Curriculum

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We believe that children learn best by actively pursuing their interests and ideas through exploratory play, supported by teaching staff who extend their learning, facilitating the child's process of creating and developing theories about the world. 

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 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 believe in child centred learning and plan for a balance of child initiated and adult led learning.

We use the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance which sets out what a child is expected to learn 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 encourage children to take responsibility for their own learning, to be involved, as far as possible, in reviewing the way they learn, what helps them learn and what makes it difficult for them to learn.

We aim to develop the characteristics of effective learning through our teaching:

• Finding out and exploring
• Using what they know in their play
• Being willing to have a go

• Being involved and concentrating
• Keeping on trying
• Enjoying achieving what they set out to do

• Having their own ideas
• Making links
• Choosing ways to do things

We plan activities to meet needs identified from observation and assessment, and extend children’s learning through:

• Planning in the moment for child initated learning during free flow play
• Children’s reflection on learning in Key groups to develop meta-cognition
• Children’s planning time where children contribute to planning their learning
• Daily quiet time with yoga to develop self-regulation
• A focus on a range of core books over the year, so that the children develop a bank of deeply known and loved stories
• Daily literacy & phonics using Letter and Sounds
• Maths group time
• Personal, social & emotional development and learning about our rights group time
• Daily story
• Weekly Library Book exchange
• Daily action songs and rhymes to build up vocabulary and understanding of rhyme and rhythm
• Fortnightly Forest School session for every child developing self-regulation, risk management and an understanding of the natural world
• Rights Respecting soft toy that goes home with the children to help them learn about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Teacher led Early Years Pupil Premium group focusing on identified needs

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 and a nurture group supports those with lower emotional well-being. Children with EAL are supported with pre tutoring and small group work. More able children are supported through a phonics extension group and children eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium work in a small group with our teachers and with our ceramic artist.

Click on the links below to see our curriculum intentions for the Prime Areas of learning

Goodway Nursery School Curriculum Intent

Click on the link below to access a parents guide to the EYFS

What to Expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Click on the following link to access Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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

Birmingham Local Authority Curriculum Statement