The Day Nursery Curriculum

Our curriculum is based on the Early Years Foundations Stage Development Matters. Using this as a framework, our curriculum is built from the significant wealth of combined knowledge and experience of our team.

The areas of learning and Development:

Intent

At the Day Nursery, we put the child at the heart of all we do and pride ourselves on the deliverance of the highest level of care and learning. We see every day as an opportunity to learn and grow. Our aim is to provide the best possible start to their early education and prepare them for the next steps in their lives.

We provide a safe, inspiring, and stimulating environment with a home-from-home feel where children learn and thrive as successful and independent learners. The daily opportunities and experiences in nursery will help to provide Cultural Capital and bridge the gap between children.

We aim to be not just a place of learning, but of fun, love and care, where children and their families will feel welcomed, respected and valued. We promote a culture of diversity, inclusion, equality, and tolerance. We aim to form effective relationships with parents and carers based on trust and respect, to build a solid picture of each child, provide the best care and continuously improve the nursery.

In a world that is quickly shifting towards technology thinking for us and playing a huge part in daily life, we think it is more important than ever to promote a sense of awe and wonder that encourages children to be curious about the world around them and to find out for themselves. We promote healthy lifestyles, with an emphasis on being outdoors and respecting and caring for nature.

Implementation

Our pedagogy is informed by two main approaches: In The Moment Planning and The Curiosity Approach.

In The Moment Planning

Moving away from extensive paperwork allows practitioners to be present in the rooms with the children. This means they are observing in the moment and in the best place to skilfully extend their learning. By continuously observing the children, practitioners gain an in-depth understanding of the child’s interests, current stage of development, what they are struggling with and what they want to achieve. Practitioners only step in when they are invited, or when they feel the play can be extended.

In The Moment Planning enables the child to be more in control of their own play and learning, supported by skilled practitioners to make their own decisions and overcome challenges. Children can make the choice of what to access throughout the day, as the resources are on the child’s level.

The Curiosity Approach

In a modern world where many toys and smartphones will think for the child, the Curiosity Approach aims to bring back a sense of awe and wonder about the world, supporting the children to be able to think and do for themselves.

The Curiosity Approach itself draws from several different approaches including Reggio Emilia, and their concept of the three teachers. The first teacher is the adults around the child, the second teacher is the child’s peers and the third teachers is the child’s immediate environment where they learn. Our environment is heavily inspired by the Curiosity Approach. We provide a warm, welcoming, and homely environment with natural and authentic resources. We work closely with the parents/families of the nursery to source items that reflect a variety of cultures and home environments.

We have moved away from plastic resources and aim to provide a wide variety of open-ended resources and loose parts. These allow the children to be creative and direct their own play. With support from skilled practitioners, this can help to extend their learning as there are fewer limitations to their play. When play is intrinsically motivated, children are more deeply engaged and more likely to persist when faced with challenges.

Providing beautiful, exciting, and awe-inspiring invitations to learning means the child will want to engage in the activity, therefore accessing the learning that was intended. Providing authentic materials which may be objects children typically wouldn’t be allowed to play with gives the children a sense of being trusted and respected.

Our Practice

Our team of practitioners are highly qualified and have many opportunities for Continuous Professional Development. All staff have a solid understanding of how to provide a safe, stimulating environment that facilitates a high level of learning, and how to sensitively extend children’s learning and provide appropriate challenges. Our practitioners are skilled in modelling and scaffolding learning to support children in leading their own play, using trial and error, making their own decisions, and collaborating peacefully.

Children at the Day Nursery take part in the Daily Mile, which allows them to be active outside every day. As well as playing in the garden, we take this opportunity to connect with our wider community by going for walks to the local library, cathedral, park, shops, museum, market etc. It also supports the children in leading a healthy lifestyle by getting regular exercise and fresh air. We are conscious that as a city-centre setting, a high number of children coming to us may not have gardens to play in at home.

