Oakfield provides a teaching system that incorporates play, education – and most importantly, healthy mental and emotional child development.

All this is possible because of a modern curriculum called the British Early Years Foundation Stage – or EYFS.

The Magic Behind EYFS

Early childhood as a whole is often called the “make or break” phase. The ages starting from birth to 5 years old have immense significance – after all, it’s when your child is exposed to the world for the first time. They get to wonder about their environment, discover new things and sensations, and inevitably grow. Like a sponge, they take in experience from the get-go.

Early Learning Centers like Oakfield have to focus a bit more than usual on this aspect of a child’s development. We know how vital this developmental period can be for the future of a child – therefore we adopt a curriculum that caters to every need.

For that, we picked the British Early Years Foundation Stage – EYFS, for short.

But what exactly is the EYFS?

Let’s find out!

The Framework

The EYFS is a framework designed to give children from birth to 5 years of age an educational experience that not only touches on core subjects but also comprises of lifestyle lessons. The main aim is to induce good etiquette, thoughtfulness and intuitive thinking within children at a young age.

A child’s first five years are divided into six overlapping sections called “age bands”. This overlapping is present because all children are not the same, and hence cannot be discreetly categorized into one section or the other. These bands are as follows:

1. Birth to 11 months
2. 8 – 20 months
3. 16 – 26 months
4. 22 – 36 months
5. 30-50 months
6. 40-60 months

This program also has certain principles that we at Oakfield follow religiously, to make sure that children are getting a positive, safe and informative education that will help them throughout their lives. They are as follows:

• Every child is different and hence interacts differently with the same format of education. Therefore flexibility must be present to allow children to become confident, resilient and capable people in any setting.
• Children need to form a well-informed, healthy and positive relationship with the staff and practitioners so that they are constantly motivated to be better versions of themselves.
• An empowering, free and safe environment must be provided so that children learn how to be independent, and grow through their own experiences
• A partnership between a child’s carer and the nursery’s staff must be established so that both parties know exactly how the child is progressing.

 

Areas of Development

There are 7 departments called “Areas of Development” that the EYFS caters to when educating children. These are categorised based on the fact that since children of below 5 years are extremely impressionable, they need a dynamic environment where everything can be tailored to suit the child’s needs.

They are as follows:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  Support is provided to children so that good habits can be induced in them like a positive sense of self and others, social skills and respect for others within children. Oakfield especially fulfils this need through a set of motivated practitioners who only inspire.
• Communication and Language
  Communicating, speaking and listening is constantly exercised to make children more tolerant, open-minded and thoughtful in debates and speeches. We at Oakfield make sure we forward this kind of thinking by allowing children to hold their own presentations.
• Mathematical Development
  Mathematics is introduced in different contexts so that children can start becoming more familiar with the concept. Oakfield makes the otherwise dull subject a lot more interesting through colourful or interactive activities. Thus, we help our pupils harbour sharp minds from the start.
• Understanding the world
  Children are made to encounter creatures, plants, and objects in different natural environments to develop their minds through exposure. Oakfield makes it a duty to unlock the inquisitive parts of their brains with the help of scientific investigations, where children are allowed to interact with the world and draw their own conclusions out of it.
• Physical Development
  Children are taught the importance of activity and a healthy diet so that they begin to understand the benefits of a healthy lifestyle from the get-go. Oakfield ensures that through homemade meals served at fixed times, balanced with adequate play times in wide open areas.
• Expressive Arts and Design
  Art, music, dance and role-play activities are used as a medium for children to express themselves and their curiosity for the world. Oakfield has specific rooms for Dance, Music and art projects, where children can unleash their creativity.
• Literacy Development
  Children’s ability to read and write is consistently worked upon with the help of Oakfield’s very own Library Room. The educational software integrated within makes story-times interesting for children to follow.

The onset of EYFS has already brought about a significant change; at the end of August 2008, 59% of childcare providers were good or outstanding. This figure had further increased to 68% by August 2010.

That is why Oakfield is one of the top 10 nurseries in JLT – because we seamlessly connect all vital aspects of development. With our core curriculum, you can expect your child to evolve into better human beings right before your eyes.