The Foundation Stage Curriculum (3 – 5 year olds)

We provide an appropriate early years curriculum based on the DfEE's Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The six areas of learning are as follow:

1. PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Providing opportunities to develop: Self respect, confidence, effective relationships with other children and adults, the awareness of right and wrong, taking turns, sharing, the understanding of their own culture and that of others and to become personally independent.

2. COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Providing opportunities to: Listen and repond to stories, songs and nursery rhymes, take part in role play, know that words and pictures have meaning and print is read from left to right, recognise their own name and letters of the alphabet and write their own names with the appropriate use of upper and lower case letter

3. MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Providing opportunities to: Use mathematical language, such as circle, in front of, behind, bigger, above and empty, to describe shape, position, size, and quantity. To become familiar with numbers, rhymes, songs, stories, counting games and activities, understand, record and use numbers to ten and be aware of number operations, such as addition and substraction.

4. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Providing opportunities to: Talk about where they live, their environment, their families, past and present events, explore living things, ask how things happen and how they work, use equipment for cutting, folding, joining and building, using technology, where appropriate, to support their learning.

5. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Providing opportunities to: Increase control and co-ordination in both gross and fine motor skills, use a range of small and large equipment and balancing and climbing apparatus and to handle appropriate tools, construction and malleable materials safely.

6. CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Providing opportunities to: Explore sound, colour, texture, shape, form and space in 2 or 3 dimensions, respond to all five senses through art, music, dance, stories and imaginative play and use a wide range of materials to express ideas and to communicate thier feelings.

BIRTH TO THREE MATTERS FRAMEWORK

The purpose of this framework is aimed at children from 0 to 3 years old and provides information on development, effective practice, examples of play activities to promote learning and guidance on planning and resourcing. It is broken down into four aspects of learning;

A STRONG CHILD

This aspect is concerned with understanding how babies and young children grow and develop as strong, capable, confident and self-assured people.

A SKILFULCOMMUNICATOR

Focusing on the importance for babies and young children of hearing language, becoming involved with those around them and being accepted as a person who understands and can respond from birth.

A COMPETENT LEARNER

This area involves children in exploring, experimenting, looking similarities and differences, interacting, imagining, creating and representing as they seek to learn about the world around them.

A HEALTHY CHILD

This means much more than having nutritious food and being free from illness. It covers the physical, social and emotional health and well being, which underpin and determine the children’s responses to their environment, new people and experiences.