• Personal, social and emotional well-being.
• Positive
• Social skills.
• Attention skills and persistence
• Language and communication
• Reading and writing 
• Mathematics
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development

Parents and Partners
Parents are children's first and most enduring educators. When parents and staff work together in early years settings the results have a positive impact on the child's development and learning.

Principles
Staff should ensure that all children feel included, secure and valued. Parents and staff should work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect within which children can have security and confidence. Effective education requires both a relevant curriculum and staff who understand and are able to implement the curriculum requirements. Effective education requires staff who understand that children develop rapidly during the early years - physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially.

Meeting the Diverse Needs of Children
Staff should plan to meet the needs of both boys and girls, children with special educational needs, children who are more able, children with disabilities, children from all social, cultural and religious backgrounds, children of different ethnic groups including travellers refugees and asylum seekers, and children from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

Learning and Teaching
Learning for young children is a rewarding and enjoyable experience in which They explore, investigate discover, create, practise, rehearse, repeat, revise and consolidate their developing knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes. During the foundation stage many of these aspects of learning are brought together effectively through playing and talking.

Areas of Learning and Early Learning Goals
The foundation stage curriculum is organised into six areas of learning:

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Communication, language and literacy
• Mathematical development
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development 
• Creative development 

The six areas help staff plan the learning environment, activities and experiences and provide a framework for the early years curriculum This does not mean that all of young children's learning is divided up in to areas. One experience may provide a child with opportunities to develop a number of competencies, skills and concepts across several areas of learning. For example, children building with blocks may cooperate in carrying the heavy and large blocks, negotiate the best place to put them, compare the weight and dimensions of different blocks and act out an imaginary scene. Therefore they may be developing language. mathematical, physical, personal. and social competencies through this one activity.

Staff invite Parents /Carers to meet them in the autumn and summer term of each year to discuss individual children's needs. For more information about the Ladybird pre-school Curriculum please speak to any member of staff The above article was extracted from the DfEE Publication "Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage" QCA 2000.