Nursery Curriculum

Foundation Stage


About the Foundation Stage

Early Years’ Foundation Stage Co-ordinator: Simone Edwards 

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes follow the statutory curriculum known as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

There are seven areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

These three areas, the Prime are:
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

The curriculum also supports children in four Specific areas, through which the Prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Through these seven areas, children acquire the skills, knowledge and experiences needed to help them learn and develop. The areas are equally important, depend on each other and allow us to present a rounded approach to child development. All the areas are delivered through planned, purposeful play, with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities supporting learning. Teachers monitor the progress of the children and many will be learning beyond the EYFS, especially in Literacy and Numeracy, by the end of the Reception year.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Children are provided with experiences and support to help them to develop in the following ways:

Self-confidence and self-awareness
To develop confidence and encourage children to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. To develop confidence to speak in a familiar group, to talk about ideas and choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. To say when they do or don’t need help.

Managing feelings and behaviour
To encourage children to talk about how they and others show feelings, to talk about their own and others’ behaviour and its consequences and to know that some behaviour is unacceptable. To work as part of a group or class and understand and follow the rules. To encourage children to adjust their behaviour to different situations and take changes of routine in their stride.

Making Relationships
To encourage children to play cooperatively, taking turns with others. To take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. To show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

Communication and Language

Children are provided with experiences and support to help them to develop in the following ways:

Listening and Attention
To listen attentively in a range of situations. To listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and to respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. To give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

Understanding
To follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. To answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

Speaking
To encourage the children to express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. To use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened, or are to happen in the future. To develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Communication and Langauge Literacy Foundation

Children are provided with experiences and support which help them to develop in the following ways:

Listening and Attention
To listen attentively in a range of situations. To listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

Understanding
To follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

Speaking
To encourage the children to express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. To use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future. To develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Mathematics Foundation

Children are provided with experiences and support which help them to develop in the following ways:

Numbers
To count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. To use quantities and objects, add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. To solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

Shape, Space and Measures
To use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. To recognise, create and describe patterns. To explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

Beyond the EYFS

Number
Counting sets and ordering numbers to 20 and back. Before and after numbers and number names to 30. Writing numerals to 20. Estimating and comparing more and less. Addition as combining 2 sets of objects. Adding 1 or 2 up to 10. Subtraction by removing 1 object and counting. Partitioning into 2 groups. Maths challenges.

Shape, Space and Measures
Sorting and identifying of 2D and 3D shapes. Comparative language of height, weight, capacity and positional language. Measuring length, height and weight with non-standard units. Patterns and sequencing. Simple problem-solving.

Time Measuring units of time.
Using vocabulary o’clock and half past.

Sequencing events.
Days of week, months, seasons, yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Money
Vocabulary of money and recognising simple coins. Shopping with 1p and 2p coins. Simple money problems.

Understanding the World Foundation

Children are provided with experiences and support which help them to develop in the following ways:

People and Communities
To encourage children to talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. To know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things and be sensitive to this. To know about similarities and differences between themselves and others and among families, communities and traditions.

The World
To help children learn about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. To make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur. To talk about changes.

Caterpillars and Frogs Autumn

Fairytales
Noah’s Ark
Caterpillars and Frogs Spring

Birds
Nursery Rhymes
Caterpillars and Frogs Summer

Homes around the World
Mini-beasts
Hedgehogs Autumn

Ourselves
Hedgehogs Spring

Food and Farming
Hedgehogs Summer

The Sea

Physical Development Foundation

Children are provided with experiences and support which help them to develop in the following ways:

Moving and Handling
To show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements.
To move confidently in a range or ways, safely negotiating space.
To handle equipment and tolls effectively, including pencils for writing.

Health and Self Care
To know the importance for good health of physical exercise and a healthy diet and to talk about ways to keep healthy and safe.
To manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently.

Beyond the EYFS

PE/Games
The children are introduced to different aspects of fitness including co-ordination, balance, speed and agility.
Through teaching basic games activities the children are taught simple skills and rules and are given their first taste of competition

Academic Structure

Class Structure
The Saint Ronan’s Nursery and Pre-Prep Department takes the parkland surroundings as inspiration for class names.

Early Years Foundation Stage
Nursery (3 and 4 year olds): Caterpillars and Frogs
Reception (4 and 5 year olds): Hedgehogs and Rabbits
Each class is led by a key person known as the ‘teacher’ and supported by a full time classroom assistant. Children learn at their own pace through a balance of child-initiated and teacher-directed activities in EYFS.

Key Stage One
Year One (5 and 6 year olds): Squirrels and Owls
Year Two (6 and 7 year olds): Badgers and Otters
Each class is led by a teacher and supported by a classroom assistant. The teaching and learning is differentiated to suit the needs of the pupil.

