The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children’s language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive.
Through conversation, storytelling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures. In Nursery, we encourage speech, communication and vocabulary through a wide range of planned and child-initiated experiences We plan circle times which introduce children to new vocabulary and modelled speech. We have a weekly Show and Tell session when children bring in items from home and tell their friends about them, encouraging clear speech but also good listening from peers as well as understanding the whole question and answer technique.
If we feel a child needs further help with speech development, we work closely with the SENco and Speech and Language Therapy Services to provide early intervention. We place a high emphasis on Nursery rhymes and send one home every week to learn as this helps children to learn about rhyme and have fun with language.
Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of a child’s strength, co-ordination and positional awareness. By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.
We carefully plan a variety of activities both inside and outside to support the development of fine motor skills; for example, threading, hanging out clothes/pictures on a washing line, peg boards, tweezer activities through collecting natural objects such as leaves, drawing and painting to name just a few.
We have opportunities for children to develop their gross motor skills through the use of bikes, climbing frames and a wide range of small equipment to encourage mastery of movement and balance. We also have planned PE sessions where we will focus on dance, ball skills and moving in different ways.
Through research carried out by the Early Years team in the development of early writing, we came across ‘Funky Fingers’ which is a series of fun activities for children to build up their upper body strength (gross motor skills) and finger/hand strength and control (fine motor skills). We do this each morning for 10 minutes.
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, we listen to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems to foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world . Celebrating the many cultures and festivals within our school community encourage a sense of belonging to the wider world. Visits from the police, nurses and visits to our local garden centre promote an interest in those who help us. In our Nursery, we promote technology with programmable toys, the use of iPads, and the interactive whiteboard etc. We use role-play to model learning and use of technology in the world for example through phones. Exploration plays a major part in Early Years so children will investigate first hand and develop a sense of awe and wonder at the world around them. Our welly walks will encourage fun and creativity, questioning and observation. The grounds around our Nursery enable inquisitive minds to explore and learn about the natural world throughout the seasons.
Reading
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words.
Both indoors and out, we take every opportunity to promote a love of reading. We have topic books scattered around the environment linked to the children’s current learning; for example, planting, construction and vegetables etc. We also have an inviting, cosy reading shed, where the children can go and choose to read a book. Inside, we have a calm, quiet room, full of exciting and motivating books for the children to share. We build all of our learning around high quality texts. Children have a weekly guided reading session, taking books home to share with their parents and carers.Writing
Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing) of ideas, images, letters and words. It is the ability to interpret, create and communicate meaning through writing in different media.
We provide a rich literacy environment. In Nursery, mark making is encouraged at all times across all areas. In daily adapted focus tasks, children are introduced to quality and engaging texts with a wide range of rich vocabulary. This promotes a love of literature and writing. We encourage children to mark make from the start of nursery, then encourage correct letter formation and subsequently, the written word. Our ELS phonic sessions make learning sounds and writing fun.
Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. At Nursery, we provide frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding – such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting – children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, we ensure that we include opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.
We use songs to help us count e.g. One, two, there, four, five, Once I caught a fish alive. We have adapted daily maths focus tasks, where we focus on counting, cardinality, composition and comparison of numbers .We count using natural objects and a wide range of exciting resources. We use models and images in line with school policy e.g. Numicon. We follow the school EYFS Maths Calculation Policy and staff are continually kept up to date with high quality maths training. We provide a rich mathematical environment where children can apply what they have learnt in focus tasks within their play and through real life contexts e.g. role-play shops, bus journeys, cafes, garage, baby clinic etc.
Children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED) is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationships with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life. Throughout the daily routines and provision in Nursery, we promote good communication between children and their peers, and between staff and the children, creating a environment where children feel confident to talk about their needs, wants and feelings. Our key groups enable children to quickly build up relationships with peers and staff. We pride ourselves in building positive relationships with parents and carers so that we working in partnership to provide the best possible start to a child’s educational journey. We carefully plan small focused activities through our PSHCE scheme: Jigsaw, to support and encourage children to become confident in understanding their feelings and feelings of others.