Skip to main content

Go to our other sites

Change language / country

Cambridge Assessment International Education

Main navigation

  • About us

    About us

    • What we do
    • Our management team
    • Our regional teams
    • Our standards
    • Careers
    • Examiners
    • Our history
  • Why choose us

    Why choose us

    • Benefits of a Cambridge education
    • Where do Cambridge qualifications take you?
    • Support for schools
    • Information for parents and students
    • Find a Cambridge school
    • Online education
    • Join Cambridge
    • Cambridge Associates
    • The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award
    spacer
    Material from Join Cambridge Welcome pack

    Join Cambridge

    Find out how to become a Cambridge school

  • Programmes &
    qualifications

    Programmes & qualifications

    • Cambridge Primary

      • Curriculum
      • Classroom support
      • Assessment
      • Resource list
    • Cambridge Lower Secondary

      • Curriculum
      • Classroom support
      • Assessment
      • Resource list
    • Cambridge Upper Secondary

      • Cambridge IGCSE
      • Cambridge O Level
    • Cambridge Advanced

      • Cambridge International AS & A Level
      • Cambridge Pre-U
      • Cambridge AICE Diploma
      • Cambridge IPQ
    • Other

      • Recognition and acceptance
      • Cambridge Global Perspectives
      • Bilingual education
  • Exam
    administration

    Exam administration

    • Cambridge Exams Officers' Guide

      • Phase 1 - Preparation
      • Phase 2 - Entries
      • Phase 3 - Coursework and Moderation
      • Phase 4 - Before the exam
      • Phase 5 - Exam day
      • Phase 6 - Results and certificates
    • Information for schools about Covid-19

      • June 2023
      • November 2023

    Other

      • What to expect on exam day
      • Results
      • Private candidates
  • Support & training
    for schools

    Support & training for schools

    Support and resources

    • Teaching and learning during Covid-19
    • Support for teachers
    • Support for new schools
    • Teaching Cambridge at your school
    • Endorsed resources
    • Communications toolkit

    Professional development and conferences

    • Professional development courses
    • Professional development calendar
    • Cambridge Professional Development Qualifications
    • Cambridge Schools Conference

    Other support

    • Resource Plus
    • Test Maker
    • Cambridge Personal Styles Questionnaire
    • Great teaching toolkit
  • News & blog

    News & blog

    • Latest news
    • Blog
    • Newsletters
    • Sign up to our eNewsletters
    • Media contacts
    • What's new
    spacer
    Cambridge Outlook magazine front cover

    Cambridge Outlook magazine

    Keep up to date with news from Cambridge and its schools around the world.

  • Help

Programmes & Qualifications

  • Cambridge Early Years
    • Our approach
    • Curriculum
    • Measuring progress
    • Teaching support
    • Teaching and learning resources
    • Professional development
    • Become a Cambridge Early Years Centre
  • Cambridge Early Years
    • Our approach
    • Curriculum
    • Measuring progress
    • Teaching support
    • Teaching and learning resources
    • Professional development
    • Become a Cambridge Early Years Centre
  • Home
  • Programmes and qualifications
  • Cambridge Early Years
  • Curriculum

Curriculum

The Cambridge Early Years curriculum:

  • follows a holistic approach that focuses on the whole child and connects their development with the world and people around them.
  • is built around four key areas of early childhood development:
    trainer

    Physical development

    side profile showing cognitive brain

    Cognitive development

    four corner arrows pointing inwards
    two speech bubbles

    Language and communication development

    love heart

    Social and emotional development

  • develops knowledge, understanding and skills through a spiral approach, by revisiting and engaging with topics and skills in more depth at each stage.
  • helps learners to meet internationally established milestones for early development. Although children develop at different rates, the curriculum provides a structure for teaching and learning that will help you to monitor and support each child’s progress.
  • supports a bilingual or multilingual approach for learners with a home language other than English, as well as those with different experiences of English
  • prepares learners to easily transition into Cambridge Primary, or the next stage in their education.
  • content is split into six curriculum areas to guide you and support progress.

Curriculum areas

Our six curriculum areas help you to guide and support progress across all areas of development.

Communication literacy icon

Communication and literacy

Speaking, listening, reading and writing are crucial to children’s early development. Showing children the importance of language through fun activities and encouraging them to engage with a wide range of texts helps to ignite a lifelong curiosity for learning.

Creative expression icon

Creative expression

Creative expression allows children to communicate their ideas and develop their imagination through art and design, music, dance and drama. This important area brings together skills and cognitive processes from across the whole curriculum.

Mathematics icon

Mathematics

At an early age, it’s important to help children recognise how mathematics impacts everyday life. Through games and activities, we can introduce children to mathematical language, thinking and concepts that they will need when they start their primary education.

Physical development icon

Physical development

Our curriculum encourages children to develop movement skills through play, helping them to develop positive attitudes towards exercise and laying the foundations for healthy, active lives.

Personal, social and emotional icon

Personal, social and emotional development

This area is central to children’s lives. It underpins their wellbeing and attainment in all other areas of their learning. This area helps them to develop social learning and friendships, regulate their emotional responses and respond to the needs of others, and develop self-esteem and confidence.

Understanding the world icon

Understanding the world

This area of the curriculum encourages children’s natural curiosity as they explore the world around them. It lays foundations for a range of different subjects in primary education and beyond, including science, digital literacy, computing and humanities.


Become a Cambridge Early Years Centre

To express your interest in becoming a Cambridge Early Years centre use the link below.

Express your interest

About us

  • What we do
  • Help
  • Our social media channels

Useful links

  • Join Cambridge
  • Book a training course
  • Communications toolkit
  • Log in to secure sites
  • Careers
Cambridge University Press & Assessment logo

View Related Sites

  • School Support Hub
  • Cambridge Primary support site
  • Cambridge Lower Secondary support site
  • Cambridge International Direct
  • Submit for Assessment
  • Online Learning – professional development
  • Assessment Specialist support site
  • Online Learning – student support

© Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023

  • Sitemap
  • ISO 9001 Certificate
  • Privacy and legal
  • Accessibility and standards
  • Statement on Modern Slavery
  • Contact us
Back to top
We use cookies. By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies Accept