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Education and Curriculum Information
At Early Years Childcare we strive to achieve a balance between education and care. Research shows that children who receive an appropriate pre-school education are more successful throughout their school life, therefore we have worked hard to develop a curriculum that we hope will give the children we care for an essential foundation for future learning.
What is the Foundation Stage?
The Foundation Stage is the first stage of the National Curriculum, focusing on the distinct needs of children aged three to the end of the reception year in primary school.
Foundation Stage learning has six learning areas. These are:
 Personal, Social and Emotional Development (click to jump forward)
Communication, Language and Literacy (click to jump forward)
Mathematical Development (click to jump forward)
Knowledge and Understanding of the World (click to jump forward
Physical Development (click to jump forward)
Creative Development (click to jump forward)
Each learning area has a set of ‘Early Learning Goals’ outlining the skills, understanding, knowledge and attitudes it is hoped that children will attain by the end of the Foundation Stage. ‘Stepping Stones’ describe children’s typical progress towards these goals.
Our educational programme is structured by planning that is devised in line with guidelines for the Foundation Stage. It is important to remember that all children are individuals and will progress through the Stepping Stones towards the Early Learning Goals at different rates. It is this knowledge that underpins our curriculum development and planning. Keyworkers will plan activities and experiences based on children’s current needs and interests and ensure that every child engages in a wide range of activities that cover all six areas of learning over the course of a theme.
Well-planned play is central to children’s learning in the Foundation Stage. Children learn most effectively when they are actively involved and interested, and by doing rather than being told. At an Early Years Nursery, play is balanced within a structured framework so children have the security to experiment and innovate without the fear of failure. By providing positive and challenging play experiences we can enable children to build upon what they can do and understand, and to work through the Stepping Stones and towards their Early Learning Goals. Most importantly, learning is fun.
For further information, please request a copy of our Learning Through Play booklet
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This area of learning is about emotional well being, knowing who you are and where you fit in and feeling good about yourself. Personal, Social and Emotional Development focuses on children learning how to work, play, co-operate with others and function in a group beyond the family.
This area of learning involves
Developing high self esteem and positive relationships
Learning to make choices and to initiate own learning
Developing the ability to select and use resources and to take care of them
Developing respect for others with different life experience, beliefs and language
Respecting codes of conduct
Communication, Language and Literacy
This area of learning includes communication, speaking and listening in different situations and for different purposes, being read a wide range of books and reading simple texts and writing for different purposes.
This area of learning involves:
Developing the ability to express ideas
Developing the ability to use language in different contexts and to different audiences
Understanding that there are different languages and different forms of communications
Developing vocabulary
Developing the ability to express feelings and to use imagination
Exploring sounds and words
Increasing knowledge of the world through books and other texts
Developing the ability to listen and to respond to others
Learning about print, how books work and how to care for books
Knowledge of sounds and letters
Writing for different purposes
Developing the ability to form letters
Mathematics
Mathematical development depends upon becoming confident and competent in learning and using new skills. This area of learning helps children to make sense of the world around them and to solve practical problems through understanding and using numbers in meaningful situations, knowing about shape and space, exploring and recognising patterns, developing an understanding about quantity and measurement and making comparisons and classifying.
This area of learning involves:
counting and sorting
matching
seeking patterns
making connections
recognising relationships
working with numbers
working with shapes
working with space and measures
understanding and using numbers in meaningful situations
knowing about shape and space
exploring and recognising patterns
developing an understanding about quantity and measurement
making comparisons and classifying
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
In this area of learning children are learning the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them make sense of the world. This forms the foundation for later work in science, design and technology, history, geography and information technology.
This area of learning involves:
developing interest in the world around them
exploring and recognising features of living things
learning about changing patterns of weather and seasons
exploring materials
learning about technology in everyday life
developing awareness about the passing of time
learning about the local and wider community
learning about cultures and beliefs
Physical Development
Physical development in the foundation stage is all about improving skills of co-ordination, control, manipulation and movement. Physical development has two other important aspects. It helps children gain confidence in what they can do and enables them to feel the positive benefits of being healthy and active.
This area of learning involves:
developing gross motor skills
developing fine motor skills
developing the ability to use a wide range of tools and equipment
developing awareness of space
learning how to use the body creatively and imaginatively
learning about basic personal hygiene, self help skills and how to keep the body healthy and fit
Creative Development
This area of learning includes art, music, dance, role-play and imaginative play.
Creativity is fundamental to successful learning. Being creative enables children to make connections between one area of learning and another and so extend their understanding. Creative development involves children exploring with all of their senses and being able to express themselves in a variety of ways.
This area of learning involves:
exploring ideas of imagination
communicating ideas and expressing feelings and moods
observation and representation
being involved in a wide range of creative and expressive activities – dance, art, drama, role-play, music, creating stories
appreciating creativity of self and others
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Children with Special Educational Needs and Additional Needs
Early Years Childcare welcomes all families and works hard to ensure that all children have the appropriate opportunities to learn through play.
If it is identified that a child has a special educational need, keyworkers will work in partnership with parents to develop an Individual Education Plan (IEP) containing details of short-term targets, teaching strategies and any provision that needs to be put in place. With parental consent, we will liaise with all support services and agencies involved with the child to enable us to plan effectively.
Early Years Childcare holds special educational needs meetings/workshops regularly. This ensures that all nursery staff are familiar with procedures and current legislation. Each nursery also has a designated SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) who supports other staff to develop their skills in working with children with additional needs.
Click her to read a letter received by our Horsham nursery (reproduced with the parents' kind permission).
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Discovery Time Sessions
Inspired by European good practice, regular Discovery Time sessions are built into the nursery routine for 3, 4 and 5 year olds.
During Discovery Time sessions, rooms are set up with a wide range of materials including natural materials (e.g. shells, pebbles, pine cones), recycled materials (e.g. cereal boxes, plastic lids) and “made” materials (e.g. metal, broken technology). Appropriate tools and equipment are provided to enable children to explore and work with these materials safely and space is cleared to allow large scale work.
Children are encouraged to use all of their senses and to explore, experiment and create in an environment where there is no fear of failure. As projects develop from the children’s interests, they are motivated to learn and to see things through to completion and many projects are built up over time.
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