Tag: Early Years Foundation Stage

Posted on by Edsys

ADEC strive to develop education and educational institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Established in 2005 by the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) is recognized as a driver of superior education system. The council aims at meeting the development goals of the emirate by managing, guiding and implementing various educational development strategies and initiatives in Abu Dhabi. 

This council manages the education system by dividing it into three – Public Schools ranging from kindergarten to adult education centers, around 185 Private Schools, and around 18 Higher Education institutions. From January 2008, the council became the supervising body of the Abu Dhabi Educational Zone (ADEZ). The council’s future vision is to make the Abu Dhabi education system world class with support for all learners in reaching their full potential to compete in the global market.

Role of this educational framework is to

  • Deliver technical assistance for developing education and education institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
  • Plan education strategies in synchronization with the Ministry of Education within the framework of the UAE’s general education policy
  • Improve the capabilities of education institutions and employees by conducting studies and making suggestions to develop education and vocational training
  • Offer technical and solid assistance to educational institutions
  • Support relations between educational institutions and the private sector
  • Provide training for graduates and expose them to wide range of employment opportunities, thus raising the standard of education and vocational training.
  • Enable educational institutions to implement the education plans of the Emirate by providing them with assistance, counseling and technical services.
  • Create an educational database for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
  • Inspire the private sector to provide quality education services, based on existing laws.

ADEC is responsible for dealing, guiding, adopting and implementing various educational development strategies and initiatives in Abu Dhabi. Along with the core activities, the council has also implemented a number of key initiatives to ensure world class education in Abu Dhabi. Initiatives include-

  • Irtiqa’a Program, a comprehensive school inspection system to monitor and benchmark performance quality education in our schools. The council’s school inspections are similar to the Dubai school inspections conducted by the DSIB division of the KHDA (Knowledge& Human Development Authority).
  • School master plan to ensure high quality education for all school-aged children
  • Library upgrade project to transform traditional libraries to 21st century  Learning Resource Centers
  • P-12 education system to organize education from Kindergarten through to Grade 12

ADEC also shows special concern for students with special education needs. Special education is offered for students with disabilities categorized as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, hearing impairment, speech and language disorder, and multiple disabilities. Most schools in Abu Dhabi provide a broad curriculum within the framework outlined by both the UK Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Abu Dhabi Education Council guidelines.

Being an educator under the council provides an extremely rewarding as well as exciting opportunity to practice your teaching expertise. It also offers some of the best salary and benefits packages worldwide. The council's “Teacher Guidebook” helps teachers understand the key philosophies, values, and guiding principles of ADEC’s New School Model. It also promotes training program to assist teachers in professional development.

The role of the council’s professional development for educators and school leaders is to help them achieve the ADEC Professional Standards. This also supports school leaders to lead their schools more efficiently. With higher education as the major concern of the Emirate, they have 18 HE institutions, offering a superb range of courses and facilities.

Posted on by Edsys

The early years of a child’s life are crucial. Foundations for future choices, attainments and well being are built during these years. Children should receive guidance, care and love during the early years.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a syllabus that sets standard for learning and development of children from birth to 5 years of age. The goals of EYFS are impossible to achieve without the support of responsible teachers.

What is an ideal teacher?

“A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instil a love of learning”  – Brad Henry

Any teacher who has a mission and completes it without fail is a good teacher. He/she helps to overcome difficulties without hesitation. A good teacher is capable of transforming the learning experience of his/her students.

Must have qualities for Early Years Foundation Stage Teachers:

The prime concern of EYFS teachers is to make education comfortable for children by reducing stress. Many teachers take the help of smart apps for preschoolers to make learning more interactive and enjoyable.

EYFS teachers are accountable for achieving the highest possible standards in their professional practice and conduct. The teachers must act with honesty and integrity.

  1. Sustaining positive attitude and inspiring children

Teachers must sustain safe and stimulating environment for the children, where they feel confident to learn. A good teacher always concentrates on the positive side. Maintaining positive values, attitude and behaviour can enhance the capabilities of children.

Set standards that can challenge children belonging to all backgrounds, abilities and disposition. Not a single child must be ignored while making education plan. Transferring from a passive teacher-headed classroom to an active class can improve the environment of the class.

