Curriculum

A curriculum is what children learn in the time that they are in setting. It must be based on the statutory early years foundation stage (EYFS), which gives a framework that can be built upon through the save areas of learning.
A curriculum sets out what a setting wants all children to learn and be able to do. Then you can plan and deliver activities, teaching and different ways to help secure children’s learning.

WE BELIEVE OUR CHILDREN SHOULD EXPERIENCE A BROAD AND BALANCED CURRICULUM

At the Lambs Christian school nursery we believe children should be exposed to a broad and balanced curriculum gained both within and outside the nursery. We very much believe in and do follow the interests of our children in order to ensure they are learning in a manner that is embedded in their interest. However we are very much aware that to provide a curriculum solely based on the interest of the child can lead to an extremely narrow educational experience. Thus we constantly strive to provide our children with an overflowing well of new experiences and opportunities to provide a launch pad for them to draw and develop their interests.

“The more experiences, opportunities and exposure we offer our children, the more varied the interests they can possibly develop.”

We were in total agreement when we read from the inspectorate research review “Best Start In Life”

“ The consequence of planning based purely on a child’s interest. Is that the curriculum begins to narrow for them at a very young a very young age” (Ofsted:2022)

We ensure that our children have new opportunities for learning and development in all the 7 areas of development. We also aim to be a bilingual setting, at the momentour children have started learning French. They partake in choir, drama dance and a weekly swimming lesson from age 4. Our children are being exposed to gardening and we look forward to a nursery pet joining ournursery family.

WE BELIEVE IN A HEALTHY BALANCE BETWEEN CHILD INITIATED PLAY AND DIRECT TEACHING

“Once practitioners have decided what they want all children in their setting to learn they need to consider the most effective way to teach it.” (OFSTED 2022:11)

There is a body of knowledge that children need to acquire, such as knowledge about ponds and rivers as demonstrated in the picture. The Webbs Garden Centre serves as a fantastic outdoor experience for acquiring this knowledge, however as wonderful as the experience was, explicit teaching was necessary for children to learn that the body of water next to them was a pond and how its feature differed from the nearby river.

WE BELIEVE IN THE OUTDOOR CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE AND ACQUISITION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

At the Lambs Christian school Nursery, play in enabling environments within and outside our Nursery premises is pivotal to what we believe and have done over the last 21 years. Our External classroom takes the form of curriculum and non- curriculum trips. At least half termly a trip is planned for by responsible and reflective practitioners who know by observation and assessment the learning needs of each unique child in our setting.

We believe the earth is a gift of God to humanity, to be enjoyed, explored and shared with all living things.

We have taken our children on local trips such as the local park, the markets in Bull Ring, Space Museums, Theatres, Restaurants, Museums, travelling to Scotland, Wales, Ireland, The Isle of Wight, Malta and Italy to name a few places. Parents are very much a part of the trips. You are welcome to come on all trips. For Residential trips a parent must accompany children under the age of 3 years old.

WE BELIEVE THAT TOGETHER WE CAN SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CHILDREN’S SELF REGULATION AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

“Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivalsand departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses.”

At The Lambs Christian school nursery we actively and intentionally support our children’s Executive Function through:

A long range view of our children’s character development.
Daily character developing devotion which provide opportunities to reflect, reject and project.
Meditation and prayer for ourselves and our character development.
Positive mindset development embracing and feeding a growth mindset.
Clear consistent routines.
Allocation of roles and responsibilities.
Clear group expectations for organisation ( once we finish playing with toys we tidy up.) enabling self – reflection and assessment.
Self – control techniques that develop an intrinsic desire to emulate characteristics of characters we have learnt about in our devotions.
We motivate our children through motivational mantras, devotions, a growth mindset and our reward systems.
Develop memory through memory games, memory verses, learning songs and mantras from memory as well as recalling poems and number facts for our older children.
Clear and consistent rewards and consequences to empower self – control. This is reinforced through our devotional journey with Biblical characters.
Clear and consistent rules regulating each aspect of our day.

We want our parents to work in partnership with us in order for us to work together to develop these life impacting skills in our children. In her article “How to Help Your Child to Develop the 7 Executive Functioning Skills” https://www.lifehack.org/ 66261/executive functioning-skills, Dr Battles writes that parents can support their children to develop these skills. Please follow the link and start to implement the strategies straight away.

WE BELIEVE IN PRAYER, MEDITATION, AND REFLECTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WHOLE CHILD

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. (Proverbs 22:6)

At the Lambs Christian School Nursery we are conscious of the benefits of mindfulness, the practice of prayer and meditation has been a vital part of our nursery day for the last 20 years. We see this as a time for children to develop from this inside out.

We have opportunities to reflect and apply lessons to our own character which provides a launching pad for self regulation.

Devotional times for reflection and meditation take place in the morning as children arrive and during circle time after lunch. We believe these times of prayer, meditation and reflection provide our children with the necessary fuel for character development and character growth.

CURRICULUM

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right.” Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, Department for Education 2021.

Statutory Framework

Our work within the Lambs Christian School Nursery is based on requirements set out in the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which came into force from 2024.

Our Intention
At the Lambs Christian School Day Nursery we intend to ensure each one of our beloved children have the best possible start in life enabling and empowering them to be the champions that God planned them to be before the foundation of the world!

We intend to provide our children with holistic learning experiences meeting the needs of the whole child: Spirit, soul(intellect and emotion) and body. At The Lambs Christian School Nursery we aim for our children to embark upon a learning journey bursting with exposure to new knowledge, new experiences, new skills and opportunities enabling our children to know more, understand more, remember more and do more.

Our Nursery follows the curriculum requirements as outlined in the latest version of the EYFS Statutory Framework 2021. We plan an exciting and challenging curriculum based on our observations of children’s needs, interests and stages of development across the seven areas of learning.

All seven areas of learning and development are important and interconnected. The prime areas of learning are:

Children are also supported through the four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

Implementing the Curriculum

A broad and balanced play based curriculum that provides our children with the extensive and far-reaching range of experiences, knowledge, skills and opportunities needed for outstanding progress through life encompassing the whole child: Spirit soul ( Intellect and Emotion) and body.
Quality and consistency in learning experiences in order for our children to know and understand more, remember more and do more so that every child makes Holistic Potential Achieving progress in every possible area. We believe all gaps can be closed and full potential achieved.
A LIVING PARTNERSHIP between staff and parents and/or carers based upon a shared understanding of and vision for our children. – We believe parents are their child’s specialist. Working together we achieve the best for our children.
Every child is included and supported through equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
A combination of child led and adult led play.
Exposure to new experiences through regular trips.

Inviting a range of professionals into nursery such as doctors, lawyers, firemen, dentists and nurses to name a few, the children recently watched as a carpenter made a door from scratch.
Showing, explaining and demonstrating new experiences, skills and knowledge.
Exploring through dialogic reading where we explore new topics and experiences.
Intentionally communicate and model language for our children.
The provision of an enabling environment with a range of new experiences indoors, outdoors and beyond our setting.
We plan taking account of the characteristics of effective learning.
Research tells us that your child learns in a specific way. We provide your child opportunities to maximise their learning based on a framework of effective learning.
We believe enabling environments provide children with exciting new opportunities, skills, knowledge and unforgettable experiences.

In order to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for our children we use aspects of:

Cornerstones Curriculum Maestro Nursery curriculum
Jolly Phonics
The Accelerated Christian Education Curriculum
Power Maths