Expressive Arts and Design

In the EYFS, the children are taught Expressive Arts and Design through links to the early learning goals and areas of learning and development requirements stated in the EYFS Framework.

The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.

Expressive Arts & Design is broken down into two aspects:

• Exploring and Using Media and Materials
• Being Imaginative

Exploring and Using Media Materials:

This is about how children experiment with media and materials finding out about their properties and modifying and manipulating them. It includes exploring sounds, patterns, movement and different tools and techniques.

Being Imaginative:

This is about children’s explorations into the world of pretence, building on their experiences of the real world and transforming them into something new – whether through role play, music, pretend play, block play or small world play or a range of other areas.