Early education and childcare
Information on under 5s provision in Reading for you and your child
This section gives you information on provision, advice and support available to you and your child in Reading, at each stage of your child’s development. Here you can find information and links to access health checks, early education, childcare and much more. Click on any of the boxes below to find out more.
Some of the links take you to our Family Information Service website and others directly to our services.
Below the boxes on this page is a detailed explanation of the Early Years Foundation Stage and answers to questions you may have, plus details on how to contact us.
About Early Years
The term ‘early years’ refers to a specific period of time between conception and age five. During this time young children consolidate, through play and exploration, the abilities, knowledge and skills that provide the foundation for their future progress through school and life.
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the standards for learning development and care of children from birth to 5 years. Ofsted registered childminders, pre-schools, nurseries and reception classes must follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards for providers of learning, development and care for children from 0–5 years old. All schools and Ofsted registered early years providers must follow the EYFS.
It supports an integrated approach to early learning and care by giving all professionals a set of common principles and commitments to adhere to so that your child is receiving the very best early years education including arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
If you’d like to know how Ofsted inspects and reports on schools to help parents to make informed decisions about their children’s education, you can read their inspection guidance here.
You may also find it helpful to read the following documents:
Prime areas are the building blocks for all other learning. They are fundamental, work together, and move through to support development in all other areas. The three prime areas of learning are:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
In addition to the prime areas, the setting must also support children in four specific areas once they reach the age of three years, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Occasionally parents, practitioners and other people with an interest in childcare have complaints or concerns about the quality of a registered childcare service or childminder. For information on how to make a complaint, please visit the Family Information Service website.
If you need more information or need to speak with the Early Years team, please call 0118 937 4730.
If you want to report concerns about a child or young person, email us at cspoa@brighterfuturesforchildren.org