Assessment
In the Early Years Foundation Stage children’s progress is assessed by observation and one-to-one interaction with staff and a record of progress is kept, which is known as the EYFS Profile. In Key Stage One, children’s work is assessed in a variety of ways from observation, rich questioning, effective feedback and marking, peer and self-assessment. These are supplemented with more formal tests, which take place annually, monitoring progress in reading, spelling, literacy and numeracy.

Reporting
An ‘open-door’ policy is actively promoted in the department, with parents invited to speak to staff during the first half hour of the morning, prior to registration at 8.45am. Appointments for discussions at other times can be arranged at any point during the term. The building of such relationships between parents and staff proves to be invaluable in providing both parties with information vital for promoting the academic progress and well-being of the child.
The children’s progress is formally reported to parents in the following ways:

Frogs and Caterpillars
Each child’s unique journey through the EYFS is recorded in a ‘Sharing Book’, with children, parents and staff contributing to the progress made.
Each term parents are invited to meet with their child’s teacher to discuss progress and next steps for learning.
A written report on progress in all the six areas of learning is provided, together with a play plan showing the next steps for development.

Hedgehogs, Rabbits, Squirrels, Badgers and Otters
In addition to the following termly updates, Hedgehogs and Rabbits will also have a ‘Sharing Book’ which records the child’s unique journey through the EYFS.

Autumn Term (term 1)
Parents’ Consultation Evening in the week before half term is an opportunity for parents to discuss their child’s progress with the class teacher.
A written progress report, with targets for future improvement in literacy and numeracy, is sent to parents at the end of term.
Open Morning when children share the work in their books with their parents.

Spring Term (term 2)
Parents’ Consultation Evening towards the end of term is an opportunity for parents to discuss their child’s progress with the class teacher.
Open Morning when children share the work in their books with their parents.

Summer Term (term 3)
Open Morning when children share the work in their books with their parents.
A full written report, reviewing the child’s progress in all areas of the curriculum, is sent to parents at the end of term.

Special Needs – Nursery & Pre-Prep

SENDCO: Lucy Taggart 
Early Years’ SENDCO: Simone Edwards 

Children at either end of the ability spectrum may require additional support at various points during their time at school. When children experience difficulties at this early stage it is important to identify the areas of difficulty and put in place strategies of support.

NURSERY AND RECEPTION – EARLY YEARS
In the Early Years, every child is regularly observed and their progress is tracked in all seven areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. If a child is found to be struggling in one or more areas of the curriculum, they will be observed closely and an internal IPP will be written. This will include specific targets and strategies to help this child make progress. External agencies will only be called upon if a child does not respond to the intervention outlined in the IPP. The support process, for those with special needs, is monitored and guided by the school’s special needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENDCO).

The majority of concerns highlighted in the Early Years are speech and language-based. If the Early Years’ SENDCO feels that a referral is necessary, a specialist speech and language therapist is contacted and she will carry out any necessary observations and/or one-to-one support at home and/or at school.

By the time a child reaches Reception, support strategies are usually in place, and towards the end of the year, a closer evaluation can be made by the Early Years’ SENDCO in order to pinpoint and prioritize specific difficulties. Discussions with parents may be held, which help to clarify the best course of action. This may include targeting weaknesses through small group work and supporting learning with home/school support packs.

KEY STAGE 1
At Key Stage 1, small group work, task differentiation and additional adult support continue to play an important role in developing children’s skills in areas of weakness or low self-confidence. The continuation of home/school packs for holiday work helps parents become involved too.

In Year 1, if a child has significant needs, these are identified on an IPP and teaching strategies/resources are recommended, which are used by the class teacher to support the child within the classroom. When a child reaches Year 2, having made their way through the Department, a great deal of information can be called upon. The strategies and resources given above continue to be used and the role of the SENDCO becomes more important. With this role operating throughout the school, across both departments continuity can be achieved and a more personal plan developed for each child. External agencies can be called upon.

For diagnosing a specific difficulty, whether it be educational, physical, or behavioural, strategies and support are put in place to help the child in the best way possible.

Critical to the development of all children at Saint Ronan’s is the celebration and extention of areas of strength and talent. All children show personal areas of strength and skill and can therefore feel successful and valued at every stage of their school life. The atmosphere of security and encouragement, coupled with careful and structured long-term support, ensure that children develop to their full potential in areas they find more challenging.

Saint Ronan's School

Saint Ronan's School is a traditional co-educational Nursery, Pre-Prep and Prep School for children aged 3 to 13, with a distinguished history and an excellent academic record. It is a family school with an informal and happy atmosphere where staff are approachable and mud unremarkable

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