The Learning Environment provides a range of carefully structured play based activities, following the interests and learning needs we develop with your child. These rich learning experiences, across all areas of the early years foundation stage, are both teacher-led and created by children using their own ideas. Throughout the day your child will have a wonderful time discovering, exploring, observing and creating within the high quality learning environment. We positively encourage free flow indoor and outdoor play, ensuring we nurture all interests and learning styles.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

The provision for children’s development and learning is guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE 2012). Our provision reflects the four overarching principles of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

A Unique Child

Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships

Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.

Enabling Environments

Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners, parents and carers.

Learning and Development

Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision including children with special educational needs and disabilities.

How we provide for development and learning

Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by our Nursery helps children to continue to do this by providing all of the children with interesting and motivating activities that are appropriate for their stage of development.

For each area, the level of progress that children are expected to have attained by the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage is defined by the Early Learning Goals. These goals state what it is expected that children will know, and be able to do, by the end of the reception year of their education.

The Development Matters guidance sets out the likely stages of progress a child makes along their learning journey towards the Early Learning Goals. Our setting has regard to these matters when we assess children and plan for their learning.

Learning through play

Play helps young children to learn and develop through doing and talking, which research has shown to be the means by which young children learn to think. Our Nursery uses the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance to plan and provide a range of play activities, which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and development. In some of these activities, children decide how they will use the activity and, in others, an adult takes the lead in helping the children to take part in the activity. In all activities, information from ‘Development Matters’ the Early Years Foundation Stage has been used to decide what equipment to provide and how to provide it.

Characteristics of effective learning

We understand that all children engage with other people and their environment through the characteristics of effective learning that are described in the Development Matters the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance as:

• playing and exploring – engagement
• active learning – motivation
• creating and thinking critically – thinking.