Play is the Foundation
Our Curriculum is creative and promotes exploration, discovery, creativity, questioning, and problem solving. We have a wonderful school site which provides opportunities for indoor and outdoor learning. Our children become invested in their own learning through taking part in challenges and activities which inspire them and of course where they have fun.
The Early Years Foundation Stage framework focuses on three prime areas and four specific areas of learning.
Prime Areas:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This area is made up of:
1. Self Regulation, where children begin to show an understanding of their own feelings and the feelings of those around them and begin to regulate their behaviour accordingly.
2. Managing self, where children can develop the confidence to try new activities and be given opportunities to show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenges, it is also where we support children in understanding right from wrong and managing their own basic hygiene and personal needs.
Communication and Language
We support children with the development of their listening, attention, understanding and speaking. This is more than just teaching children how to speak and listen. We support them develop the ability to listen attentively and make relevant comments and actions in different situations. We help children learn how to hold conversations with both their peers and adults. Children are given opportunities to participate in discussions, using their own ideas and playing around with different vocabulary. The start to learn how to offer explanations and express their ideas and feelings about their experiences.
Physical Development
This area focuses on the gross and fine motor skills children develop. When developing and growing their growth motor skills, children are given opportunities to negotiate space and obstacles, they demonstrate strength, balance and coordinator and move in different energetic ways. When developing their fine motor skills, they are working towards holding a pencil correctly in preparation for writing. They use a range of small tools, including scissors, knives and forks, tweezers and paintbrushes and they begin to show some accuracy when drawing.
Specific Areas
Literacy
Literacy is made up of Comprehension, Word Reading and Writing. We support children develop an understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and sharing ideas about different stories. We teach children to read using Systematic Synthetic Phonics, where children first learn the 42 sounds of the English language, not letter names. They will then begin to learn how to blend these sounds together and read simple words and phrases. We support children with their writing by encouraging them to be creative and use different materials to build up their fine motor skills, we then begin to write recognisable letters and start to spell words correctly, by identifying the sounds in them.
Mathematics
Mathematics is so much more than teaching children how to count. We have a big focus on understanding number where we do not rush the children through their numbers but instead give them opportunities to develop a deep understanding of numbers and what they mean. Mathematics is taught in a way that means something to the child so they have the required, deep routed foundations and are ready to move on to the KS1 Mathematics curriculum.
Understanding the World
Understanding the world has a focus on exploration and asking questions. We look at events that have happened in the past and present, we delve into different cultures and learn about and celebrate different communities and people and we encourage children to want to know more about these topics. We support them in exploring their environment and they begin to understand similarities and differences between the world around them and contrasting environments.
Music and Drama
There are very few moments in the week where the school is quiet, every day, in every classroom there will be some sort of music celebrated. Whether it be the children creating their own music or appreciated and listening to the music of someone else. Children have opportunities to explore making their own music using different instruments, they sing songs from all over the world and in Reception they begin to learn about how rhythm and beat can change music. Drama is an integral part of learning here at Peponi House Kabete Kindergarten, from first imaginative role play, to school assemblies, to school performances and plays, we support the children develop their confidence and help them feel comfortable expressing themselves in front of others.
