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We believe that creating an environment where children have space to grow and develop a love for reading and learning is key. Our core book curriculum drives the learning for our children, enabling them to learn more and remember more. We plan for a balance of adult led and child initiated learning at Goodway Nursery School.
Children’s personal, social and emotional development is central to their learning and we support this through the development of positive and caring relationships. Each child has a Key Person and a key group of 13 children. We encourage the development of self-confidence and self-awareness and children become independent learners by choosing resources and accessing all areas of the nursery environment. We support children in managing feelings and behaviour through giving them the vocabulary to name a range of emotions and use a conflict resolution approach, where we help children learn how to find solutions to their conflicts.
Respect for children’s rights runs through our curriculum. We are a Unicef Gold Rights Respecting School, teaching children about their rights and the rights of others and this threads through our work. It helps develop children’s acceptance of difference and diversity and supports the development of a strong moral compass. It is evident in interactions between staff and children, where staff listen to children and children show respect for each other and for adults.
We use the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance and OPAL guidance which sets out child development from birth to five.
Prime areas
•Personal Social and Emotional Development
•Communication and Language
•Physical Development
Specific areas
•Literacy
•Mathematics
•Understanding the world
•Expressive arts and design
We provide a rich and varied learning environment planning learning in all areas of the curriculum and allowing children to learn in a variety of ways, with a balance of child and adult initiated learning. We value learning outdoors, and believe that being outdoors has a positive impact on children's sense of well-being and on their development. We plan for learning outdoors across the curriculum and children have access to the outdoor learning environment throughout the day. All children take part in Forest School sessions every fortnight, developing self-regulation, risk management, and an understanding of the natural world.
We aim to develop the characteristics of effective learning through our teaching:
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Finding out and exploring
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Using what they know in their play
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Being willing to have a go
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Being involved and concentrating
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Keeping on trying
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Enjoying achieving what they set out to do
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Having their own ideas
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Making links
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Choosing ways to do things
We plan activities to meet needs identified from observation and assessment, and extend children’s learning through:
- A well planned, bespoke currciulum, carefully sequenced to build on skills over time
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Children’s reflection on learning in key groups to develop meta-cognition
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Yoga to develop self-regulation
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A focus on a range of core books over the year, so that the children develop a bank of deeply known and loved stories
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Maths group time
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Personal, social & emotional development and learning about our rights group time
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Daily stories
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Weekly Library Book exchange
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Daily action songs and rhymes to build up vocabulary and understanding of rhyme and rhythm
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Fortnightly Forest School session for every child developing self-regulation, risk management and an understanding of the natural world
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Rights Respecting soft toy that goes home with the children to help them learn about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Groovy Little Movers sessions for all children throughout the school year
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are supported with one to one work, visual aids, pre-tutoring with language used for planned activities, choice boards and pictorial timetables. Targeted small group work supports children with identified communication and language needs. Children with EAL are supported with pre-tutoring and small group work.
Parent information:
Birmingham Local Authority Curriculum Statement:
We follow Birmingham Local Authority Curriculum Statement which says that all children in Birmingham will experience a broad and balanced curriculum enabling them to grow and learn in an environment without prejudice or inequality.
Click on the following link to access Birmingham Local Authority Curriculum Statement
