Little Rainbows aims to create an environment where all children in our care can attain their maximum potential emotionally, physically and mentally. Individual records of each child’s achievements and a personal learning journey is developed and maintained by their key person. This will show their progress and identify next step milestones. Parents and carers are actively encouraged to contribute to the learning journeys by bringing in pictures and making a record of special times at home
We are aware of the importance of providing the correct play / learning environment and therefore provide a balance of adult and child led activities which will stimulate children and encourage them to use their imaginations. We aim to develop good social skills and an appreciation of today’s multi cultural society. Planning of learning experiences is designed where possible to be practical and provide an equal opportunity for all children.
Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS)
The EYFS has been created by the Department for Education and Skills and encompasses learning and development for all children from birth until the end of the reception class at school. The framework overlays the characteristics of a unique child, Positive relationships and enabling environments with 3 Prime and 4 specific areas of learning and development. Here is a brief description of each of the areas and what they mean to us at Little Rainbows
A Unique Child
A unique child is based on the belief that babies and young children are competent learners from birth; they are resilient, confident, capable and self-assured. They need to understand that it is good to be themselves and that they are perfect the way they are regardless of ability or disability. To do this they need to be secure within loving relationships at home and within the nurturing care of their key person in their early years setting.
Positive Relationships
Through being with people who love them at home, and through their key persons who care for them in the nursery, babies and young children will build and enjoy positive relationships with both their peers and adults. They will make friendships where they will learn about other people, communicating and sharing their feelings and experiences. They will learn they have a voice, that they are listened to and responded to in a way that supports their understanding and search for meaning, helping them to learn the skills they will need for communicating with others.
Enabling Environments
The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s learning and development. Little Rainbows provides an environment where children are actively involved in exploring their environment. Our provision offers babies and young children the opportunity to take part in planned and spontaneous activities that will help them to make connections with what they already know and build new understandings to help them form more complex ideas about the world. They will have opportunity to be imaginative and creative; to express their ideas and represent them. Babies and young children will have their needs for good nutrition, play and rest met so that their growth and development are assured. We provide an environment that protects children from harm and abuse; we minimise risk to children, but at the same time provide a safe structure in which they can learn to take their own risks, such as climbing or riding a bike. We provide boundaries within which they learn about being with others in a social group.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This area of children’s development covers:
- Creating a positive approach to learning and finding out about the world around them
- Having confidence in themselves and their ability to do things, and valuing their own achievements
- Enabling children to get on, work and make friendships with other people, both children and adults
- Becoming aware of, and being able to keep-to-the-rules which we all need to help us to look after ourselves, other people and our environment
- Enabling children to dress and undress themselves, and look after their personal hygiene needs
- The ability to expect to have their ways of doing things respected and to respect other people’s ways of doing things.
Communication and Language
This area of children’s development covers:
- Being able to use conversation with one other person, in small groups and in large groups to talk with and listen to others
- Adding to their vocabulary by learning the meaning of – and being able to use – new words
- Enabling children being able to use words to describe their experiences
- Actively listening to – and talking about – stories
- Knowing how to handle books and that they can be a source of stories and information
- Understanding and knowing the purposes for which we use writing; and making their own attempts at writing.
Physical development
This area of children’s development covers:
- Gaining control over the large movements that they can make with their arms, legs and bodies, so that they can run, jump, hop, skip, roll, climb, balance and lift
- Gaining control over the small movements they can make with their arms, wrists and hands, so that they can pick up and use objects, tools and materials
- and learning about the importance of – and how to look after – their bodies.
Expressive Arts and Design
This area of children’s development covers:
- The use of paint, materials, music, dance, words, stories and role-play to express their ideas and feelings and becoming interested in the way that paint, materials, music, dance, words, stories and role-play can be used to express ideas and feelings.
- Play helps young children to learn and develop through doing and talking, which research has shown to be the means by which young children think.
Our setting uses the stepping stones leading to the early learning goals to plan and provide a range of play activities which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and development. In some of these activities children decide how they will use the activity and, in others, an adult takes the lead in helping the children to take part in the activity. In all activities information from the stepping stones and the early learning goals has been used to decide what equipment to provide and how to provide it.
Mathematical Development
This area of children’s development covers:
- Introducing ideas about how many, how much, how far and how big
- Looking at patterns, the shape of objects and parts of objects, and the amount of space taken up by objects
- Understanding that numbers help us to answer questions about how many, how much, how far and how big
- Exploring ideas about how to use counting to find out how many
- and being introduced to finding the result of adding more or taking away from the amount we already have.
Understanding of the World
This area of children’s development covers:
- Exploring the natural world and how it works
- Finding out about the made world and how it works
- Learning how to choose – and use – the right tool for a task
- Gain an understanding of computers, how to use them and what they can help us to do
- Introducing ideas about past and present and the links between them
- Beginning to learn about their locality and its special features
- and Exploring their own culture and cultures of others.
Literacy
- Understanding the sounds and letters that make up the words we use
- Using books and media to expand knowledge and understanding of the written word
- Beginning to form letters and numbers and understand their significance
Our Nursery has been designed to allow maximum involvement and freedom of movement for the children. Our approach encourages children of all ages to mix and family groups to benefit from special times together as they would in a home environment.