Assessing Learning and Development

Each child has an individual Learning Journey on the Famly system, which will show their progress and development through daily photographs and monthly in-depth assessments which demonstrate their interests and teachable moments. These are used to plan “what’s next” for the child.

Monthly assessments are analysed by linking them to different areas of our curriculum, as well as the Characteristics of Effective Learning. Being aware of how each child learns supports practitioners in providing opportunities that will promote the child’s development effectively.

Partnerships with Parents/Carers and Families

We use a Key Person system which allows each child and family to build a close bond with a practitioner from their room, helping to provide a sense of safety and familiarity during the settling-in process. The Key Person will act as the link between the child’s home life and nursery life. They will communicate with the parents and family daily, in person and using the Famly app. Parents/carers are also encouraged to use Famly to add their own observations and photos from home for their Key Person to see.

We have an appointed Parent Partner Coordinator, who sets up opportunities for families to be involved in the nursery, such as parent stay and plays, organised events on weekends e.g., picnic in the park, coffee mornings etc. We also have a language of the month and will invite parents or family members who speak that language to come in and share stories with the children. We also invite any parents in to talk about their jobs, or any other areas of interest.

British Values

Our daily practice throughout the nursery is underpinned by the fundamental British Values:

Democracy is sharing and collaborating to make decisions together, valuing each other’s views and opinions and treating everyone equally.

Examples of how Democracy is promoted in the nursery:

• Facilitate an environment that supports and encourages children to feel comfortable in asking questions. Children’s curiosity is cultivated by skilled practitioners who, as well as answering questions, enable children to find out the answers to their questions themselves by providing the tools for research and discovery
• Practitioners support children in sharing resources and turn-taking continuously in a variety of ways. Practitioners also support children to collaborate effectively in play, and resolve issues themselves.
• Provide opportunities for children to make decisions e.g. what to play with in the room, what to have for breakfast.
• Provide opportunities for children to participate in votes e.g. putting their hands up to vote for which book to read first.

Individual Liberty is feeling free to be yourself as an individual, with positive self-esteem, self-confidence and self-awareness.

Examples of how Individual Liberty is promoted in the nursery:

• Children are encouraged to lead their own play, allowing them to follow their own ideas and interests when supported by skilled staff. This will boost their self-esteem and confidence and give the children an understanding of what they like and dislike
• Appropriate risky play can support children’s self-awareness and confidence

Mutual Respect and Tolerance is embracing, valuing and respecting all cultures, beliefs, races and views.

Examples of how Mutual Respect and Tolerance is promoted in the nursery:

• Use resources that reflect the wider world to encourage children to be aware of the similarities and differences between their peers and themselves and peers. This can be books, magazines, puzzles, clothes, musical instruments, kitchen utensils etc.
• Celebrate festivals and events from a wide variety of cultures, with equal emphasis. This allows the children to see and participate in cultures that they may otherwise not outside of nursery
• The Daily Mile allows children to go out into the wider community regularly, and enables children to see the diverse society they live in

The Rule of Law is the understanding what the rules are in our society, why we have them and the importance of following them.

Examples of how The Rule of Law is promoted in the nursery:

• The Golden Rules are consistent rules used across the nursery. These rules are clear and short, and regularly discussed with the older children.
• Kind words
• Gentle hands
• Looking eyes
• Listening ears
• Walking feet
• The Golden Rules are modelled by the practitioners at all times, providing the children with positive role models to observe
• Provide play opportunities that allow children to explore cause and effect to give children an understanding of the effect their actions can have on their environment e.g. noise-making, cooking, mark-making, splashing, helping a peer etc.
• Explain to children about the effects their actions have, and how they might make others feel. Work with parents/carers to set consequences when a Golden Rule is broken to provide consistency between nursery and home

Impact

Our curriculum is ambitious and demonstrates the high hopes we have for the children in our care. As the children are becoming ready to move on to their next steps in life, our curriculum will ensure they are ready and prepared to face them and reach their full potentials.