Intent:
At First Class Nursery, we offer a child centred approach, in a play based learning environment. We recognise your child’s prior learning and experiences, whether from home or a previous setting,and we support your child’s learning by building upon these experiences. We aim to develop resilience, empathy, ambition, curiosity and critical thinking. Every child is unique, and we celebrate and welcome difference within our nursery family. Our curriculum is a progressive one that evolves with the needs of each and every child. We follow the 7 areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage and have a particular focus on personal, social and emotional development, Communication and Language development and physical development. We aim to support children so that they develop the skills not only required for school, but for life.
Children will develop a sense of belonging and learn about the community around them. In order to become confident learners we teach basic skills, values, and develop knowledge. We have high expectations, striving for each child to be the best they can be, whilst ensuring the expectations are appropriate for their stage of development. Each child is on their own unique learning journey and will achieve in their own ways at their own pace.
We enhance learning in the moment, and maximise learning opportunities to engage and stimulate your child, whilst delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS).
We believe nursery life, as an introduction to learning, should be a happy and positive experience where a love of learning and a positive attitude is developed.
Children will leave our nursery with the personal tools required, ready to start their reception year at school. They will have confidence and skills to continue to thrive, and build on the foundations that our care and quality of teaching has given them. We aim for each child to have a positive attitude and a love for learning.
Implementation:
We follow the EYFS, and deliver it in an age and developmentally appropriate way across our 3 rooms.
The prime areas of learning as they are known, are fundamental. Once children are secure in these areas, they will begin to flourish in the more specific areas. The prime areas form the foundation for effective learning, and we focus on these areas of development throughout your child’s nursery life.
All of our activities, resources and daily routines are linked to areas of the EYFS.
Prime areas:
Personal, social and emotional development
Physical Development
Communication and language
Specific areas:
Literacy
Maths
Understanding of the world:
Expressive art and design
We use ‘Birth to five matters’ – the non statutory guidance to support our curriculum. This outlines what is expected developmentally, but we also ensure our children are supported to learn what they need to know and when. We use our knowledge of the child and where they are currently to determine what their next steps are , and what skills they need to develop in order to achieve this. We link these areas of development to their likes and interests to encourage interest and engagement, which helps to ensure more active and effective learning.
Children develop best with play based, adult supported, unique child initiated, and developmentally appropriate learning.
When a child first joins us we will spend some time getting to know them and link them with a keyworker. We will spend time with you as parents or carers during settling in sessions and complete an ‘all about me’ sheet to gain as much knowledge and understanding about your child as possible, likes and interests, routines at home, heath and care needs, and anything else we need to know. We use this information along with our own observations of your child to support their settling in, and help us plan effectively for their development and emotional wellbeing.
Our provision consists of a wide range of resources which covers all areas of learning. Activities are carefully planned to consider the developmental needs as well as the interests of the children. We operate a free flow system to our outdoor areas so the children can come in and out throughout the day. Our outdoor areas serve as an extension of our indoor learning environments, and are essential for physical development, heath and wellbeing, understanding the world, and learning about science and nature. We aim to spend as much time as we can outdoors every day.
We use a varied choice of resources, and include ‘loose parts’, none prescriptive resources promote problem solving, and theoretical reasoning. Loose parts enhance a child’s ability to think imaginatively and see solutions. Children can use them in their own way meaning there is not right or wrong way to explore and play, it adds a sense of adventure and excitement to a child’s play. We set up loose part activities as well as use them to accessorise and enhance our learning areas and play spaces.
Children benefit from consistency, and therefore our daily routines have been carefully arranged. These routines are also excellent learning opportunities which support personal social and emotional development, teach basic skills, responsibilities, independence, and encourage good personal care habits. Routines also give children a sense of security and control over their environment, promotes positive behaviour, supports group interactions and peer relationships.
Our team of staff are qualified and undertake a variety of training to ensure their professional development remains relevant and up to date. We have a strong team with a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience of early years care and education.
If your child has an additional learning or care need, we will work alongside other agencies as required to ensure your child receives the support they need. Partnership working with other professionals is paramount.
Every term we track your child’s development and plan for the following term accordingly. We review this every half term to ensure progress is being made, and activities and resources offered are effective at supporting your child’s progression. We focus on the areas that your child needs the most support, and they will benefit from 1:1, small group and whole group focus activities.
We will share your child’s progress with you termly and discuss our next areas of focus. We will ask for your feedback and for your own contribution regarding how your child is getting on at home. We can share ideas with you about how you can support your child’s learning and we can work together towards helping your child achieve their next steps.
Prior to each transition to the next room, up to date development tracking and information is shared with their new key worker to ensure a consistent approach to their learning journey.
Impact:
The impact of our curriculum delivery is measured in a number of ways.
On going observations and assessment of your child – These help us monitor progress of your child as well as supporting us to evaluate the quality of the learning provision we are offering. We constantly assess what we offer including, resources, layout of rooms, levels of engagement, staff interactions, and quality of teaching in all areas This helps us to ensure we are meeting the needs of all of the children in our care. We also measure our impact by seeing how well our pre school children are prepared for transition to school. We observe the values, skills and attitudes that have been embedded during their time with us, and the attributes that will continue to support them, as they continue along their lifelong learning journey.
On going development of the Nursery – We also use audit tools for our room assessments which Managers carry out regularly, which feed into room development plans to ensure we are continuously evaluating our practise. This self evaluation approach enables us to highlight our strengths and what we do well, but also identify areas for further improvement.