How do I use this resource?

Purpose

• The purpose of The Early Years Foundations for Learning resource is to strengthen the learning partnership between home and prior to school and school settings in order to boost early achievement in literacy and numeracy.

The resource has been designed to:

• assist schools and early learning centres engage families in the early literacy and numeracy development of their children;
• assist families and educators reflect on how children learn at home and at school;
• provide practical, evidence-based, activities to support literacy and numeracy skills;
• support the acquisition of early literacy and numeracy skills through ‘everyday’ activities;
• support skill acquisition and development aligned to the NSW Syllabus and the Early Years Learning Framework; and
• reinforce Catholic schools’ commitment to work in partnership with all families to support children’s learning and wellbeing.

We want families to know that:

• they play a critical role in establishing the foundations upon which children develop as happy, successful and confident learners;
• what they are already doing everyday matters and, in particular, that everyday moments like shopping, cooking and singing together build foundational literacy and numeracy skills;
• that children are learning important skills through their play; and
• when families are engaged in their children’s learning at pre-school and school, there are many positive benefits in terms of improving their children’s learning outcomes and wellbeing.

The Resource

There is a well-researched evidence-base that supports the need for prior to school settings and schools to develop genuine partnerships with families to boost children’s early literacy and numeracy development.

This resource provides some guidance on how to develop this partnership by focusing on the ways in which schools and families can complement and support each other by:

• putting learning at the centre of the partnership
• focusing on key literacy and numeracy skills that can be developed through everyday activities and experiences
• highlighting the learning that occurs in a range of formal and informal settings, especially through play that can be replicated at home

While the resource is primarily aimed at building families’ confidence and capacity to support early literacy and numeracy skill development, it also provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect and deepen their knowledge and understanding of these essential skills. In this sense it is as much a resource for teachers as it is for parents and families.

It is modelled around a Watch Read Explore and Watch Reflect Engage methodology.