The Blossom Nursery Glossary - EYFS Curriculum

From EYFS to XYZ, we’ve pulled together every term you might need to know to work, run, open or book your child into any childcare setting.

Whether you’re starting your childcare career or have never truly understood the difference between a grapheme and a phoneme — we have you covered.

The EYFS curriculum

EYFS stands for Early Years Foundation Stage. There is no one set EYFS curriculum nurseries should follow in England. Several supporting documents give guidance and advice on what a broad coverage might look like.

However, the EYFS Statutory Framework is the document that sets out what skills and knowledge must be covered. How these skills and areas of learning are covered, is setting-specific.

The EYFS Framework

This is a statutory document that sets out what each early years provider must offer every child in their care. One of the changes EYFS experienced in 2024 was the framework change. The framework was split into two versions: one for group and school-based providers and another for childminders.

The Early Years Curriculum

You choose the curriculum that your early years setting follows. Your setting’s curriculum should be broad and varied, offering children the opportunities they need to understand their community and be school-ready.

The Early Learning Goals (ELGs)

ELGs are a set of guides for early years providers that show what children should cover in each aspect of the 7 areas of learning and development in the EYFS. They are not designed to be a curriculum.

Four EYFS principles for EYFS

The four principles in the EYFS Framework for England are:

Every child is unique
Positive relationships should be created
Enabling environments to be created
Learning and development happen at different rates

The EYFS Curriculum for England

Early years providers in England will cover the 7 areas of learning and development in their curriculum. They will create a curriculum that meets the needs of the children and statutory requirements from the framework.

The EYFS Curriculum for Wales

The new early years curriculum for Wales was introduced in 2022. It is used alongside the Foundation Phase Framework, which offers guidance for curriculum and outcomes for children aged 3 to 7.

The early years curriculum for Scotland

Scotland follows the Curriculum for Excellence document for curriculum guidance. It gives outcomes and guidance for children aged 3 to 18. The Early Years Framework covers pre-birth to 8 years of age.

The early years curriculum for Northern Ireland

Curricular guidance for pre-school education is given to schools or nurseries that educate children before they reach school age (before the child turns 4). This guidance sets out the six pre-school areas of learning.

EYFS 7 areas of learning and development

For providers in England, the 7 areas of learning and development are split into prime and specific areas of learning.

Prime areas of learning EYFS

Communication and language
Personal, social and emotional development
Physical development

Specific areas of learning EYFS

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

Looking for EYFS activities for all of the seven areas of learning? Take a look at our ultimate guide!

Language structure in early years

How words, phrases, and sentences are used to communicate.

Phonological awareness

The understanding of the sound structure of words. Including rhyme, word break-up and phonemes.

Grapheme

The written version of phonemes. A single letter or group of letters representing different sounds (phonemes).

An example of a grapheme is the C in CAP. The word Cap consists of three graphemes: c, a, and p.

Personal, social and emotional development (PSED)

Self-regulation

Self-regulation is a challenging skill, it is the ability to recognise, understand and manage feelings. It is about having self-awareness as to what has caused an emotion and then making conscious choices on how to behave next.

Dysregulation

Dysregulation is on a spectrum and is caused by a number of factors. It is the opposite of being regulated. Dysregulation can be due to physical feelings like hunger, fatigue, or thirst, or it can be emotional due to triggering thought or experience.

Dysregulation signs begin with ‘bubbling’ and can progress to crisis if the child is not supported to regulate.

Zones of regulation

A well-known cycle of regulation, the zones of regulation are measured on a 1-5 scale. Children begin at the bottom of the scale at 1, meaning they are regulated and ready to learn and interact. They progress up the scale, and 5 on a zone of regulation measure would be a crisis.

Emotional literacy

A term coined in the 1970s, emotional literacy is the comprehension of emotions and their impact. It can be applied to oneself or others.

Attachment

Linked to psychological theories, attachment looks at the relationships between a child and another person.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

ACEs are events and situations that result in significant stress levels. They are often linked to traumatic experiences a child or young person goes through that require substantial support. ACEs can accumulate into larger challenges as a drip-drip effect.

Circle time

Circle time is when children will sit in a circle and participate in an activity together. It may be a PSED activity or building social and communication skills. Circle time is used frequently in nurseries and primary schools.

Fine and gross motor skills

Fine motor skills are linked to small muscles, like hand-eye coordination and dexterity. Gross motor skills centre around stability and balance- like activities that require pushing, pulling, or even sitting still.

Spatial awareness

Spatial awareness is the knowledge and understanding of where your body is in relation to objects and others. Children who have Dyspraxia may find tasks requiring spatial awareness challenging.

Physical development milestones

Physical development milestones look at the expected physical skills for a particular age group, such as walking, talking, and crawling.

Pincer grip

A pincer grip is a fine motor skill used when holding a pen or a pair of tweezers. Children place their hands in the shape of a crab claw to complete tasks needing close detail, like a pincer.