Essential Reading
The Early Years Sector is regulated and, as such, the service we provide to young children and their families must meet statutory guidance as set out in The Early Years Statutory Framework.
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All practitioners, whether they are qualified or unqualified, must have a sound knowledge and understanding of the Statutory Framework. Furthermore, the requirements of the framework must be embedded in practice within individual settings. Every practitioner must pay due regard to the statutory framework and all providers must ensure that they support their practitioners to meet the requirements of the statutory framework.
Development Matters is for all early years practitioners, for childminders and staff in nurseries, nursery schools, and nursery and reception classes in school. It offers a top-level view of how children develop and learn. It can help you to design an effective early years curriculum, building on the strengths and meeting the needs of the children you work with. It guides, but does not replace, professional judgement.
This handbook describes the main activities that inspectors undertake when they carry out inspections of early years providers in England registered under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006. The handbook also sets out the judgements that inspectors will make and on which they will report.
Birth to 5 Matters provides comprehensive guidance, drawing on previous guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which has been updated in order to reflect recent research, to meet the needs of practitioners, to respond to current issues in society, to meet the needs of children today and to lay a strong foundation for their futures.