The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) is the national Statutory Framework that sets the standards for all early years providers who teach or care for children from birth to 5. It is split into seven areas: 

• Communication and Language 
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development 
• Physical Development 
• Literacy 
• Mathematics 
• Understanding the World 
• Expressive Arts and Design 

The top three areas are referred to as the ‘prime areas’ because they are the most important skills that build the foundations for all our later learning and interactions. The bottom four areas are referred to as the ‘specific areas’ because they require a slightly more structured approach and require the foundations of learning to be laid within the prime areas first.  

The development of children’s understanding and spoken language underpins ALL of their later learning and development. Physical development is crucial for children to develop the skills they need to access the curriculum as they grow, but also enables them to live happy, healthy and active lives. Personal, social and emotional development enables children to build relationships with others, understand emotions and be confident in what they are doing, which is a pre-requisite to any later learning that takes place as well as positive mental health. 

Throughout my years as an educator of young children, I have seen so many parents and practitioners spending hours supporting their children with academic skills, such as recognising numbers and letters or naming shapes, when in fact they are still struggling to follow a simple verbal instruction or take turns with another child when playing. There is such a heavy focus on academic skills at present, that vital social, communication and personal skills can be missed. This is the very definition of running before walking as these skills lay the foundations for all academic future learning.  

Could you imagine holding down a job if you struggled to take turns in a conversation, felt socially isolated because you lacked the skills to communicate and interact with others, couldn’t hold a pen or had no ability to follow instructions? Answer this question for yourself and you will see why we need to place an emphasis on the prime areas prior to any academic learning for our children.  

So, what can you do to help your child develop in these areas? 

The answer to this is fairly simple..... 

Communication and Language 

Talk to your child. Narrate everything you do, even if it feels like you’re talking to yourself. Read stories to your children. In fact, read cereal boxes, leaflets, shop signs, the list goes on. In doing so you are providing your children with a language-rich environment. They will pick up on new vocabulary and start to understand and use more words. If English is your second language, converse in your home language. The most important thing you can do is talk, talk and talk some more! How can a child be able to form imaginative coherent sentences if they have not heard such language in the first place? 

Personal, social and emotional development 

Play with your child.... the old-fashioned way, not just on an iPad because it’s what all their friends seem to be doing. Have teddy bears’ picnics and complete floor puzzles together, take turns and share out toys. Children are not born with these skills, they need to be explicitly shown them. How can a child work as part of a team for a group task if they haven’t been taught to share or work with others? Encourage your child to talk about their feelings and recognise that it’s ok to feel however they may be feeling. Talk about how you are feeling so that they understand the names of emotions and why you are feeling the way you do, e.g. ‘I’m tired today because we had a busy weekend’. As a class teacher, I always spoke about how I was feeling and why to the children in my care, even if I had a class of pre-verbal children with special needs.  

Physical development 

Take your child to the park. Not everyone has a garden, but most people have access to outdoor spaces. Run with your child, kick a ball with them and take them on the slide and swings. This will develop their gross motor skills. Encourage your children to dress themselves and feed themselves (even if it takes longer and is far messier!), because learning to do this will significantly develop their fine motor and self-help skills. How can a child begin to think about holding a pencil to write if they struggle to zip up their coat or hold a spoon? 

It sounds straightforward, doesn’t it? That’s because the prime areas of learning are meant to be, but the importance of laying those foundations cannot be underestimated and no learning can take place without these in place.