Curriculum

Our Curriculum

The aim of our curriculum is to equip children with the skills and knowledge they need to explore and understand the world around them. We believe that children grow and develop when they have access to a well thought out learning environment and engaged adults. The teaching and learning of new skills and knowledge is delivered in a play based environment through both adult and child led opportunities, both indoors and out. We focus on the importance of knowledge and skills and will support children in every way possible so that they can make the most of opportunities and fulfil their potential along with promoting their independence.

There are seven areas of learning within the Early Years, which consist of:

Specific areas  

  •  Literacy

  • Mathematics

  • Understanding the World

  • Expressive Arts and Design

Prime areas     

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development

  • Communication and Language Development

  • Physical Development

In planning for children we consider the different ways in which children learn and the three characteristics of effective learning:

  • Playing and Exploring

  • Active Learning

  • Creating and Thinking Critically

Our intent is for children to leave confident in

  • Knowing about themselves and others, and how to keep safe.

  • Having the social skills and confidence to play alongside / with other children.

  • Being able to make simple choices.

  • Listening and taking turns.

  • Having a go and be willing to keep trying.

  • Following simple instructions.

  • Knowing a number of songs and rhymes and enjoy joining in with singing.

  • Sitting at a table for snack and meal times.

  • Have the confidence to talk to adults and ask for help.

  • Using gross and find motor skills to do things independently.

  • Using mathematical concepts and language in play and everyday experiences.

  • Being able to manage their own self care and personal hygiene.

  • To have an expressive vocabulary and be able to describe their experiences.

Implementation - how we will support children

  • Observe children at play and plan activities that follow their interests and introduce them to new ideas and concepts.

  • Being specific with praises and noting how well children solve problems, have ideas and negotiate.

  • Use additional funding to support children as identified.

  • Work with parents and carers to ensure that they are able to support their child’s learning at home.

  • Share and discuss experiences.

  • Role model positive language and behaviour.

  • Provide supervised opportunities for turn taking.

  • Provide real life experiences.

  • Use differing methods to support basic English language so children are able to express their wants and needs.

  • Well planned learning environments indoors and out to promote the focus on learning.

  •  Know and understand the areas of learning and development.

  •  Building good relationships with key children and their families.

  •  Know how children learn and play.

Over time we will offer a range of experiences to support the children’s knowledge and development of skills.  Some of these will include:

  • Planting seeds and watching them grow .

  • Meeting people from the local community, ie, people who help us (Police, Fire etc).

  • Trips to the town and local areas .

  • Raising money for charities.

  • Baking activities.

  • Raising awareness of different cultures, occupations, religions, and differences around the world. 

We will celebrate a range of festivals, and share special occasions throughout the year, we will do this by including:

  • Shared meals and food tasting (ie, Chinese New Year – tasting different foods).

  • Dressing up (different clothing from around the world).

  • Dancing to different forms of music.

  • Looking at books and stories.

  • Making cards.

  • Singing.

Children learn in different ways and at different times.  We will provide age and stage appropriate activities and monitor children’s progress.  We notice what children can and can’t do and from this support and guide next steps.  It is important that children are secure in what they know and can do before introducing something new.

We have a parental assessment on entry which leads to individual plans for each child.  2 year checks are completed, and reports are shared with parents, and with the child’s next setting.  We aim to ensure early identification of children who may require extra help or have Special Educational Needs.    We celebrate what children can do and share this with parents in a number of ways, including Dojo, email, and other methods.  Where necessary we involve other professionals and agencies to support both child and family.  We discuss observations and progressions as a team, and within supervision, we regularly review progress to ensure that the learning environment is being fully accessed by all.