Early Years Curriculum
At ELABasel children learn for the future
ELABasel offers the highly regarded UK Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS, external site). This curriculum sets the standards that ensure children learn and develop at an appropriate pace.
It promotes personalised teaching and learning that prepares children for school giving them a broad range of knowledge, skills and learning experiences that provides a solid foundation for future progress through school and later life.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework
The first five years are pivotal in your child’s life, setting the stage for their future well-being, happiness, development, and success in learning.
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which sets the standard for how children from birth to five years old learn and develop.
Our curriculum is designed to build on what children already know and can do, giving them a strong foundation of knowledge and skills for future learning.
We provide activities that are suitable for each child’s age and stage of development across seven areas promoting three prime areas and four specific areas. This carefully considers each child’s readiness, interest and enabling them to learn at their own pace.
There are three prime areas, which support development in all the others:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
There are four specific areas of learning that impart essential skills and knowledge which children require to participate successfully in society:
- Expressive Arts and Design
- Understanding of the World
- Literacy
- Mathematics
Each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities.
As the children get older, literacy activities intend to support more structured writing skills.
Early Years tour bookings
The areas of learning
Personal, Social & Emotional Development
We support children in developing a positive sense of self and others, building relationships, respect, social skills, emotional management, understanding group behaviour, and self-confidence. Children are assessed in self-confidence, self-awareness, managing feelings and behaviour, and making relationships.
Communication & Language
We create a rich language environment to boost children’s confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to enhance their ability to listen and engage in a variety of situations. Their listening, understanding, and speaking skills are key assessment points.
Mathematics
We provide children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems, and describing shapes, spaces, and measurements.
Literacy development
We nurture children’s ability to connect sounds with letters, laying the foundation for reading and writing. To inspire interest, we provide a wide range of reading materials. Assessments focus on decoding words, reading sentences, and writing with correct or phonetically plausible spelling.
Understanding the world
We guide children to understand their physical surroundings and community by exploring, observing, and discovering people, places, technology, and the environment. Assessments evaluate their grasp of people and communities, the wider world, and technology use.
Physical Development
Our aim is to provide opportunities for children to be active while developing coordination, control, and movement. Understanding the importance of physical activity and healthy eating is key to development. We assess progress through movement, handling, health, and self-care, including hygiene
Expressive Art & Design
Keeping A Record
All of our children have an online journal.
This builds a special record of each child’s experiences and journey through their early years, explicitly developed for EYFS. Using photos, videos and diary entries, ELABasel and parents can weave the story of the child’s progress and development together.
The communication between staff and parents helps build a shared understanding of how every child can reach their full potential and allows parents to stay in touch with their child wherever they are.
Frequently Asked Questions
- You can choose the schedule of days that best suits your family as long as the minimum attendance rate of 40% per week is achieved.
- Changes to the contracted schedule require a minimum of 1 calendar month’s notice.
- We work hard to accommodate every request, so you can always ask with less notice but we can’t guarantee it.
- Extra days are always subject to the availability of room and staff
- We can normally meet requests for additional options with one full calendar week’s notice.
- We work hard to accommodate every request, even last-minute ones! If there is availability we will happily meet your request.
- No. Children must be enrolled for a minimum of 40% each week.
- ELABasel Early Years works hard to build a learning community in which the children feel safe and can prosper.
- We do not offer a drop-in service that consists solely of occasional attendance.
Discounts and Employer Contributions
Family discounts apply to families that are privately funding their own school fees at ELABasel.
Discounts are only on the contracted schedule which sets the base fee: they do not apply to extra sessions (extra standard days, extra extended days, or extending standard Days).
All ELABasel students in your household, whether in Early Years or Primary School, qualify for the discount: that is to say, the base fees for each child will be reduced by the discount rate.
Please note family discounts do not apply to households where any part of the fees is being invoiced directly to an employer.
| Family discounts for privately funded families | |
|---|---|
| Second child fees discount | 10% |
| Third child or any further child enrolled fees discount | 15% |
Employer Contributions
Some employers offer a contribution towards childcare fees.
It is the responsibility of the parent to inform ELABasel of any possible employer-sponsored tuition and fees. ELABasel always confirms the level of support with each employer on an individual basis.
No discounts are given to families with any portion of their fees invoiced directly to an employer or for families who also have a portion of their fees covered by Basel-Stadt.
Our Kita operates from 06:30 to 18:30, Monday through Friday, 48 weeks per year.
Eligible families can receive income-based subsidies through the Basel-Stadt program. You can check the Basel-Stadt Department of Education website for more information and apply online here.
Children naturally absorb languages in our immersive environment. Our experienced educators use age-appropriate techniques to support individual language development.
Our experienced team regularly welcomes children from diverse language backgrounds. We provide gentle, supportive integration using proven techniques for multilingual development.
Our in-house chef accommodates all dietary requirements, allergies, and cultural preferences while maintaining our strict no-nut policy.
We provide daily updates through our digital journal, regular parent meetings, and immediate communication for important matters.
All staff are first-aid trained, and we maintain strict security measures. Our facilities are regularly inspected and meet all Swiss childcare regulations.
We have clear health policies which are explained in detail in our Parent Manual and trained staff to ensure the wellbeing of all children. We maintain close communication with parents regarding any health concerns.