Curriculum

Curriculum Implementation

Learning at Grosvenor Nursery School and Day Care Centre

• Learning is play-based and takes place indoors and outdoors
• The best outcomes for children’s learning occur where most of the activity within a child’s day is a mixture of child-initiated play, actively supported by adults and focused learning, where adults guide children’s learning through playful, rich, experiential activities. This can be illustrated as a continuum of approaches as seen below:

• All aspects of our curriculum require our Teachers and Early Years Educators to be flexible and take account of children’s interests.
• Adults take children’s strengths as a starting point, seeing each child as a competent learner.
• Parental involvement is crucial in children’s learning and development.

We have designed our curriculum with the particular strengths and needs of our Grosvenor children in mind. We generally have a mixed cohort of children, with a wide range of starting points and abilities. We have a large number of children in our Nursery School who have experienced the Grosvenor Curriculum from our Baby Room and those children who have had no prior nursery experience. Careful planning ensures that children are continually building on their existing knowledge and learning.

We have a number of children who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) with a wide variety of languages spoken in their homes.

We have a number of children with Special Educational Needs, especially in their Communication and Language development.

Through doorstep visits, we understand that a number of our children live on main roads, or terraced accommodation and have no gardens and limited outdoor experiences. Our curriculum has been built to give children many opportunities for outdoor learning and Forest School, to support their physical development.

Teaching and Learning ‘in the moment’

One of the most effective ways of teaching and learning for our children takes place ‘in the moment’. This is where we notice something important about a child’s learning and respond to it to encourage and build on this learning.

The response can take different forms:

• We might stand back and observe, offering encouragement and supportive language.
• Get involved to extend the learning, by joining in with the play, engaging in conversation, or showing a child a specific skill to help them accomplish what they want to do.
• Reflect afterwards and introduce new resources or plan something special in response to what we noticed.

Learning from the seasons

Responding to the changes in seasons and the academic calendar gives a shape to our year and to children’s learning. All of our children celebrate the changes and celebrations throughout the year.

Communication and Language

We recognise the importance of children learning to communicate and plan a curriculum that supports children to learn new vocabulary and consolidate their language learning. Adults provide an excellent role model of language for children and encourage them to use correct language patterns. Our Communication Champion supports the curriculum and shares ideas and knowledge with the staff team. Children are supported to use their preferred communication method and all methods of communication (signing, pictures, and symbols) are modelled to support the verbal language used at an appropriate level for the child.

Partnership with Parents/Carers

We recognise the important role that parents/carers play in their children’s learning and development. Our positive relationships with parents/carers and excellent communication systems encourage continuity between home and nursery.

Partnership with Outside Agencies

Our close working relationship with outside agencies enables us to meet children’s individual needs and provide the support that they require in order to make progress and achieve their potential.

Babies

Provision in our Baby Room includes:

• Practitioners who have Baby Room practice training.
• Practitioners who are aware of developmental milestones and when necessary, offer timely early intervention.
• Key Worker system which allows strong bonds to develop between a child, parents/carers and practitioner.  
• Practitioners who get down to the children’s level, who are responsive and allow time for babies to respond.
• Toys, resources and displays presented at children’s level.
• A range of age-appropriate toys and resources, including sensory toys, for babies to explore.
• Heuristic play sessions.
• Chance to take part in Forest School sessions and explore the natural environment.   
• Opportunities for babies to move in a range of ways, including tummy time, for younger babies.
• Adult-led activities based on babies’ interests (sometimes this may involve splitting children into younger/older babies to ensure that these are age-appropriate).
• Daily time for looking at books together and sharing stories.
• Daily time for singing/dancing.

2 Year Olds

Our provision for 2 year-olds includes:

• Consistent adults and a Key Worker system to allow children to develop positive relationships.
• A welcoming environment set up indoors for children to freely explore sensory materials, Heuristic Play, Home Corner role play, books, musical instruments and small-world toys.
• An outdoor environment which promotes physical activity through large motor apparatus and wheeled toys.
• Continuous opportunities available for early mark making.
• Practitioners with a strong understanding of the schematic and practical ways that a two year old learns.
• Following children’s interests and building-on/extending them.
• Daily Circle Time session including singing/music.
• Daily story time or singing sessions using our ‘Core Books’/book of the week.
• Daily ‘Squiggle Whilst you Wiggle’ sessions, a movement based approach to stimulate early writing that is proven to raise early writing standards in an active way.
• Language through Listening sessions in small groups.
• Opportunity for quiet, small group activities/games such as sound lotto.
• Weekly Music sessions.
• Forest School sessions.

