The Early Years Foundation Stage guidance outlines the goals childrenwill be working towards and assessed against.
It replaces the Birth to Three Matters guidance, which is the foundationstage curriculum for three- and four-year-olds, and national standardsfor daycare.
Children's minister Beverley Hughes said: "The Early Years FoundationStage will help practitioners to plan stimulating activities based onthe children's interests, in discussion with parents and relevantprofessionals."
Early years workers welcomed the removal of the artificial dividebetween children under and over three years, resulting from the existingcurriculum.
Bernadette Duffy, head of the Thomas Coram Early Childhood Centre, said:"This framework will stop the artificial division and reduce theconfusion about which framework reception teachers should be using."
Children will now work towards concentration, dressing and hygieneabilities, basic reading, writing, speech and numeracy.
All registered early years providers and schools will be required to usethe guidance from September 2008. At the end of the stage, children willbe assessed against a profile that will be a record of achievement.
- www.dfes.gov.uk.
