Early Years Foundation Stage
The nursery follows the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children will develop at their own pace and each child’s development is closely monitored and the Curriculum is applied accordingly. Children are allowed time to become fully emersed in their activities, exploring available resources and coming up with their own ideas. The emphasis is placed on the process of what they are doing and not the end result. They learn to become critical thinkers, enjoying what they are doing and to gain the confidence to ‘have a go’ and to keep trying
The Overarching Principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage are:
- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their learning responds to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and or carers.
- Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in the early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The areas of learning and development are separated into the following seven areas:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social & Emotional Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding of the World
- Expressive Arts and Designs
Further information regarding the EYFS can be found at www.gov.uk/early-years-foundation-stage
Topics
Throughout the year the children will learn through a variety of topics. These support their development and understanding of themselves and the world they live in. At Smithfield House Children’s Nursery, we aim to inspire and ignite our children’s enthusiasm to learn and explore activities that interest, excite and are meaningful to them. We encourage them to become eager learners who want to learn more. We support them in developing the skills needed to take them forward onto their next stage of learning, and we allow them to do this at their own pace. We understand that every child is unique, and that importance must never be placed on the end result, but in the process and achievement of eventually getting there!
January - Emotions:
During a child’s early years, they begin to discover their emotions but don’t know yet how to understand them or how to control them. Allowing children to express these emotions is important for their development. As early years educators, we help children understand that it is okay to feel sad, angry, happy etc and explain through stories, activities and gentle boundaries on how to manage these feeling.
February - Technology:
Children learn to navigate technology quicker and better than some adults! Providing the children with a variety of technological resources allows them to extend their knowledge and understanding in this area. Our younger children learn that by pressing a button on a toy they can/will make it light up, or produce a sound. Our older children learn that they can use a remote control to guide a small car/truck through a pathway or along a desired route. They explore touchscreen technology, and strengthen hand eye coordination by guiding the cursor on a screen when using a mouse.
March - Seasons:
Spring is arriving and the landscape is again changing colour. Early flowers are beginning to blossom and the days are becoming longer. Our children discover and learn about new life, growth/decay as we move through the seasons. They have meaningful discussions about what is needed for the plants, flowers and leaves on the trees to grow, developing new language skills, embedding what they already know and extending on this as they explore the local parks and gardens.
April - Animals:
Our children learn about animals and their habitats. Additionally, in 2022 we successfully hatched baby chicks. This supported the children to understand about new life and how to care for them. In 2023, we will again be engaging the services of ‘Incredible eggs’ who will provide us with one of their hatching kits so the children can experience the hatching of ducklings.
May - The World Around Us:
Our children learn about the world we live in and its diversity. They will learn about different cultures, countries and how others live. They will share with their peers where their families live, the languages they speak, and have opportunities to try, taste new foods from around the world.
June - Exploring London:
Our children learn about their immediate world (London) by exploring the local area and seeing its ever-changing landscape. This provides opportunities for them to extend on their language, learning new words, identify shapes, numbers etc. Negotiate the busy streets within the local area and learn about road safety.
July - Under the Sea:
Our children learn about life that lives below our seas. They have opportunities to discuss different sea-life, enjoy water play and use their imagination when building their own under water worlds
August - Transport:
Our children learn about the many modes of transport. They create their own roleplay scenarios, modelling train stations, airports etc, they bring photos of their family holidays to share with their peers’ encouraging discussions of how they travelled there.
September - Me and my Family:
Our children discover a sense of self, how they are unique individuals but also how they share similarities with others. They learn about their own immediate and extended families and how family groups can be the same as, or different to their own.
October - Harvest:
Our children will be learning about where our fruit and vegetables grow and how the seasons affect when they are ready to be picked. They will be able to discuss where in the world they come from and why they are good for our health. Our younger children will use their senses to smell, feel and taste a variety of fruit and vegetables. They will talk about our farmers and how they grow the food on their farms, not only for us, but for their animals to eat throughout the winter months.
November - People That Help Us:
Our children will get involved in lots of roleplay. They will become doctors, builders, firefighter, shop workers etc and have opportunities to think about how these people do important work and help us though our every day lives.
December - Winter Wonderland:
December is one of the busiest months in our nursery calendar. This begins the build up to our winter holiday. Throughout the year, we will celebrate all cultural festivals and the diversity of individual beliefs and religions. But as our City becomes adorned with lights and decorations, our children will have the opportunity to decorate the nursery environment, turning it into their own Winter Wonderland.