Our Curriculum and Vision
We base our curriculum around the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This framework is used as a guidance for what we want our children to learn, along with the Development Matters and Birth to Five documents.
The range of indoor and outdoor activities we offer is carefully planned by our highly qualified staff, based on the EYFS curriculum. Children have opportunity to choose activities as well as being involved in more structured tasks, guided by their key person and other staff. We believe children learn most effectively through active, hands-on experiences. Our curriculum is delivered through in the moment planning which captures the child’s current interests, based on observations of each child and level of development. This helps build a secure foundation for learning and is child-led. We offer a wide range of ‘open ended’ and natural resources to support children’s development. Our Forest School plays an important role in our ethos to support outdoor learning.
For under twos, we focus on the 3 prime areas, on which all other learning depends, although experiences in the other areas of learning are also regularly available.
| EYFS Prime Areas of Learning | EYFS Specific Areas of Learning |
|---|---|
|
Physical Development |
Mathematics |
|
Communication and Language |
Literacy |
|
Personal, Social and Emotional Development |
Understanding of the World |
|
|
Expressive Arts and Design |
During their time at Westwards, we will encourage your child to become an independent thinker with a positive attitude to learning, to build a secure foundation for their future. We manage transitions carefully to support your child, and the transition to school is no exception. Pre-school children spend time learning and talking about school and what to expect. Our Quality Review by the county council states that we have ‘well established transition preparation and procedures.’
Your child’s learning journey will show you what part of the EYFS we have focused on and the activities offered. We also offer termly ‘focus meetings’ which gives parents the opportunity to discuss their child’s development by reviewing the ‘tracker’ with the key person. Each room produces regular newsletters with information on the teaching within every area of the EYFS.
All rooms are involved in music and dance, yoga, story-telling and outdoor creativity, including gardening. These are key elements to daily life at Westwards.
Our Vision is simply to have happy, engaged children in the setting. Anyone who visits our nursery comments on how well behaved, calm and purposeful the children are. The children display high levels of independence, involvement, and curiosity.
Ofsted graded us ‘Good’ at our last inspection. We were awarded the highest level quality award by Leicestershire County Council, and the report commented on ‘excellent practice facilitated by supportive key persons and practitioners, who demonstrate a good grasp of child development and knowledge of how children learn best’.
