What is the EYLF?
The Early Years Learning Framework, or EYLF, is an early childhood curriculum structure, which educators use to guide them in the development of the educational programmes implemented for early learning. The framework discusses aspects such as centre practices and desired outcomes, and is used to support children’s learning during the early years from birth to five years.
It has been developed by the Department of Education and Training, working collaboratively with those from within the early learning sector, such as child carers and educators. One of its stated aims is to maximise every child’s potential and set the foundation for a lifetime of successful learning and achievement.
A key aspect of the Early Years Learning Framework is the focus on successful transitioning from early childhood care to full time schooling. It emphasises the importance of learning through play, particularly for younger children. It also aims to establish the necessary framework to develop skills in communication and language, social interaction and emotional development.
It has been included in the National Quality Standard in order to ensure that all Australian children are receiving a nationally consistent standard of quality early childhood education.
Reporting and documenting EYLF outcomes is often difficult and time consuming
Being able to report on educational outcomes with reference to the EYLF is essential for educators within childcare centres. Educators need to clearly demonstrate that children are meeting the expectations stated within the framework, through the successful implementation of centre curriculums and programmes.
Early learning childhood centres often build on those learning frameworks with their own philosophies and centre practices. Integrating the centre’s philosophies into a working curriculum and being able to accurately report on these is a real consideration for many childcare centres.
Educators must be able to clearly show parents how their child’s learning relates to their curriculum and how the centre is meeting the expectations of the EYLF.
However, many educators find the level of documentation required to report on children’s learning experiences to be a constant and time consuming challenge. There is a danger of centre philosophies being unrecognised as valuable practices, working in conjunction with the EYLF, simply because they’re unable to be adequately reported on.
Kindyhub provides a well-integrated and user-friendly method of reporting EYLF outcomes
The development of Kindyhub’s user-friendly app provides a clever and well-integrated solution to the problem of documenting the philosophies and frameworks that childcare educators adhere to.
Educators are finally able to share and report on children’s learning, and are able to track across a wide variety of development areas as maths, literacy, numeracy or science, in a real and relevant way. Parents are able to access the information on a daily basis and in a real-time format.
Parents can be confident that their children are being supported in their learning by not just the EYLF framework but also by the childcare centre’s philosophies and practices, which complement the framework.
The Kindyhub app is therefore a vital and well needed addition to the childcare sector. It provides an excellent communicative link between educators and parents, and clearly demonstrates how a childcare centre is meeting the EYLF by the application of their philosophies and daily curriculum.