers should consider if they constitute effective learning and empower the child as a learner, says Jan Dubiel

Delivering the best outcomes in literacy and maths for children within the EYFS rests on the same principles and pedagogy as other areas of learning. Nothing within the approach needs to change.

As with all aspects of early learning, the successful acquisition of literacy and maths knowledge and skills should be viewed as a process that hinges on practice, repetition and revisiting ideas, so enabling the child to ‘internalise’ these new concepts and use them is a range of ways.

Success depends too on a child having a range of other skills, knowledge and learning behaviours, principally those within the Prime Areas and the Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL). And the long-established early years pedagogy of embedding these skills and knowledge in meaningful contexts and children’s interests remains the invaluable means of ensuring success.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included