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The Welsh Government's Perspective on the Early Years

The support and stimulation children receive in their early years fundamentally affects their abilities and potential throughout life. The early years, which in Wales is defined as the period of life from pre-birth to the end of Foundation Phase or 0 to 7 years of age, is a critical part of childhood; a time children should be able to enjoy, when they grow, develop, play and learn in a safe and nurturing environment.

Many factors influence a child’s life chances and progress in the early years. There are long lasting and positive effects from early years programmes. This is recognised in Building a Brighter Future: Early Years and Childcare Plan.

The key themes in the Plan are:
  • children’s health and well-being
  • supporting families and parents
  • high-quality early education and childcare
  • effective primary education
  • raising standards.
The Plan sets out the direction of travel for the next 10 years and brings coherence across different policies and programmes impacting on and influencing children and families in the early years.

If you need further information please email earlyyears@wales.gsi.gov.uk.

What could England possibly learn from Wales? Professori David Hawker, Inauguration Speech, 2009

Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum for Excellence builds on the solid foundations developed in the critical years of pre-birth to 3 which is supported by the new National Pre-Birth to Three Guidance.

The early level of Curriculum for Excellence spans pre-school and primary as it is designed to meet the needs of most children from 3 years until the end of Primary 1, thus promoting better continuity and progression of learning across the sectors. Many of the core messages of Curriculum for Excellence will already be familiar to early years practitioners, as they relate to the importance of:
  • active, experiential learning
  • a holistic approach to learning
  • smooth transitions
  • learning through play

Support to facilitate the implementation of the new curriculum can be found in Curriculum for Excellence: Supporting the early level.

We have tried to ensure that all the information on this site is as accurate as possible. Please let us know if you spot any errors.

A Save Childhood Movement Initiative
www.savechildhood.net

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