Teaching for understanding : curriculum guidance for the foundation stage.

Abstract

This paper briefly considers what research has told us about the development of young children's understanding. It goes on to look at the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage (QCA, 2000) in terms of that research. The paper suggests that the guidance has addressed concerns that early years practitioners might be delivering an inappropriate curriculum in their attempts to reach targets. The published guidance is giving a clear message that an early years curriculum is quite different from that provided for older children and that our knowledge of child development should be the driving force in delivering that curriculum.