The Foundation Phase in Wales

The early years Foundation phase, an approach used in Wales, was introduced in 2008. The approach is used by children aged 3 to 7 years old, who attend school and nursery only. The Foundation Phase is said to be a statutory curriculum for 3 to 7 year old children.

As well as the early years Foundation Phase in Wales, England has its own approach called the early years Foundation Stage. This approach was introduced in 2008 and was reformed in 2011. It came into effect on September the 1^st in 2011. This approach is used by children aged 0 to 5 years old, and is used throughout their time at school, as well as in life.

The Foundation Phase does not provide children with enough opportunities to learn. Children are not given enough challenges in school, and are not motivated enough. They need to be involved in the planning and reviewing of their work, which might just give them much more motivation to learn as they have a say. Children need to be helped and taught how to learn, develop their thinking skills and acquire positive attitudes towards what they learn. Just like every child, they should be given the opportunity, by their teachers, parents and peers, to learn.

The Foundation Phase’s aim is to raise each child’s standards of achievement in order to encourage them to try their best and motivate them to work hard. It aims to enhance children’s positive attitudes to learning, so that they are able to enjoy their experiences at school rather than dislike them. It aims to address their developing needs, so as they grow up, not only will the child develop, but their knowledge and skills will too. It aims to enable children to benefit from the opportunities they’re given in their early life during their time in education, which will go on to benefit them later on in life.

As children, attending the local primary school in Gwaun Cae Gurwen, we were given the opportunity to reach our full potential within education. Teachers would take us on school trips to local places, and places that were situated further away which helped us enjoy our experiences during our time at school.

For my placement, I attended the local primary school mentioned above, and I was given the opportunity to help teachers encourage and motivate children within the classroom. They were able to enjoy and were interested in what they were learning. They were allowed to give their own opinions about subjects, and were given the choice of what and how they learnt about something. I had the opportunity to see the teachers develop the children’s needs, especially the year 6 classes who would be moving on to secondary school in September. Their knowledge and skills were tested and developed further, as they were being prepared for their time at secondary school.

http://wales.gov.uk/topics/educationandskills/earlyyearshome/foundation_phase/?lang=en