Understanding Children's Learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage

The provided assignment content focuses on setting standards for learning, development, and care for children from birth to five. The texts explore various aspects of early childhood education, including teaching, play, attachment, and leadership. They also discuss the importance of inclusive education, staff qualifications, and training in early years settings. Additionally, the content highlights the significance of early learning, the role of adults in early years settings, and the need for multi-agency working to support children's development.

Early Childhood Studies
Name
Submitted to
Date

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................4
Observation..................................................................................................................................5
Evaluation....................................................................................................................................6
Learning and Play........................................................................................................................7
Good Practice...............................................................................................................................9
Inclusion and Cultural Awareness.............................................................................................10
Relevance of government policy in terms of practice in the context of partnership and
multiagency working and decision making...............................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................17

Introduction
Effective leadership has been recognized as a critical method in educational and care settings.
The opportunity for creating as well as sustaining the high-quality learning environments is seen
to be minimal if the leaders are not skilled and committed towards shaping the teaching and
learning. Various researches have also depicted that leadership is second to teaching as it
influences the learning and this practice and quality of leadership is seen to be associated with a
demonstrable and consistent manner for improving the educational equity and student outcomes
(Leithwood et al., 2006, p. 4; Mitgang, 2012, p. 3).
This research has been recognized by the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) and the
sector of Early Years Setting requires everyone working within it to enhance on their
professional informational base and engage themselves in ongoing learning and development.
With the thorough research being performed by the ECA in the early childhood settings which
have been developed with a set of capabilities that can be framed by the early childhood and
school care leaders in their professional leadership plans. The leader is encouraged by the
capabilities to reflect personally and with others while:
1. Making the learning, well-being and development of the children as the core focus;
2. Addressing the rights and honour diversity of the children of all the kinds which are
constructive, positive and courageous in their own ways;
3. Building nurturing, respectful, trusting and equitable relationships;
4. Building genuine and respectful connections with the communities and families;
5. Creating a community of learners in a collaborative manner.

The early leaning is importance for all the children as it helps in laying a strong foundation
for the future case. According to research studies like Shonkoff and Phillips (2000) and John
Hopkins University, n.d.; endorsed by State of Victoria (2010), that the development of the
active neural pathways in the brain which take place before the age of three when the brain of
the child is in the most receptive state of learning. It is important that the children in their
early years are provided with the opportunities regarding the physical, social, intellectual and
emotional development using the high quality early years provision providing a potential for
the economic, social and educational benefits (Barnett, 2008).
According to UNICEF (2007, p. 4 cited in Aldgate in McCauley and Rose, 2010, p. 23), the
method in which the whole provision will be facilitated is a representation of how well the
children are raised and taken care of in any nation which also includes the health and safety,
material security, education and socialisation along with their sense of being valued, loved
and included in the society and families. This paper will presents the importance of the adults
who wish to work with children of this particular age group to wear various hats for
facilitating the needs of the children and necessitates the understanding of roles and
responsibilities regarding the interaction with the children (Rose and Rogers, 2012). The
paper will highlight the important elements required in the education, training and
preparation of those people who want to work in the Early Years Childcare.
Literature Review
In order to assess the developmental progress, the children are observed. This observation takes
place using the normal daily activities of the children, social interactions, use of language, work
samples etc. that demonstrate their learning. However, the degree of the involvement has and
implies various meanings. However, when the term observation is used, it refers to the act of

