Teaching and Learning
Aims
We believe children should be presented with a beautiful and fascinating environment to explore both indoors and outdoors. We feel that children should have the opportunity to return to experiences and deepen their learning throughout their time at Staghills Nursery School. Children should have genuine choice between experiences which are rich in potential.
We want our children to be lifelong learners and to be willing to challenge themselves, take risks, to be creative and confident to explore new experiences. We find the characteristics of effective learners as part of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (2012) really useful to help us support our children’s development as confident learners. We believe the children’s views of themselves as competent learners starts from birth and we have an important role in working closely with families to nurture and support this further.
The relationship between home and nursery The first and most important relationships are between children, their parents and the rest of their family. The key person relationship is additional and complimentary to this. The key person and another member of staff visits the child at home, works closely with the family to settle the child and is a special person to the child and family throughout their time at Staghills Nursery School.
By providing a safe and reliable relationship, the key person first works with the child’s need for dependency. This dependent relationship is the starting point for independence in the nursery: the confidence to explore, make choices, play with friends or alone, safe in the knowledge that the key person is available to help when needed.
Group time provides a special point in the day when the child is in a close-knit group, and where there is time to share their learning and to speak and listen with others. Children are grouped according to their needs so that we can closely match teaching to children's learning.
How do we plan for children's learning planning?
We believe in a principled approach as outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Each routine and area of provision is carefully thought out and we are continually developing and reflecting on how to improve. Our continuous provision is offered every day as we believe children build their learning over time. The high quality of all of our continuous provision ensures that whichever choice a child makes they will access a learning experience which offers access to a broad, balanced curriculum.
Focus children
Our planning arises from the needs and interests of focus children and not from focus activities. Our planning focuses on learning and not end products. This approach to planning observes children’s interests, development and characteristics as a learner. All staff review how they can best extend and develop individual progress through an ongoing process of discussion and dialogue.