Understanding The Early Years Foundation StagesLearn how Aquatots Supports EYFS
Aquatots are passionate about your child learning water safety and water confidence, but also about their education and development in general. This is why we are proud to support the EYFS throughout our programme.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is part of the national curriculum that sets standards for the learning, development and care of children. It sets important standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old.
All schools and Ofsted-registered early years' providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes.
It teaches routine, introducing the idea of learning in a structured environment so children are ready for formal teaching when they begin Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and Year 2).
The purpose of the standards is to ensure all children are given the “same opportunities” and are equipped with the skills to communicate, socialise and learn effectively
EYFS states that "Children are born ready, able and eager to learn if offered a positive, enabling environment". Aquatots lessons and the environment in which they are taught make them an ideal place to support children in their early years. Water is both a natural environment and an ideal medium in which young infants and children can play, develop and learn. Everything done in water is better assimilated than if it were learnt on dry land. But what makes being in the water so special and beneficial exactly?
Here’s the science:
Water is a fascinating chemical compound and it’s make up provides it with some unique properties.
The weightless sensation allows young swimmers extended movements, with far less effort than on dry land.
Not only that but the increased density of water (800 times denser than air) exerts more pressure across the skin surface, as children move through the water. The millions of nerve endings under the skin receive far more stimulation through movement in water than in air.
This increased stimulation is fed back to the brain via the neural pathways of the child which in turn increases the traffic information flowing to the brain.
Plus don’t forget these additional benefits:
With small class sizes the instructors get to know each child personally.
Each child is accompanied by an adult who cares for them, knows what they are capable of, and can provide one-to-one instruction. Aquatots lessons also provide the unique opportunity of carving out time for a parent/carer to focus completely on their child.
Our lessons are always conducted in a positive, relaxed, happy manner. It’s a great opportunity to deepen the carer-child bond.
Swimming costumes allow lots of skin to skin contact, benefiting both carer and child.
It should be no surprise then that several studies have found that children who take swim lessons from infancy are not only further advanced physically but also cognitively compared to the general population. One study found that by the age of 5, these children can be as much as:
Aquatots' carefully crafted swim curriculum does an incredible job of supporting your child's growth through these areas. We aim to provide you with a better understanding of the seven areas of learning in the EYFS in order to better prepare both yourselves and your children for school, and of course Aquatots lessons will continue to be an excellent accompaniment to any homeschooler's curriculum.