looking at something which does not influences it but records the action or the scene for later
analysis (Wadsworth, 1983).
Observation
The four critical ideas of observation refers to the intentional and periodic watching of children
in the mid of complex and variety of circumstances which represent their skills and behavior that
have been demonstrated from time to time. Then the on-going daily observation takes placed
which involves the child’s home performances and related activities leading to the collection of
important and reliable information. Then the demonstrated performance is observed during all
the real-time activities where the activities that are considered to be unnatural and contrived are
observed. Lastly, the practitioner in this field should have a detailed understanding of the
purpose and meaning of observation and who is capable of practicing the behavior and skills of
the children on a daily basis. According to Webster-Stratton, C. and Reid, M.J. (2004), observing
the children helps in improving our teaching, helps parent, constructs theory and used as the
assessment tool for communicating with children. The teacher can include narratives where
records can be kept keeping everything in track happening in a specified time period. Time
samples can also be used for counting the number of behavior that occur in the uniform timed
intervals. Further, event samples are used by the observer for recording the specific behavior
only at the time of occurring. Lastly, teacher-designed instruments like rating scales, checklists,
shadow studies etc. can be used.
While assessment of the plan, the most important key is considered to be evaluation, therefore
the education practitioners need to evaluate the materials, curriculum and equipment along with
the environment where the behavior of children and effectiveness of the teachers can be
assessed. A new entrant in Early Years Setting, on evaluation can be provided information by
using the rate performance where he can define the areas of difficulties and look out for the

possible solutions and can monitor the growth and progress of the child along with goal setting
and planning.
Evaluation
A good evaluation should include the clear purpose and state clear goals. The teacher must also
refrain from unfair comparisons and overemphasis must be placed on norms and interpretations.
However, evaluation is sometimes considered to be a broad concept which is sometimes
confused as the formal testing and measurements. Using evaluation, the teacher is able to link the
specific smaller goals to the larger ones and can encompass the objective which focus primarily
on the relationship between overriding educational objectives and classroom teaching.
Observation being a natural process should require everyone to participate all the time. But
according to Wadsworth (1983), the most critical problem with observation is the fact that an
observer is a learner.
There are seven areas of learning and development in the Early Years Settings. The initial three
areas are Physical Development (PD); Communication and Language (CL); and Personal, Social
and Emotional Development (PSED) which is followed by the four Specific areas, which help in
strengthening and applying the first three areas, Mathematics (M); Literacy (L); Understanding
the World (UW); and Expressive Arts and Design (EAD).
It has been seen that all the areas related to learning and development are critical and are highly
cross-linked. The first three areas are important in igniting the enthusiasm and curiosity for
learning and to build their capacity to form, learn and thrive the relationships (Macleod and Kay,
2008).
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) review (2011) considers the assessment pyramid which
demonstrates the collection of a large piece of information which can be collected from each
child and some of the data sets can be defined using the information. This pyramid will be

helpful in demonstrating the link between planning and formative assessment. The pyramid
depicts that the end result of the whole summative assessment of the collected data is the
progress of the child, which happens to be the focal point of the process (EYFS 2011). It has
been mentioned by the Statutory framework for the EYFS that the it is has the responsibility for
day to day practice and assessment. This responsibility primarily lies with the teachers who
assess, observe, plan and perform things again and again.
Learning and Play
For creating the quality learning environments the practitioners needs to have a thorough
understanding of how the children will learn. It is difficult to define learning as it includes the
thinking process along with becoming highly aware, creative, using imagination, hearing,
observing, problem solving and remembering (Malone, 1991 cited in Ostroff, 2012, p. 2).
According to Ostroff (2012), learning has been embedded into our psyche that has been rooted
towards assimilating information and discussion actively utilizing the exploration of the
environment. The author believes the process of learning to be a physical in nature which takes
placed within the sensory systems feeding the information to the brain for dictating the actions of
the individuals. The process of learning has been regarded as the mechanism which helps in
acquiring, understanding, applying and extending the skills and attitudes (Pollard et al, 2008, p.
170) whereas Pachler and Daly (2011, p. 17) consider it to be a twin process which helps in
operating and coming to know the new and ever changing contexts and learning spaces to make a
meaning and usually is an outcome of interacting and communicating with others. According to
Wood in Anning, Cullen and Fleer (2004), learning can be defined as the process which develops
the knowledge base and thinking process resulting in addition of new ideas and concepts to the
prior knowledge. This can be achieved by active play. Bruce (1991), defines it as an umbrella

