The programme builds on these key principles:
- Experience
Learning should complement the social and cultural factors (like experiences of home and community) that shape a child’s learning and development.
- Active
Children should be involved in their own learning through well-planned experiences that help them develop competence, agency, emotional attachment and self-worth.
- Balance
Learning should encourage an appropriate balance of physical, cognitive, language and communications, and social and emotional development.
- Play
Learning should be age appropriate, play-based and child centred. It should include both child- and adult-led activities.
- Transition
Early years education should help children transition successfully to primary school, moving from informal, play-based learning to teaching that is more formal.