At Wren House Nursery, it is our intent to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that addresses the children’s social, emotional, physical, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

We understand that children learn best when they have secure attachments with caregivers, form positive relationships and are absorbed, interested and actively involved. We understand that active learning involves other children, adults, objects, ideas, stimuli and events that aim to engage and involve children for sustained periods.

We believe that Early Years education should be as practical as possible and therefore we are proud that Wren House Nursery has an underlying ethos of ‘Learning through play.’  We strive to equip children with a love of learning and a natural curiosity. Play is essential for children’s development across all curriculum areas, both inside and out. Play builds upon children’s confidence as they learn to explore, to relate to others around them and develop relationships, set their own goals and solve problems. Children learn by leading their own play and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.

Learning at Wren House is fun and engaging. We strongly believe in hands-on learning and valuing the importance of the outdoor environment to develop and support children’s thinking and problem-solving skills. We provide children with a safe and stimulating environment.

Every child is unique, joining us with their own set of experiences, prior learning and knowledge linked to their culture and wider family. We pride ourselves on listening to children and those who care for them, using this information to personalise each child’s learning. Developing positive partnerships with parents and/or carers and other practitioners linked to supporting children in our Early Years.

We are fully committed to giving our children the very best possible start to their school life, teaching them skills that ensure their well-being now and success in the future. We plan transition activities, so children transfer between groups smoothly and confidently. Every child is included and supported through equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.

We encourage children to embrace Nursery life and learn about our core values, which are to be Kind, Brave and Curious. These core values are embedded throughout our practice, alongside our Characteristics characters to support and encourage internal motivation and independence.

To implement our EYFS curriculum the nursery practitioners look at the individual needs of our children and take into account their different starting points to develop our flexible curriculum which enables them to follow the path of their learning journey, at a point that is suitable for their unique needs and stage of development. We follow the EYFS statutory framework 2024 and the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile Handbook 2022. Alongside this, we use the supporting documents from Development Matters.

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum at Wren House Nursery combines multiple approaches to give our children the very best possible start to their education.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum which includes seven areas of learning. These include:

Prime areas:

a) Communication and Language

b) Personal, Social and Emotional Development

c) Physical Development

The prime areas are strengthened and applied through 4 specific areas:

a) Literacy

b) Mathematics

c) Expressive Arts and Design

d) Understanding the World

The EYFS seven areas of learning and development are all equally important and inter- connected. However, the 3 areas known as the prime areas are seen as particularly important for igniting curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building children’s capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.

We also consider very carefully the children’s characteristics of effective learning. This is categorised under the following headings:

a) Playing and Exploring

b) Active Learning

c) Creating and thinking critically

The team at Wren House Nursery School observe very carefully how children learn and monitor their progress. The first approach is ‘Planning in the moment’ where children learn through play, using a wide range of resources and materials available through our enabling environment and rich continuous provision. Staff closely observe children to understand their individual developmental needs and interests. Nursery staff engage with the children and support their progress using careful questioning to provide challenge across the seven areas of learning.

In addition to planning in the moment, staff carefully plan a whole host of activities related to the children’s interests, various cultural celebrations and Core Story Books.

The Core Book approach was introduced in September 2023. A range of carefully chosen children’s texts have been identified for each group of children to enjoy each term. The desired impact is to enable children as young as two to retell high quality texts from memory. The Core Book approach provides opportunities for role-play, speaking and listening, sharing and developing interpersonal skills. Children develop a love of books and reading. They also learn about story structure, preparing them for school. We have a wide variety of story sacks to go with each core book.

The curriculum is delivered with a balance of small and large groups, using a play-based approach. We plan a balance between children having time and space to engage in their own child-initiated activities and those that are planned by the adults to develop knowledge and skills. During children’s play, early years’ practitioners interact to stretch and challenge children further.

We pride ourselves on listening to children and those who care for them, using this information to personalise each child’s learning. Developing positive partnerships with parents and/or carers and other practitioners linked to supporting children in our Early Years.

The team also consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care and use this information to plan challenging and enjoyable experiences. Where a child may have a special educational need or disability, we discuss needs with our SENDCo and link with relevant services from other agencies, where appropriate. Staff follow guidance that has been offered to support children.

We recognise that children learn and develop well when there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers. Parents and/or carers are kept up to date with their child’s progress and development to provide a well-rounded picture of their child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities.

Each child is assigned a key person who helps to ensure that their learning and care is tailored to meet their needs. The key person supports parents and/or carers in guiding their child’s development at home. The key person also helps families to engage with more specialist support, if appropriate.

Observation, assessment and evaluation are planned for and used throughout the year to inform planning that allows the children to succeed in their next steps of learning and ensure that each child's differing needs are fully met. Ongoing assessment is based around observation and the recording of development and progress.

It is through this process that children will work towards achieving The Early Learning Goals; the level of development expected at the end of the EYFS.

Quality and consistency in teaching and learning enables every child to make good or better progress.