The E.Y.F.S. is not about introducing a curriculum for young children, or making them read or write before they are ready; quite the reverse. It means being sure each individual child is learning through high quality play that is tailored to them. So they develop at their own pace, having fun, making friends and learning as they play.
The Early Years
The early years are important and formative and as a team we understand the process involved in babies and children’s growth, development and learning. We offer a constant environment that is available daily to children both indoors and outdoors. It allows children of all ages’ freedom, independence and choice and is safe but challenging yet recognises the need for children to be active learners.
All children should be able to play and learn in a fun environment with adults who understand and care about them. Kinder Park Nursery recognises that children’s experiences in the earliest years of their lives are critical to their subsequent development and that even from birth children are already competent learners with rich experiences from which to build on.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Principles
A Unique Child
Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Positive Relationships
We believe that children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Enabling Environments
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and carers.
Learning and Developing
Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Practitioners support children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the prime and specific areas of learning and development.
How We Foster Effective Early Learning
We are aware of the ‘holistic’ nature of development and learning that each child may develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.
Staff at Kinder Park Nursery embrace the E.Y.F.S. and have a good knowledge of the learning outcomes. This enables every child to benefit from the experiences and be given the opportunities to progress at their own pace. Activities and experiences are made enjoyable, fun and most importantly age and stage appropriate.
Your child will be allocated a Key Person who has the responsibility of working with a small number of children meeting their individual needs and responding sensitively to their feelings, ideas and behaviour. Every effort is made to promote positive relationships with the parent and child to enable a working partnership and support the child’s learning, development and emotional well-being.
All staff are committed to observing and focussing on children as individuals in order to meet their needs and enhance their learning ‘in the moment’. Observations will be supported by photographs. Key people will identifying and track where your child is in their learning and development. This evidence along with information from yourselves helps us provide a clear picture of your child’s progress in their developmental journey.
Progress Check at Age 2
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS.) requires that parents and carers receive a summary of their child’s development in the three prime areas when the child is aged between 24 months and 36 months. This is so that you as parents have a clear picture of your child’s development early on and because we work alongside you, it can help you provide activities at home that can enhance their development. This progress check will be completed by your child’s key person and yourselves. It will consist of shared observations, knowledge and understanding of child development, contributions from yourselves and other professionals that might be involved in your child’s learning and development.
Continuous Provision
At Kinder Park Nursery we operate Continuous Provision to organise the high quality learning environment which will provide challenges and be inviting, stimulating, engaging and above all one which meets the needs of your child’s age and stage of development. Learning outdoors is essential for all children and we endeavour to take indoor learning outside and vice versa.
Continuous includes resources and experiences which are constantly available, allowing children to revisit an experience in order to consolidate their learning. Our experienced staff observe the children whilst they are deeply involved in their play. The key adult will respond to support the children and promote progression with their learning.