term describing the process of facilitating the development of thinking skills (Meadows, 1993). It
is a social cultural process which gets impacted due to the interactions being taking place
(Robson, 2006). The whole process is very important for the development of the intellectual,
physical and emotional growth of the child (Elkind, 2008). The children can get first-hand
experience by the play activities by the exploration of the environment where they are able to
find themselves and solve the issues which help in developing the world’s appreciation around
them (Edgington, 2004). The children can acquire various opportunities which make discoveries
related to the world and their own self. The various plays that help in contributing towards the
development of the children include expressive movement, use of language, use of space, rough
and tumble play and examination (Hughes, 2006). The children can use these plays as a tool in
order to be creative and utilizing their imagination through communication, interaction in their
groups by exchanging various roles (Edgington, 2004). According to Wood and Attfield (2005),
various cultural conventions can be learnt which will help the children to develop physically
through the regular exercising (Manning-Morton and Thorp, 2003). The method of play seems to
have the most positive effect on the emotions of the children (Russ, 2004), therefore it is
considered to be a mechanism which help the children to learn and control their emotions and
can also gain an appreciation of other’s feelings and views (Sayeed and Guerin, 2000).
But the process of learning through play cannot take place without a deep understanding and
appreciation towards the purpose of the play and it functions on the lives of the children.
Therefore, prospective practitioners should understand and learn the thinking and principles
underlying the child centred learning.

Good Practice
In order to encourage play and communication, there is a need for creating a vibrant and child-
centred learning environment which has already been listed in the existing literacy and numeracy
strategies of the government (Wood, 2004 in Anning, Cullen and Fleer, 2004). Early Years
Foundation Stage (EYFS) documentation, stated that the play based curriculum is important for
the development of the children and helps in building their confidence while learning to explore,
problem-solving and relating to others. The children must be provided with the various
opportunities of learning using the play which help them to initiate and engage in the activities.
Therefore a learning environment is the must where the interested and needs of the children are
catered for which includes the various methods which individual use while learning. The
characteristics of effective learning and teaching are included as playing and exploring where the
children are provided with opportunities of investigating and experiencing various things,
creating and thinking in a critical manner, where the individuals are provided with opportunities
for developing their own innovative ideas and connecting various concepts and finally utilizing
various strategies to perform things and active learning, where the children are motivated
towards concentrating and to enjoy their experiences (Department for Education, 2012).
Therefore, it is the duty of Early Years practitioner to lead their children towards learning,
supporting and even helping them whenever possible (MacShane, 2007 cited in Allen and
Whalley, 2010, p. 4). This can only be achieved by planning as well as resourcing of the suitably
challenging learning activities that are embedded beautifully in the play (Wheeler and Connor,
2009). According to Wood (2004), the continuity of learning can only be assured by planning

and the learning environment must be dependent on the play which eventually leads to an all
rounded educational experience and leads to greater knowledge depth and enhancement of skills
and understanding (Moyles and Adams, 2001).
For facilitating the all-round development of individuals, the parents must also be involved by
the practitioners in the educative process so as to support the children towards learning in school
and home environment. In order to create a working partnership, the needs of each and every
individual must be discussed with the parents by the practitioner as it helps in fostering the
united approach towards learning and teaching for ensuring that the children will be able to
maximise the potential (Department for Education, 2012)
The practitioner can involve their families by a number of activities so as to encourage the
learning of the child like teaching them the nursery rhymes, reading with children, drawing and
painting, practising letters and numbers, teaching songs, visiting the library, engaging the
children at home, taking them on the day trips etc. (Sylva et al, 2003). This way they can affect
the rate of development and progress of the child (Wheeler and Connor, 2009) and ensure that
the cultural background is known to the children and also a positive attitude is fostered towards
the diversity.
Inclusion and Cultural Awareness
The prospective educators must understand the ideas related to the inclusion and inclusive
practices. A positive behaviour has to be modelled towards everyone irrespective of their
background and their race or abilities and every child must be viewed as equal. Every single
child must be provide with equal chance and opportunities so as to learn about their culture.
They must be taught about the diversity in all its forms (Centre for Studies on Inclusive
Education [CSIE], 2014). Therefore it is necessary for the practitioners and their schools to
provide a curriculum allowing them to gain full access to all the children so that they can