3-4 Year Olds

In readiness for the next stage in their educational journey, our aim is that when children leave Grosvenor to start primary school, they will have experienced:

• Differentiated registration groups where children are working alongside peers with similar ‘next steps’.
• Consistent staff and children within their colour groups to allow children to develop positive relationships.
• A welcoming and challenging environment set up for children to freely explore creative materials, loose parts, Home Corner role play, sand, water, books, musical instruments and small-world toys.
• A challenging outdoor environment which complements the indoor environment and promotes active learning and physical play.
• PACT Literacy Programme, Language through Listening and Nursery Narrative sessions.
• Daily Maths sessions integrated into register and snack times.
• Daily Letters and Sounds and Group Time sessions.
• Weekly Circle Time with a focus on PSED.
• Regular visits to Forest School.

High Needs Base

Our High Needs Base offers specialist provision for children with additional needs, providing them with the opportunity to experience:

• A high staff:child ratio in order to support the child’s high level of need.
• An individualised curriculum based on each child’s needs.
• A ‘Total Communication’ curriculum to support children’s development of communication. Staff model all communication methods alongside speech; this includes signing using ‘Signalong’, pictures and objects of reference, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Pragmatic Organisation Dynamic Display (PODD) books.
• Weekly input from Speech and Language Therapist.
• Opportunities to integrate with the mainstream nursery provision.

Transition

Transition into nursery and between rooms is an important milestone for children and parents and is planned for carefully.

Most children will follow a planned transition into nursery which includes:

• Visits to nursery with their parent/carer.
• A doorstep visit before entry to Nursery School to introduce ourselves and start to gather children’s information (new starters).
• A gradual admission, led by the needs of the child as they settle.
• A settling-in period (up to 6 weeks).
• On-entry assessment.

Most children will follow a planned transition between rooms, which includes:

• A visit from key staff to the child in their current room.
• A transition meeting between key staff from the current and new room to share information and assessments.
• Staff introduction to parent (in face/by telephone).
• Visits to the new room with a familiar adult.
• A gradual admission to the new room, led by the needs of the child as they settle.

At Grosvenor Nursery School and Day Care Centre, we work with the Government’s curriculum for children aged 0-5. It is called:

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

It is divided into 7 Areas of Learning:

3 Prime Areas of Learning

4 Specific Areas of Learning

There are 17 Early Learning Goals to be aimed for by the end of Reception Year in Primary School.

Prime Areas of Learning – these are:

Personal, Social and Emotional Development – which is about making relationships and getting along with other children and adults, having confidence and self-awareness and being able to manage their feelings and behaviour.

Communication and Language– which is about developing good listening and attention skills, to have good understanding and also to speak and express themselves clearly.

Physical Development – which is about developing large and small movements in a variety of ways, having good control of their bodies and handling a variety of tools and equipment well. It also covers health and self-care, looking at ways to keep healthy and safe.

Specific Areas of Learning – these are:

Literacy – which is about, stories, rhymes, poems, books and reading, mark-making and writing.

Mathematics – which is about number, counting, shape, space and measure.

Understanding the World – which is about people and communities and helps children understand about the world in which they live and it also includes ICT.

Expressive Arts and Design – which is about developing different forms of expression, exploring music, dance, and song, encouraging children to be creative in all respects. It also focuses on media and materials and imaginative/pretend play.

At Grosvenor we believe that it is important to embrace and support the natural instincts and motivation of children to investigate and learn about the world. We provide a curriculum that promotes their effective learning.

The Characteristics of Effective Learning

Our curriculum promotes:

Play and Exploring

• finding out and exploring
• playing with what children know
• being willing to ‘have a go’

Active Learning

• being involved and concentrating
• keeping trying
• enjoying and achieving what they set out to do

Creating and Thinking Critically 

• having their own ideas
• making links
• choosing ways to do things

Curriculum Planning

• The staff plan high quality, exciting activities to cover all of the Areas of Learning each week.
• Our planning is based on children’s interests as well as things that are topical such as stories we are reading, the seasons, visits and visitors, festivals and cultural events.

Monitoring and Assessment

• Staff observe and monitor children’s skills and development in their first few weeks so that we can plan activities to suit every child’s needs and develop their skills further.
• In joint discussion with parents, targets are set for each child for the term.
• Progress and new learning is recorded on Tapestry, a secure online platform.
• Every child has an online Learning Journal on Tapestry, which his or her parents/carers have access to using a secure password.

The Learning Journal builds up a lovely picture of the child’s learning and development throughout their time with us. Parents/carers can upload photographs and celebrate their child’s achievements at home in the Learning Journal for their Key Worker to see.

Learning and development information is also passed on to the child’s primary school when he or she leaves us.