Expressive Arts and Design

The seven areas of learning - Expressive arts and design:

Expressive arts and design is one of the four specific areas within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Expressive Arts and Design involves supporting children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

In the EYFS framework, Expressive Arts and Design is made up of two aspects: Exploring and using media and materials and Being Imaginative.

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Early Learning Goal

  • On 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.
  • On how 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.
    • Expressive Arts and Design (EYFS) | 22 Street Lane Nursery
    "Helping children to be creative is as much about encouraging attitudes of curiosity and questioning as about skills or techniques." ~ 22 Street Lane Nursery