Westholme School - Westholme Nursery, Blackburn, Lancashire

Curriculum

Nursery children learn happily by following a fast moving and flexible routine which includes snack and meal times, outdoor and indoor play, adult directed activities, music, dance, story time and sleep time.

All children are happiest when they know the routine and know what to expect and when. To help with the sense of routine, teamwork and identity, we split the children into two groups. They interact at free play time but for the purposes of group learning activities we have found the division into Poppies and Daisies works very well. The children are proud of their status and their participation in a group. It is a nice way of introducing the concept of a class without any formality. We find that when encouraged all the boys and girls join in happily and look forward to the next activity.

THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE

At this young age, Westholme aims to cherish the individual and put in place the foundations of life long learning. We understand just how quickly children develop during their first five years of life and that young childrens potential for learning is unlimited. Westholme knows that a loving and stimulating environment can give young children confidence and enable them to flourish.

Westholme provides effective practice within the early years with committed, enthusiastic and reflective practitioners who have a breadth and depth of skills and understanding.

The Nursery understands the individual and diverse ways that children develop and learn. We have sufficient knowledge and resources which allows us to support and extend childrens learning, meet all childrens needs, learning styles and interests.

Planning is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This curriculum progresses through into the Infant School which facilitates a seamless progression throughout the early years. At the end of the reception class, when children are five years old, a profile is completed to show their progress.

As children develop and learn, they take with them what they already know; they continue to practise, refine, use and consolidate their previous development and learning. By the time they reach the end of the Foundation Stage the majority of children will have achieved the early learning goals in all six areas and some will have exceeded them.

There are six areas covered by the early learning goals and educational programmes:

- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication, Language and Literacy
- Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
- Knowledge and Understanding of the World
- Physical Development
- Creative Development

Jan 31, 2012

Chinese New Year at the Nursery

Nursery children celebrate the year of the dragon