Nursery Curriculum

All children’s learning is based on the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum which underpins all future learning by supporting, fostering, promoting and developing children’s development in all areas.

We aim to continue the extremely valuable work you have already put into your child’s early education and look forward to working with you to help each child, at their own pace, make maximum progress during their time at Colleges. The nursery day is carefully planned to give the children the opportunity to experience a wide variety of stimulating activities through play situations so that learning will be fun.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

  • Self-confidence and self-awareness
  • Managing feelings and behaviour
  • Making relationships

We learn to play together co-operatively and constructively

We learn to respect and take care of each other

We learn to do things for ourselves

We learn how to behave in a range of settings

We dress up and pretend to be other people

We learn to express our thoughts, ideas and feelings in circle time

We learn to share and take turns

Communication and Language

  • Listening and attention
  • Understanding
  • Speaking

We learn to communicate with others in a range of ways

We develop a wider vocabulary and descriptive language

We learn to listen to others and take turns to speak

We learn to listen attentively to stories, songs, rhymes and poems and respond to what we hear

We learn to follow instructions and answer questions

We learn to communicate our own ideas and stories

Physical Development

  • Moving and handling
  • Health and self-care

We enjoy climbing outside on the apparatus and during our weekly movement session

We use PE equipment like hoops, balls and beanbags to play games

We develop our fine motor skills by learning to tear, cut, sew, and manipulate different materials

We handle tools and equipment effectively, including pencils and pens

We learn to ride lots of different kinds of wheeled vehicles

We learn the importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe

We learn to manage our own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently

Young children’s physical development is inseparable from all other aspects of development because they learn through being active and interactive

Mathematics

  • Numbers
  • Shape, space and measures

We learn to sort, match, order, sequence and count lots of things

We solve problems

We play with the water and learn about capacity

We use scales to measure our ingredients during cooking sessions

We begin to understand the language of position and size

We use appropriate language to talk about size, weight, position, time and money

We recognise, create and describe patterns

Literacy

  • Reading
  • Writing

We learn about letters and sounds in our weekly sessions

We share books with each other and choose books to share at home

We talk about books and stories and recognise the difference between pictures and print

We use a variety of tools including pencils to make marks

We begin to use our phonic knowledge and understanding to give meaning to marks

We learn about writing our name

Expressive arts and design

  • Exploring and using media and materials
  • Being imaginative

We sing songs, make and explore music and dance

We love to explore and develop our creativity using a full range of materials

We explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function

We work alongside each other and with creative people

We build pretend homes, space ships, boats, and trains and let our imagination take us on all sorts of adventures

Understanding of the World

  • People and communities
  • The World
  • Technology

We enjoy exploring and becoming familiar with our local environment

We love to examine the insects in our garden

We plant seeds and plants in our garden and learn how to care for them.

Our outside classroom is very important to us; we learn so much and have lots of fun

We like to use the computer to play games and to draw

We recognise a range of technology and select and use it for a particular purpose

We share stories about our friends and families

We investigate why and how things work, using lots of construction kits and materials

Cooking is one of our favourite activities and we enjoy eating what we have made

Visitors come and tell us about their jobs

Young children use all their senses to learn about the world around them and make connections between new information and what they already know