What is the Foundation Stage?
It's for children aged 3-5, and covers the years they spend from the beginning of nursery or pre-school to the end of reception class in primary school. It was introduced in September 2000 to cover these important years in your child's life.

Where will my child go for Foundation Stage?
The government is funding Foundation Stage places:
• in nursery and reception classes
• in playgroups
• in pre-schools
• in nurseries
• with accredited childminders in approved childminding networks.
To find out what's available in your area, call ChildcareLink on 08000 96 02 96, or look at their web site: www.childcarelink.gov.uk
Wherever your child goes, staff who work with them will focus on the Early Learning Goals.
They set out what most children are expected to achieve by the end of the foundation stage. They help people who work with children aged 3-5 to focus on what children need to learn. They are not a curriculum with lots of different subjects. They are six broad areas of learning.

What are the Early Learning Goals?
• Personal, social and emotional development. Your child will learn to be self-confident, take an interest in things, know what their own needs are, tell the difference between right and wrong, and be able to dress and undress.
• Communication, language and literacy. Your child will learn to talk confidently and clearly, enjoying stories, songs and poems, hearing and saying sounds, and linking them to the alphabet. They will read and write some familiar words and learn to use a pencil.
• Mathematical development. Your child will develop an understanding of maths through stories, songs, games and imaginative play. They will become comfortable with numbers and with ideas such as 'heavier than' or 'bigger'. They will be aware of shapes and space.
• Knowledge and understanding of the world. Your child will explore and find out about the world around them, asking questions about it. They will build with different materials, know about everyday technology and learn what it is used for. They will find out about past events in their lives and their families' lives. They will find out about different cultures and beliefs.
• Physical development. Your child will learn to move confidently, controlling their body and handling equipment.
• Creative development. Your child will explore colours and shapes, trying out dance, making things, telling stories and making music.

What can I do to help my child?
You're probably doing it already! Finding out what they have done at nursery, discovering what they like and don't like, encouraging them to ask questions, listen to others and try out new skills all help support their learning process. Reading your child stories and helping them to learn nursery rhymes is particularly helpful.
You can talk about and record information about your child's progress and achievements, for example through meetings with the teacher or by making a book about the child, to which your child can contribute.