EYFS

 

The education programme consists of prime and specific areas set out in the EYFS framework and there are a healthy balance of child and adult led activities to support development and stimulate active minds and busy bodies. Our practice is inclusive for all children. We encourage positive parenting and ask that they support us to focus on giving their child a good foundation to arrive at nursery equipped and ready to learn.

Children demonstrate positive attitudes, manners and a healthy balanced life. They enjoy coming to nursery and spending time making relationships with their peers and carers. They take part in activities and show a healthy curiosity in their learning. All of this shows that through planning and adult interaction, we help and support them to enjoy and achieve. They grow in strength and confidence day by day and communicate their needs, wants and desires which enables the child to be a stable and secure person who can enjoy the environment and surroundings accessible to them.

Staff spend time with children, listening and interacting with them and attending to their needs offering support when necessary. Staff observe situations and try to encourage them to resolve any issues and difficulties between each other and work things out on their own. Staff will offer guidance and will keep a watchful eye on the situation stepping in at the appropriate time. Children are given time to absorb the learning environment.

Our overall approach to children’s learning and development is that we aim to enable children to learn through play in a happy, positive and caring environment which is clean and safe. We aim to offer this through a strong and sound routine and consistent staff.
 

We don’t believe in producing mass paper work or sending children home armed with vast amounts of materials but believe in the learning process that takes place throughout the activity. A healthy balance of practical and theoretical learning enables positives results. We actively encourage a wide range of activities that covers everything from songs and stories to art and craft activities to learning new languages to sports and outdoor activities, role play and learning about nature in our allotments and also learning to care for our animals in our small farm.

 

Children at Summerfield House Day Nursery are happy and have fun, they have a strong bond between their carers who not only attend to their daily needs of feeding, sleeping and changing but carry out observations and monitor their development throughout the day. This information is then recorded in the form of a scrap book which supports their learning journey. Children’s next steps are considered and this action will inform our planning.

Children are encouraged daily to use and access our outdoor provision, to enhance this, each unit has a covered area where activities are set up outside. We have adopted an open door policy so that children can access the outdoors for the majority of the day. We ask for parents / carers to suitably clothe their children according to the weather to allow us to take them outside. We have an outside classroom and various covered and shaded areas in the garden to maintain our outside times throughout the day.

 

Staff choose to go above and beyond expectations when covering the EYFS framework. Staff moral is high and they have fun putting their ideas into action, they use the space well and adapt the environment to maximise learning opportunities. Staff have a healthy attitude and are passionate about their work. They have high standards and expectations of themselves to achieve and enjoy participating and generally getting involved. Our qualified staff have a clear understanding of how children learn.

 

Our wide range of resources enhances our provision and heightens learning potential. Careful planning mixed with experienced staff offers the children a wide range of different experiences, textures, cultures, team building and personal development including manners and general etiquette such as sharing and turn taking exercises.

Educational toys and games including pc’s, ipads and programmable toys which are accessible to the children alongside practical learning aids our discussions throughout every day and enhances pre-school learning of letters, numbers, colours and shapes which helps prepare children for school life. We encourage a home link for our sound table whereby children work with parents to find items at home beginning with the sound of the week to share and place on the ‘sound table’. We offer circle time which gives children the chance to share their news, ideas and personal experiences. Pictorial timetabling and labelling helps children to understand processes during the day and helps remind them ‘what to do next’ e.g. hand washing.

 

Personal needs are met and staff are trained to cope with nappy changes, toilet training, hand washing, personal hygiene such as keeping noses clean, faces clean and keeping children suitably clothed.

 

It is apparent children are achieving and making progress within the EYFS when ~ they achieve their next steps we have planned for them, when we see physical development signs such as walking & talking, when transition from unit to unit is smooth, when we receive positive comments from parents and when we and parents / carers look back through their scrap books.

 

Children are offered plenty of opportunities and positively encouraged to play and explore with a wide variety of toys, games, resources, items of interest and different textures. They are allowed time to touch, feel, taste, ask questions and look at all aspects of the environment and things provided. Activities are set out in such a way it challenges the less able and more able child to learn through the play experience. Children have access to resources all around the nursery and can therefore adapt the activity according to their imagination and ability.

 

Each child has a key person who oversees their care and is in charge of making sure that individual needs are met. These needs include culture, background, learning difficulties, disabilities and other languages. Every aspect of the child is taken into account to ensure each child receives an enjoyable and challenging experience across the areas of learning. We seek advice from parents and carers to maintain a consistent approach and to gain a clear understanding of the child’s needs and parental requests.

 

Individual observations and assessments are made on children to plan personalised support for each child. We offer support, care and guidance to enable the child to settle and feel comfortable within his/her surroundings. The key person will work with the parents / carer to ensure we have the correct approach for that individual.

Activities are made interesting and challenging for children of all capabilities and are modified to suit both the less and more able child