Our Curriculum
Our curriculum supports young children with processes, concepts, skills and issues that all link across and throughout their curriculum. Early Years children are competent, skilful and active learners and that child-initiated, play-based activities should be at the heart of the process, promoting healthy social and emotional growth.
St Giles Nursery School has an Early Years Curriculum that is broad and balanced and tailored to meet the particular needs of each child, giving them a positive image of themselves.
We aim to ensure this Curriculum builds upon the effective practice, children’s development and progress in the under threes’ childcare amd education provision. We have developing maps for each curriculum area, that demonstrate the spiral nature of our curriulum. Children get to revisit and extend their understanding, knowledge and skills progressively as they move through the phases, or continue their development if they join between 2 years and 4 years.
Our learning environment is warm, secure, happy and welcoming.
We arouse each child’s curiosity so that they want to learn more and ‘learn to learn.’
Above all, we nurture and build upon the natural energy, enthusiasm, curiosity and sense of humour of our children.
St Giles Nursery School places great emphasis upon learning through play.
We believe that it is important to provide children with a range of play experiences both free choice and adult directed, including small group structured group time sessions.
The teaching approach can then be designed for the child; being aware of each child's individual needs, interests and preferred learning styles.
Within the organisation of the day children are given freedom to make choices, develop and plan their ideas, to review and recall and to encounter and solve problems independently. Young children need time and space to become resilient lifelong learners.
The children are also introduced to new concepts and skills through group time sessions with a particular focus on Maths and Literacy during these times. These often provide the stimulus for further exploration during free choice play.
Supporting learning approaches is key through enabling the Characteristics of Effective Learning, this concept supports processes for life long learning;
Our Nursery School plans for the skills and experiences to develop children's knowledge and abilities. Our understanding is lead by current research and writing in Early Childhood Studies.
Our plans are adapted and moulded by the inspiration and direction of our children & families, the time and nurture given by the adults, and the environment- which can evolve with the children and their ideas.