perform as per their abilities (Mittler, 2000). The children must be taught about the skills
enabling them to stay healthy and sage and to make appreciated contribution to the society, this
will in turn help them to attain financial stability in the near future.
It is the responsibility of the practitioners to treat every child as a unique one, to develop a
positive relationship with each and every individual, creating environment which enables the
individuals to learn and grow as a team member along with acknowledging the development and
learning of all the children at their respective rate and to improvise the activities so that these
cater their needs (Department for Education, 2012).
Relevance of government policy in terms of practice in the context of partnership
and multiagency working and decision making
The practice of multi-agency and partnership to support the young children with various needs
like physical, verbal, communicational etc. to help them participate in their everyday activities
has increased these days. These multiagency workings help in empowering the parents as a co-
educator and contribute in the whole process. The multi-agency team is a group of practitioners
which is recruited with a common purpose and objectives. The practitioners are asked to
maintain a link with their home agency along with receiving the supervision and thorough
training. This team works together with the group or individual children and also includes
various authorities and government. These multi-agency teams are crucial in putting a coherent
and cohesive strategic messages for the ones who are working together. There are various multi-
agency panels which employ various practitioners and hold regular meeting. These multi-agency
panels are also seen to discuss children with additional needs in order to benefit from the

multiagency input. These agencies work with families and children and are occasionally assisted
with the key worker.
The practitioners of the Early Years settings must have a thorough information for the new
policies and government initiatives. These agencies and practices are seen to have a continuing
effect on the way children have to be worked with and worked in an integrated manner. The
practitioners must have a thorough knowledge and are expected to fulfil the work in following
areas:
Safeguarding and promoting the child welfare, multi-agency working, child and young person
development, effective engagement and communication with young people, children and
families, sharing information and supporting transitions. In order to work in partnership with
various other professionals and to be a part of EYFS, the practitioners must work together
towards meeting the needs of the family and the child. The times where the childcare providers
require working with more than one professional, the children require to access the support of the
multi-agencies to their fullest. Therefore it is important to ensure regular contact and effective
communication. In order to evaluate the progress of the children, regular meetings must be held
to allow these professional to group together and provide effective advice and support.
The practitioners and the multi-agency should establish a relationship in order to help the
children to access the support that they require at the earliest possible. The government policies
require that the government policies must be relevant to their practices and the whole process of
decision making. With effective information and policies, information has been to be provided
where the parents and their views are respected. The connection and relationship with the parents
and children must be entertained. The professionals needs to create an early relationships and

gain a thorough understanding of how the professionals should work together to provide the
children with sufficient information and guidance.
The joint work of the multi-agency and the practitioners in order to provide effective education
to the children must aim towards increasing the well-being and happiness of the children. These
agencies in accordance with the governmental policies will be able to identify the measurable
improvements in the behaviour of the children, this will in turn help in betterment of the peer
relationships among the workers. The children are seen to have improved academic attainment
and are able to learn and develop learning skills quickly with the help of the multi-agency (Soan,
2006). Whereas the agencies also put a great emphasis on the disabled children and the families
are asked to coordinate with the services which leads to better relationships with services,
improved quality of life, reduced stress level and quicker access to services (Sloper, 2004).
According to NFER (2004), the multi-agencies have a positive impact on the lives of the families
and children and result in the following:
 Enhanced relationships with parents, service providers, and other adults (like
police officers)
 Improved access to education
 Improved behaviour
 Enhanced social and emotional well-being, especially related to the confidence
and self-esteem
The governmental policies are always found to be in accordance with the multi-agency which
results in positive impact on the general well-being and improvement in the life chances. The
high level of achievements are listed as increased motivation and self-esteem; more opportunity

