The Key Messages Of The Foundation Phase

Maslow had created a hierarchy of needs where it is separated in to seven parts, ( physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem needs, cognitive needs, aesthetic needs and self actualisation) starting at the bottom with our very basic needs, he believed we do not achieve our full potential without our basic needs met firstly. He applied this theory to children as well and believed if they did not have all of their needs met they would not be able to learn and understand more to their full potential. Even though we cannot attend to every single need of a child in school we try our best to and always ensure them that they have someone to talk to no matter what.

There are many factors that influence the wellbeing of children and young people. Some of these are evident in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

This is the statutory curriculum for all 3-7 year olds in Wales. This curriculum is for both maintained and non-maintained settings. Children are given opportunities to explore the world around them and understand how things work. They do this by taking part in practical activities that are relevant to their development. The curriculum focuses on experiential learning, active involvement, and developing each child.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum in England differs greatly in structure and content to the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand; this therefore makes for an interesting comparison. The EYFS was introduced in England, in 2008, by the DfE as a framework that ‘sets the standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five’ (DfE, 2012). Alternatively, Te Whariki was founded in New Zealand, in 1996, based on the aspirations for children ‘to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society’ (Ministry of Education, 1996). Throughout this essay, the EYFS

Early years frameworks in the U.K emphasise the importance of a personal and individual approach to learning and development:

Under Section 39 of Childcare Act 2006 Early Years Foundation Stage was set out and came into force in Sept 2008. EYFS is distinct from Key Stage 1 as it is a flexible learning through play approach. This approach has been shown to be a very effective method in teaching younger children.

Abraham Marlow established a hierarchy of needs that if met will then help a person to reach their full potential. The hierarchy triangle consists of self-actualisation, self-esteem, love and belonging, safety and security, and physiological needs. This states that a person’s physiological needs must be fully satisfied before they start fulfilling their self-actualisation needs. In practice this means that if we meet children’s individual needs then they are able to have positive development.

The legal status and principles of the Early Years Foundation stage is used with children aged from birth to five years. The Government have outlined three primary and four specific areas and seventeen early learning goals that they think are important to a child’s development and planning is used to meet a child’s individual needs.

The early years curriculum that supports children's care learning and development is the foundation phase. Foundation phase promotes learning through play. There are 7 areas of learning that consists of:

In 2008 the new curriculum for the foundation stage in wales began its roll out. Its aim was to bring consistency and continuity to children’s education, thus transforming early year’s education in Wales. The principles on which the curriculum is based are that children should be provided with a good basis for future learning and the ability to apply their learning to everyday situations. Leighton Andrews, the former education minister, said in an article on the Welsh Government website that the curriculum was designed “to allow all children to flourish whatever their stage of development or learning ability” (Andrews, 2010). The Framework for Children’s Learning for 3 to 7 Year olds in Wales (here forth known as ‘The Framework’) outlines 7 key areas of learning. These are ‘Personal and social development, well-being and cultural diversity’, ‘Language, literacy and communication skills’, ‘Mathematical development’, ‘Welsh language development’, ‘Knowledge and understanding of the world’, ‘Physical development’ and ‘Creative development’. The curriculum focuses on holistic learning, meaning that whilst there are 7 separate areas of learning, they are to be taught in a way which entwines them together allowing for children to develop skills such as everyday problem solving by understanding that mathematics is not merely a school subject but a skill which is used in everyday life.

In this assignment I am going to compare previous and current pioneers that have and are influencing the current principles of early year’s pedagogy. For example how they are influencing the four principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This assignment will get me to look at different views that theorist have to education and how they can be used in current practice. It will provide me with the information on how they influence early year’s pedagogy and current practice. Throughout this assignment I will be referencing from current reading that I am doing, these will range from eBooks to articles. I will be using nursery world articles to provide information about each pioneer and what their work has done for current principles in early year’s pedagogy.

Theories of development and frameworks to support development are incredibly important to us working with children and young people. They help us to understand children, how they react to things/situations, their behaviour and the ways they learn. Different theories and ways of working with children have come together to provide frameworks for children’s care, such as Early year’s foundation stage (EYFS) which is used within all child care settings. This encourages us to work together, help and check the development of babies, children and young people, to keep them healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to

This essay aims to explore the role of the early years practitioner in planning provision to meet the needs of the child, simultaneously applying theoretical research and professional practice. In addition to this, making appropriate links to the Early Years Foundation Stage and using pertinent examples to support the child’s needs.

I am course leader on the Foundation Degree for Early Years at the further education institution in which I work. The foundation degree is delivered in collaboration with a higher education institution. There are fourteen modules on the course and I teach on up to ten of these modules over a two year programme of study. The course is delivered through a blended learning approach, encompassing both face-to-face and online ‘Moodle’ sessions, the latter being the name for the college’s virtual learning environment. The scheme of work (Appendix 1, pp8-15) that I have chosen for the purposes of this assignment relates to the module, ‘Perspectives on Play’, which is the first module taught on the first year of the foundation degree. There

Abraham Harold Maslow was a psychologist, best known for developing a theory called self-actualization. His theory supports satisfying human needs and he identified self-actualization as the highest human need. Maslow believed that self-actualization could not be achieved until the other basic needs where satisfied. I hated high school, and I couldn’t figure out why, or at least make logical sense out of it. After taking a glance at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it all made sense! A simple chart explained why I did not excel. If I would of known this ten years ago my life might be totally different., but we live and we learn. I’ve learned from my mistakes, and with this theory I’m able to help others from making the same mistakes. Hopefully, it can help you too!