Intent

At Greenleas School we offer a curriculum rich in wonder and memorable experiences. We work hard to provide a stimulating environment that provides exciting opportunities, promotes challenge, exploration, adventure and a real love of learning. It is our intent that all children develop physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally in an environment which values all cultures, communities and people. We believe that without happy, secure children they will not be ready to learn.

At Greenleas we strive to provide an Early Years environment which allows children to believe in themselves to become happy, resilient and confident learners.  We believe that the environment is the additional teacher which provides children with opportunities to practice and explore whilst applying their new learning and develop their own natural curiosity about the world around them.

We believe that the correct mix of adult directed and uninterrupted child-initiated play ensures the best outcomes for pupils. Warm and positive relationships between staff and children, consistent routines and strong relationships with parents are key.

We aim to foster a lifelong love of learning and ensure that the children are equipped with the skills and knowledge to successfully transition through early years and into year 1. We strive to provide a rich early years curriculum which prepares them with the necessary skills to become lifelong learners.

Greenleas Pre-school is a spacious and cosy nursery within a school community, with access to a large outdoor area. Our children are a young cohort who come from diverse and multilingual homes. The children are active and curious who thrive on play-based learning.  In line with the school curriculum, we offer a mixture of adult and child-led activities, we focus on communication and language through role-play and exposure to books to progress to talk for writing.  We also use outdoor play to further develop children’s understanding of the world, alongside their physical development.

Implementation

At Greenleas School we meet the welfare requirements laid down in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and actively safeguard and promote the welfare of all of our children. Our early years curriculum has been devised to ensure the prime areas are secure before moving onto other areas. We create a ‘language rich’ environment through the use of songs, nursery rhymes, high quality stories and providing time for quality interactions between adults and between peers.  Our curriculum has been sequenced to ensure children have the necessary knowledge and skills for the next stage in their learning. In each age range the curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of the individual and is focused on the pupil’s interests.

For our youngest children in preschool, the curriculum focuses on those prime areas and fundamental skills such as social skills, independence, communication and language and gross motor control.

In Nursery, children have daily Talk for Writing, early reading, and maths sessions through structured adult led sessions. The rest of the children’s learning comes through their play and planned for opportunities to expose children to experiences which widen their knowledge.

In Reception, children have daily Talk for Writing, Bug Club phonics, helicopter stories and Numbersense sessions. They are also taught through play the necessary knowledge they need to access the Year1 curriculum which have been planned and sequenced through the school’s knowledge organisers.

All planning however, is flexible and responsive to children’s needs so plans can be changed and adapted dependent on children’s interests. We aim to provide all children to achieve by adapting our provision to meet their individual needs.

Transition points are well planned for to ensure the right support is put in place prior to the child joining Greenleas or moving up. This incorporates meetings with previous settings, parent meetings, home visits and settling in sessions.

Impact

When children start their journey at Greenleas, baseline assessments take place, in collaboration with parents and any previous settings, to identify children’s starting points. From this information, children’s next steps are planned for and incorporated into the continuous provision or adult led planning.

As part of the learning and teaching process, children are assessed in relation to their progress towards the Early Learning Goals and their developmental milestones. These judgements are made on the basis of accumulative observations and in depth knowledge of the children acquired through ongoing assessment. These ongoing assessments are used to inform planning and next steps in teaching and learning for all children throughout the year.

Each half term pupil progress meetings take place where individual children’s progress and attainment is discussed to ensure we are best meeting their individual needs. Where appropriate additional support is put in place to support progress.

Children transition to the next stage of their learning happily and with the desired knowledge and skills.