to participate in arts, cultural activities and sports; and specialist support in order to meet the
additional needs. An improvement has been seen in the behavior of the child, who is seen to be
more involved and it is seen that with the assisted help from the learning of children performed
by the multi-agency helps in taking up employment owing to the affordable childcare.
The multi-agency composition is beneficial in terms of working practices and helps in achieving
all the impacts (Siraj, 2007). With the help of referral systems which were highly streamlines, the
families, schools and children have been benefitted with the kind of support they required. A
holistic support has been provided with the help of multi-agency and also address the domestic,
health and social welfare concerns of the families and their children and provide the various
steps which improve the behavior, attendance and attainment.
Further, the multi-agencies have also helped in impacting the number of parents in a proficient
manner. The access to services has been improved with the help of the multi-agencies and also
identifies the needs of the adult and the children, access the resources to the families, improves
the parent-child relationship using the various important strategies and the parenting skills.
Conclusion
In order to perform the role of the leader in the early years setting, one should follows the
necessary steps to be a truly effective leader. Once the practitioner is able to establish the roles
and responsibilities of the leaders in this sector, he can easily become the most effective leader.
In the early years setting, the leadership and its arena is extremely varied within every individual
which takes an approach of their own. The leaders should remember that the best outcome for
the child to achieve only comes with effective leadership. Further the leader must also inspect the
setting which will enhance their leadership and management skills. The leaders and the

practitioners across the sector of early years setting are also faced with various challenges. There
is increased expectations and accountability from the leaders with enhanced opportunity. There
is an increased demand and complexity with larger opportunities. Iram Siraj-Blatchford and
Laura Manni (2007) in an implicit acknowledgement of the scopes of leadership role in the Early
Years Settings, have identified ten important categories related to the effective leadership
practice (Institute of Education, 2007).
1. Identification and articulation of a collective vision
2. Effective communication
3. Ensuring shared understanding, meanings and goals
4. Encouraging the reflection
5. Commitment towards ongoing and professional development
6. Distributed leadership
7. Monitoring and assessing practice
8. Leading and managing: striking the balance.
9. Building a learning community and team culture
10. Encouragement and facilitation of the parent and community partnerships
Further, an effective data has to be collated for helping to maintain a clear focus in order to
narrow down the gap, this will in turn measure the success of the programme. The leaders must
maintain a direct ratio for ensuring that even the most vulnerable children will be given the
necessary support for narrowing the attainment gaps. Further the leaders must develop a robust
professional network and partnerships where all the leaders will support effective
implementation models instead of focusing on the structured strategic approach for building the
capacity. There is a need for designing and supporting the materials that will include the specific

programs which will help in child development with appropriate assessment regarding the
efficient interventions. Lastly, there is a need for the leaders to have an engaging environment
and relationship with the parents and to provide extended home learning environment to the
children. This will help in sustaining the good quality practice and will also develop the next
generation of the two year old practitioners who can help to translate the child development
directly into the pedagogical conversations.

