The Primary National Strategy has been extended to include expert support for the Foundation Stage. The Foundation Stage is the first stage of the National Curriculum for children aged 3 to 5 in Government-funded early education settings. This includes:

The Foundation Stage team

The Foundation Stage is a distinct strand of the work of the Primary Strategy and Lesley Staggs took up post as the National Director of the Foundation Stage in October 2003, together with her deputy Ruth Pimentel. A team of 12 Regional Directors began work in April 2004.

Objectives

The Foundation Stage team work closely with local authorities to improve the quality of training and professional development for those practitioners who work in early years settings and so improve the quality of learning and teaching within those settings. Training is targeted on the core competencies that practitioners need and will encourage a sharing of effective practice in training materials and programmes.
Although a distinct strand, the team also work closely with Primary Strategy colleagues to ensure that the Primary Strategy builds from the earliest years upwards.

Core guidance

The Foundation Stage was introduced in September 2000 and has core reference guidance – the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage – which sets out children's entitlement to a play-based approach to learning that reflects young children's particular needs, interests and ways of learning. It also includes early learning goals that most children are expected to achieve by the end of the Foundation Stage.