Our curriculum

Our curriculum is influenced by key approaches such as Reggio Emilia, The Curiosity Approach and Hygge (the Danish way of living well). We ensure open ended resources are readily available which allow children to express their ingenuity, creativity and imagination alongside setting up interactive displays and resources which link to children’s individual interests. Our indoor and outdoor learning environments are carefully curated to enable child-choice, independence and nurture an intrinsic love of learning. We follow Anna Ephgrave’s Planning in the Moment approach to planning and assessment of each child.

Today’s children are the leaders and decision makers of our future world and we believe it is vital that they learn about their role in the protection of our planet and each other. As such we strive to deliver a curriculum firmly rooted in respect, equality and fostering a love of the natural world.

Our vision is to provide excellent care and opportunities for children between 2 and 5 years of age in a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment which values each child as a unique being. We believe that core to children’s development potential is their well-being, mental health and self-esteem. Our vision is to keep the personal, social and emotional needs of each child at the heart of our curriculum by valuing the interests, experiences and strengths of each unique child. We value building strong, positive partnerships between staff, children, their families and the wider community where each voice is heard and respected.

We believe that children are capable, creative and inquisitive. We believe they innately seek to challenge themselves, solve problems they encounter and form connections with others. Children’s experiences during the first years of life impact their future success and we believe that it is our duty as educators to support children as they learn key skills which they will need in a rapidly evolving world. We strongly believe that children develop best when they have autonomy and choice to lead their own learning with the support of caring, skilled and dedicated staff.

At Graffham Nursery we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and its underlying principles of a unique child, positive relationships and enabling environments. We promote individual learning and development. Our curriculum provides opportunities for learning and development in all 7 areas of the EYFS framework:

PRIME AREAS:

Communication and Language
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development

SPECIFIC AREAS:

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design

We support an observe children’s development through child-initiated play and HOW they learn through the Characteristics of Effective Learning (playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically). Our planning process ensures the needs and interests of each individual child and supported). We have adopted the ‘planning in the moment’ practice for planning, observation and assessment.

Planning in The Moment

Developed by Anna Ephgrave, planning in the moment is a cyclic process of continuous observation, identification, teaching and assessment. For example:
An adult observes a child trying to write with a pen.
In that moment the adult identifies that the child has not pressed the button to expose the nib. Assessing what the child can do already.
The adult approaches the child and demonstrates pushing the button at the end of the pen in. The adult models language throughout and may demonstrate a couple of times. This is the teaching.
The adult allows the child to continue their play. The adult observes the child successfully push the button of the pen in. Assessing what the child has learned.