References
Aldgate, J. (2010) ‘Child Well-Being, Child Development and Family Life.’ in McCauley, C.,
Rose, W. (Eds) Child Well-Being: Understanding Children’s Lives. London: Jessica
Kingsley Publishers pp. 21 – 38
Barnett, W. S. (2008) Preschool Education and its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy
Implications. National Institute for Early Education Research Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Bruce, T. (1991) Time to Play in Early Childhood Education. London: Hodder & Stoughton
Department for Education (2012) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage:
Setting the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five .
London: Department for Education
Department for Education (n.d.) ‘Get Into Teaching – Basic requirements to become a qualified
teacher.’ Retrieved 20th October 2014 from http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-
teaching/apply-for-teacher-training/basic-requirements
Department for Education (n.d.a) ‘Get Into Teaching – Professional skills tests for training
teachers.’ Retrieved 20th October 2014 from http://www.education.gov.uk/get-into-
teaching/apply-for-teacher-training/skills-tests
Department for Education (n.d.b) ‘Early Years Evidence Pack.’ Retrieved 20th October 14
fromhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
180884/DFE-00274-2011.pdf
Edgington, M. (2004) The Foundation Stage Teacher in Action: Teaching in 3, 4 and 5 Year
Olds. (3rdEd) London: Paul Chapman
Elkind, D. (2008) The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to
Happier, Healthier Children. Cambridge, MA: De Capo Lifelong
Hughes, D.A., 2006. Building the bonds of attachment: Awakening love in deeply troubled
children. Jason Aronson.
John Hopkins University (n.d.) ‘Why is Early Learning important?’ Retrieved 20th October 2014
fromhttp://web.jhu.edu/CSOS/early_learning/
Kay, J., 13Evaluating Early Years policy. (2008)
Leithwood, K., Aitken, R. and Jantzi, D., 2006. Making schools smarter: Leading with evidence.
Corwin Press.
Manning-Morton, J., Thorp, M. (2003) Key Times for Play: The First Three Years. Maidenhead:
Open University Press
Meadows, S. (1993) The Child as Thinker. London: Routledge
Mitgang, L., 2012. The Making of the Principal: Five Lessons in Leadership Training.
Perspective. Wallace Foundation.
Mittler, P. (2000) Working Towards Inclusive Education: Social Contexts. London: David Fulton
Moyles, J. R., Adams, S. (2001) StEPS: Statements of Entitlements to Play: A Framework for
Playful Teaching with 3 – 7 Year-Olds. Buckingham: Open University Press
Munton, T., Mooney, A., Moss, P., Petrie, P. Clark, A., Woolner, J. (2002).Research on ratios,
group size and staff qualifications and training in early years and childcare settings.
(Research Report No.320) London: Thomas Coram Research Unit, Institute of Education,
University of London.

Ostroff, W. L. (2012) Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing the Science of Child
Development to the Classroom. Alexandria VA: ASCD
Pachler, N., Daly, C. (2011) Key Issues in E-Learning: Research and Practice. London:
Continuum International Publishing Group
Pollard, A., Anderson, J., Maddock, M., Swaffield, S., Warin, J., Warwick, P. (2008) Reflective
Teaching. (3rd Ed) London: Continuum
Robson, S. (2006) Developing Thinking and Understanding in Young Children.
London: Routledge
Rose, J., Rogers, S. (2012) The Role of the Adult in Early Years Settings. Maidenhead: Open
University Press
Russ, S. (2004) Play in Child Development and Psychotherapy New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates
Sayeed, Z., Guerin, E. (2000) Early Years Play: A Happy Medium for Assessment and
Intervention. London: David Fulton
Shonkoff, J.P. and Phillips, D.A. eds., 2000. From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of
early childhood development. National Academies Press.
Siraj-Blatchford, I., Clarke, K. and Needham, M., 2007. The team around the child: Multi-
agency working in the early years. Trentham Books.
Sloper, P., 2004. Facilitators and barriers for co‐ordinated multi‐agency services. Child: care,
health and development, 30(6), pp.571-580.
Soan, S., 2006. Are the needs of children and young people with social, emotional and
behavioural needs being served within a multi‐agency framework?. Support for
Learning, 21(4), pp.210-215.
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B. (2004) The Effective
Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Findings from Pre-school to End of
Key Stage 1. Nottingham: DfES Publications
Tickell, C., 2011. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) review: report on the
evidence. London: Department of Education.
Wadsworth, J., Burnell, I., Taylor, B. and Butler, N., 1983. Family type and accidents in
preschool children. Journal of epidemiology and Community Health, 37(2), pp.100-104.
Webster-Stratton, C. and Reid, M.J., 2004. Strengthening social and emotional competence in
young children—The foundation for early school readiness and success: Incredible years
classroom social skills and problem‐solving curriculum. Infants & Young
Children, 17(2), pp.96-113.
Wheeler, H., Connor, J. (2009) Parents, Early Years and Learning: Parents as Partners in the
Early Years Foundation Stage - Principles into Practice. London: National Children’s
Bureau
Wood, E. (2004) ‘Developing a Pedagogyv of Play.’ in Anning, A., Cullen, J., Fleer, M. Early
Childhood Education: Society and Culture. London: Sage pp. 27 – 38
Wood, E., Attfield, J. (2005) Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum London: Paul
Chapman