Our Setting

In the Moment Planning and EYFS

We base our curriculum planning around each individual child we use their interests and create in the moment planning for our children, using their characteristics of learning along side to create an environment of awe and wonder. We use Development Matters as a guidance for check points for our children to make sure they are at the stage they should be within their age. Within this curriculum there are three prime areas and 4 specific areas, which are:

Prime areas

Physical development

Personal, social and emotional development

Communication and language

Specific Areas

Literacy

Mathematics

Understanding the world

Expressive arts and design

We gather information on each child’s learning by using a starting points documnet, this has a variety of questions that we complete with you to find out what your child can do before they attend preschool. This will give us our foundations to really support the knowledge of our children.We also ask you to complete an 'All About Me' document for your child so that we can really get to know all about them and their family.

They will also recieve a 2 year old check to make sure they are on track for progress and to make sure that their is no further support, if support is needed then we will put the relevant support in place.

Speech and Language is paramount to a child’s development, this is why we have a speech and language tracking sheet with ages and stages on to monitor where each child is within this area. There are four areas to speech and language they are as follows: Listening and attention, talking, understanding and social communication. We use this to also highlight any difficulties the child may be facing with their development and behaviour. If the child is lower than expected within any of these areas we will then talk to parents/ carers to come up with a plan for the child. This could be support in the setting or a speech and language referral. This is so we support the child’s progress in a positive way.

We use Famly app to communicate with parents and carers, this gives you some insight into how your child is doing within their time with us.Wow moments will be recorded for you to see on the app as well and observations will be recorded. We have focused children this is when one child from each key group will be a focused child. You will get a letter asking questions about how you are finding everything aat home with their development and any questions you may want to ask us. The children that are foucsed child that week will be observed within play, challenged with different invitations to play and provocations to play, the key carer will spend time with them too talking with them about their pla. The keycarer will then write up assessment on how they have been progressing within the Seven areas of development from the EYFS. they will also add on there next steps that the children will be focusing on. This wil be done minimum three times a year.

All children can explore every part of the preschool the setting will suit individual children’s ages and abilities and no child is discriminated, excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture, religion, home language, family background, special educational needs, disability, gender or ability.

Our curriculum and outcomes are achieved by using the curiosity approach where children can choose which area they prefer to play in and can access all of the areas available to them freely. This is supported with teachable moments from the adult, where children will be accessing opportunities to learning, in which the adults have created, these are called invitations to play for the children and adapted to each child’s needs.

What does an invitation or provocation to play mean? Well this means we have invited the child to explore something new that they may not of experienced before, we take into account their play patterns such a schema play as well as their characteristics and have created and set up play that will entrigue the children and create awe and wonder for them.

Provocation - is to provoke an interest in which the children have and create activties or play space with their interests are in mind.

To make sure that we are supporting children’s interest we then enhance their play and interest through adult support by playing alongside asking and answering questions and trying to extend their play and ideas where possible, without taking over their play.

Our Daily Activities to Support Child Development!

Children of all ages will be able to access this daily.

What is an invitation to play?

Well this means we have taken on board our children's interest and maybe even play styles and have created and set up play that will entrigue the children and create awe and wonder for them.

What is Dough Gym?

Dough Gym is a very effective programme for children who really need to work on their upper body and gross motor development, but there may well be children in our setting who need more focused input on their hands, fingers and grip.

What is Dough Gym?

Dough Gym is a gym for children where you work out with dough – Simple!

Dough Gym is a specific daily intervention – If it is going to have impact it has to be regular and consistent.

Dough Gym is directly linked to assessment and attainment.

Dough Gym is with a maximum of 8 children, not a whole group.

Dough Gym is done to music – We have found that this is key to its success. Children are highly engaged by music and the beat is crucial when it comes to performing the Dough Gym moves. This is to support children with their pre-writing skills which will strengthen their muscles in their body. This will support with their grip with holding any form of writing tool for when they start school.

Write dance

write dance is a programme that supports children’s listening and attention skills, imagination, muscle development and pre-writing skills. The children lay on their tummies with a piece of paper in front of them, there is music playing that the children have to listen to whilst they are drawing, they need to use their imagination when they draw. The children have a crayon in each hand and are free to draw whatever comes into their mind.

More of Our Daily Activities...

singing bag

.This is to support speech and language development, listening and attention, personal, social and emotional skills. The children will be sat in a circle they will each have a turn from the singing bag to pull out a song piece, the children and adult will then sing the nursery rhyme or song together, this will be repeated until all of the children in the group have had a turn.

Teeth Cleaning

we support good oral hygiene within our setting and promote teeth cleaning. The activity is set up on one of our round tables, all children have their own tooth brush which is stored in a teeth cleaning bus, the children have a mirror placed in front of them and an adult supports the child to clean their teeth, the toothpaste is placed on a piece of paper towel for them to scoop up themselves, then the child will dry brush their teeth. The adult will be singing the cleaning your teeth song and helping them to understand why we need to do this make sure they understand they need to look after our own bodies. The adult will also ask the child if they can recognise their name or their picture where their tooth brush lives. There will only be four children at any one time completing this activity at the table and will be done with their colour groups. This activity happens morning and afternoon so that all children can access this. This supports many areas of the EYFS. The staff have been trained by dental nurses to support children with their teeth cleaning.

Story Suitcases

we have a number of story suitcases within the setting, within these there will be a story and props to support that story. The children will be sat with an adult who will be reading the story, the children will be interacting with the story using the props. This creates a more engaging activity and will help the children the adults will be asking questions about the story and will try and get the children to join in. This programme supports the development of the EYFS but mainly focuses on Literacy, listening and attention, understanding, personal social and emotional skills, routines and boundaries ready for school.

Some of our activities for you to see...

When completing an activity you will see the children teeth cleaning and using the bags in the pictures below, these bags contain singing pieces for the children and rhyming books as well as nursery narrative to support the childrens learning