  1. Always encourage the good progress of children:

Goodness should never go unnoticed. Effective teachers focus on the progress and attainment of children. They promote model strategies which help in developing children’s learning and thinking ability (including sustained and shared thinking). Communicating, listening and responding with children from birth to age five is crucial.

  1. Planning education as per needs

Educational programmes must have balanced and flexible activities. These will promote a love of learning in children.

EYFS aims at providing a better environment for students to learn, where they enjoy learning. Need varies from child to child and having an eye on each students’ requirement can make a teacher better compared to the rest.

  1. Respond to the needs of all children

Emotional, social and intellectual development of children is crucial.   There must be a clear understanding of the requirement of children including those with special needs. Teacher must be well aware of when a child is in need of additional support.

The needs of children might vary, but they deserve individual attention. Children at an early age get distracted easily. They tend to concentrate more on things other than learning. It’s the responsibility of an EYFS teacher to make the classroom exciting for them.

  1. Promote the welfare of children with a safe learning environment:

A good teacher must possess adequate knowledge about health guidance and welfare of children. They should be able to employ practices that promote children’s health and safety. They should have knowledge of child protection policies and procedures.

  1. Wider professional responsibilities:

Equal opportunities must be provided to each child without discrimination. There must be contact with parents or care takers of children. Support good practices and evaluate the effectiveness of current provisions. Giving the right feedback at the appropriate time is significant.

Appreciating students motivates them to achieve high. Monitoring the learning of students can help them attain better development. As teachers get more professional, the benefits for teachers will increase.

Posted on by Edsys

The development during early years is very important to the overall growth of each child. On realizing this, the British government introduced the EYFS system. According to the EYFS or Early Years Foundation Stage system, schools should submit a profile report for each child’s learning and development. This happens at the end of EYFS, which in most cases is the year the child turns five.

There are 7 areas of learning which are divided into prime and specific areas of learning.

Prime areas of learning:

  • Communication & Language
  • Physical Development
  • Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Specific areas of learning:

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

The system also mentions three characteristics of effective learning:

  • Playing and Exploring
  • Active Learning
  • Creating and Thinking Critically

The profile reports are graded or judged based on real time observations of children’s activities. This system requires all adults who are part of the learning and development processes to make valuable contributions to the judgements made about children’s profiles.

Being an ongoing or real time process, observations have to be noted down with labels along with photographs taken using cameras. It might not seem much of an inconvenience at first, but imagine taking notes and photographs for 25 children every day for a month or a year. The process that looked very easy on the onset suddenly appears daunting. And don’t start thinking of the problems associated with processing all the valuable observations.

But when you think of it as a modern day problem, an answer pops up – Mobile devices. Yes, those portable, powerful computers with cameras and network connectivity could make it easy for you to collect, sort and process all the information.

Only problem? You need an app for that. But don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with an EYFS mobile application. This app makes it easy for you to take pictures and label them according to different activities and sub-activities and save to each child’s profile instantaneously. The various options available in the device are put to excellent use making this application an amazing tool for EYFS management.

The main features of the EYFS mobile application are:

Student Profiles – Create profiles of each student and add them to the database with images and other necessary details including classes, divisions etc.

Images & Videos – Capture images and videos as children are doing activities and save them with tags. The captured images and videos can be shared, commented and graded from the mobile device itself.

Smart Search – We all know how convenient a search feature can be when there is a huge database of information. The search feature is quite comprehensive and works with different criteria such as dates and activities. It becomes very useful when parents or senior management asks for immediate feedback.

Generate Reports – Preparing reports gets hassle-free with this application. Generate monthly or yearly reports in PDF format.

Postcards – No pasting and sticking as postcards can be created from the mobile device itself. Images from various activities can be selected for the postcard which also includes the profile picture.

Sharing – There are numerous sharing options such as email, YouTube, Bluetooth etc to share video reports and images.

Database Syncing – The server application maintains a database of all the profiles and activities in the same institution and syncs them between mobile devices. This results in well organised data.

The app has a nice, intuitive interface that’s easy to use. It sure decreases the workload of the faculty and leaves minimal room for errors. The profiles can provide a clear insight to the development and learning of each child. It definitely lets you breathe easy as far as EYFS profiles are concerned!