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A little about us

Our aim as child care professionals is to care and support children to develop and learn new skills, to ensure children have the best possible start in life, so they can reach their full potential and be the best they possibly can be.

The Pre-school Curriculum

Our Curriculum is for all children to feel safe and secure within the setting

To support children’s social and emotional well-being and helping them to understand and manage their big emotions
Encouraging them to have an open mind and be curious, able to ask questions, seek support and use their imagination.

To allow children the space to manage their own risks in a secure environment and help them to become independent and try to do things for themselves.

Have an excitement for learning new things and a wonder of the world around them.
We follow children’s interests as well as introducing themes around seasons, celebrations, and festivals

We use our continuous provisions which are designed to develop all seven areas of learning

We use our knowledge of the EYFS to support our understanding of children’s needs and next steps

The pre-school staff work together as a team. Our planning and assessment procedures follow the ‘Early Years Foundation stage’ (EYFS) which are the government standards for education of very young children.

The curriculum can be divided into three prime areas of learning, these are:-

  • Personal, social and emotional development – making relationships, sense of self and understanding emotions
  • Communication and language – listening and attention,
  • understanding and speaking
  • Physical development – moving and handling, health, and self-care.
    • Plus four specific areas of learning, these are:-

  • Literacy – reading and writing
  • Mathematics – numbers, shapes, space and measure
  • Understanding the world – people and communities, the world and technology
  • Expressive arts and design –creating with materials and being imaginative and expressive
    • The characteristics of effective learning are very highly valued, and children are encouraged to use these across all areas to support their learning. The characteristics are playing and exploring (engagement), active learning (motivation) and creating and thinking critically (thinking).

    Play

    Play is the most effective tool for early learning. It is the child’s ‘work’ and should be respected for its powerful impact on their social and intellectual development. Our curriculum is delivered through a wide range of play activities. These are opportunities for both child-initiated and adult-led play. Spontaneous play is shaped by available resources and the indoor/outdoor environment. Staff may well interact with the children during such activities in order to extent learning.

    More structured learning opportunities take the form of focus tasks and children’s next steps activities. These involve a high degree of teacher input. We aim for these tasks to span the breadth of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum over each term. Children’s play is most often of a practical nature, which does not have an end product. If your child has not produced anything to bring home it does not mean s/he has not been busy!

    Assessment

    The main strategy for assessing young children is observation. Children’s skills, knowledge and experiences are monitored on a daily basis. This helps us to target their emotional and educational needs more precisely and understand children’s next steps, so children are always developing, learning and moving forward. Observation of activities and learning documented in individual on-line Learning Journals.

    You will be invited to parent consultation with the Pre-school staff at intervals throughout the year. This provides a more formal opportunity to discuss and celebrate your child’s progress and to talk about the next steps for their learning. We will often talk informally with you about your child and always welcome your questions and comments.

    Major changes at home can affect a child’s behaviour and performance. In order to support your child, please inform us of any personal changes.

    Play

    Play is the most effective tool for early learning. It is the child’s ‘work’ and should be respected for its powerful impact on their social and intellectual development.
    Our curriculum is delivered through a wide range of play activities. These are opportunities for both child-initiated and adult-led play. Spontaneous play is shaped by available resources and the indoor/outdoor environment. Staff may well interact with the children during such activities in order
    to extent learning.

    More structured learning opportunities take the form of focus tasks and children’s next steps activities. These involve a high degree of teacher input. We aim for these tasks to span the breadth of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum over each term.
    Children’s play is most often of a practical nature, which does not have an end product. If your child has not produced anything to bring home it does not mean s/he has not been busy!

    Assessment

    The main strategy for assessing young children is observation. Children’s skills, knowledge and experiences are monitored on a daily basis. This helps us to target their emotional and educational needs more precisely and understand children’s next steps, so children are always developing, learning and moving forward. Observation of activities and learning documented in individual on-line Learning Journals.

    You will be invited to parent consultation with the Pre-school staff at intervals throughout the year. This provides a more formal opportunity to discuss and celebrate your child’s progress and to talk about the next steps for their learning. We will often talk informally with you about your child and always welcome your questions and comments.

    Major changes at home can affect a child’s behaviour and performance. In order to support your child, please inform us of any personal changes.