How children learn and we teach

Jump to:

1. The Early Years Foundation Stage
2. What children learn
3. How we plan
4. How we teach
5. Curriculum plan for this term
6. Each child has a Key Person
7. Special Books
8. Extra support if children need it
9. Finding out how your child is doing
10. Words to build confidence

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The Early Years Foundation Stage

We teach the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS), but we also teach more than that. We want children to become emotionally resilient lifelong learners. We help them to do this by tending their skills, knowledge, and learning habits.

• Learn more about the 'why' of our teaching by reading Why children flourish at FANS.
• Read more about the 'how', the 'why' and the 'what' by reading our Curriculum and pedagogy page.

The EYFS is the National Curriculum for young children. The EYFS starts when children are 3, and goes on until the end of their first year of primary school. It is has seven areas of learning. The three prime areas are:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Language and Communication
• Physical Development

These feed into four specific areas:

• Understanding the world
• Mathematical Development, Literacy
• Expressive Arts and Design

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What children learn

Each EYFS area of learning has a number of early learning goals. We aim to do our bit so that children can meet these goals by the end of their reception year. Our curricular goals are what we hope children will be able to do by the time they leave us.

Development Matters is the 2021 government guidance for how to teach the EYFS. Our curricular goals are based on Development Matters. They are the joint efforts of a few maintained nursery schools. Our key partners are Sheringham Nursery School and Barnet Early Years Alliance. We are always working to improve them.

This is some of what a typical 3-year-old can do when they leave our 2-year-old settings:

• I have some favourite stories
• I enjoy the company of other children
• I can manage my body on low-level climbing equipment
• I explore construction kits.

This is some of what a typical 4-year-old can do when they leave us for primary school:

• I can share my stories with others.
• I can negotiate with my friends to resolve issues, bouncing back from challenging situations.
• I can use big climbing equipment confidently while managing risks independently and safely.
• I can make a model out of self-selected resources.
• I can write two or more letters from my name.
• I can follow a recipe.
• I can make a family tree, talking about my family.
• I can create music, dances, or songs independently.

This is some of what a typical non-speaking child does to tell us their thoughts and ideas:

• I can turn my head towards the book or action happening.
• I can make noises to demonstrate pleasure.
• I can stim to show my excitement; my stims may vary and be different to other children’s.
• I might stim to help soothe myself. I get used to a routine and this helps me to understand what is going to happen next and this helps me settle.  I demonstrate this to adults and children I know well with smiles, noises and affection. 
• When I feel safe and I’m not over stimulated I can play alongside others well. I let you know in a number of ways when I do not feel safe or I am over stimulated.  It then helps me if you recognise when I am getting over stimulated and distract me in a quieter space.
• I might need support to manage risks and recognise danger, but the more I explore with support the more confident I will feel.

For children with SEND, we often use SMART goals to track how they are changing. SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. We have regular meetings with the parents of these children. We talk about their progress in all areas at these meetings.

All children are different

Some children take longer to start to get these skills, knowledge, and learning habits. They might need extra support.

Some do more, and work at greater depth.

We teach all children from where they start. They make progress from where they begin.

Our curricular goals let us track how the children are changing.

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How  we   plan

At the start of each term, the teaching team makes the curriculum plans for each week of the term. They map these plans against the seven areas of the EYFS. These plans show the framework of teaching for that term. They include the curricular goals, celebrations, and books. They also highlight special projects that we need to plan.

 

We also display them in school:

• at Low Hall: next to the staff room door
• at Church Hill: next to the garden door

Each week, the team meets to discuss what the children have been doing. They plan how to teach that week’s curricular goals in a way that supports and stretches the children.

How we teach

• Child-initiated learning: the children have independent, 'free-flow' use of the equipment, activities and space. This allows them to explore their own interests. They can also nourish their natural love of learning. They build resilience by taking child-sized risks.
• Adult-led learning: the staff devise particular activities to extend each child's learning and support their needs.The staff invite and encourage the children to join these activities. The teaching team introduce new skills and techniques. They ask open questions to encourage the children to think and talk about what they are doing. They help the children to find answers.

Curricular Goals and pedagogy page tells you more about why we teach this way.

These are some other important things about our teaching:

• Forest School learning: both schools have special Forest School areas and an accredited Forest School teacher. Once a week the teacher takes a small group for a Forest School Class. All children have a block of 6, weekly visits during their time with us.
• Snack time learning: our snack table is open for most of each session. It is a horse-shoe shaped table. An adult sits in the middle, modelling mindful eating. Children go wash their hands, then sit down to have a snack. With the grown up's support, the children practise turn taking, sharing, maths (counting, adding, subtracting, dividing....), literacy (names of things and colours...). They also have a healthy snack.
• Outside: there are always at least two members of staff working with the children outdoors.

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Each child has a Key Person

Each child in the nursery has one special member of staff, their Key Person. The Key Person does specific things to take care of your child and you. If you are friends with a member of staff, your friend will not be your child's Key Person. Our Assistant Head, Lindsay, matches children with Key People.

These are some of the things a Key Person does:

• Talks through the All About Me form with you. This helps us get to know your child fast.
• Helps your child to settle in.
• You talk to them if you have any concerns or questions about your child.
• Learns about your child from other members of staff. Shares what they know about your child with them. This way, everyone can help your child move on in their learning.
• Plans for your child’s progress.
• Makes their Special Book.
• Oversees your child’s transition to infant or primary school.

Your child’s Key Person is very important. But all staff take care of all the children. Your child will get to know and feel safe with most of the teaching team, if not all of them. If you need to talk to someone, but you can't find your child’s Key Person, talk to another member of staff. They will help you.

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Special Books

Staff spend time with your child. They talk, watch them, and work with them. They take photos (with permission), and make notes on what they do. All these 'observations' are evidence of how your child is progressing towards the Curricular Goals.

The Key Person puts these observations in a child's Special Book. We keep these on open shelves in the school. Please add to these books. We want them to show your child’s development outside as well as inside school.

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Extra support if children need it 

If the team thinks a child might have additional needs, their Key Person will begin a conversation with you. We will try to work out how we can all support your child. This is a collaboration between school and home. We always consult parents before we seek support from outside agencies and support services.

You can find the details of organisations and ideas you might find useful on our Get Help page.

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Finding out how your child is doing

Learning in school goes hand in hand with learning outside school. We want to communicate with parents and carers as much as possible. We also want our staff to spend as much of their time as possible helping the children learn.

Day to day, or week to week:

• At any point you can ask to speak to your child’s Key Person at the end of the session
• If this isn’t an option for you, you can email your child’s Key Person, or arrange a catch-up by phone. Ask in the school office for their email address.
• Ask to see your child's Special Book, and contribute to it, so that we can collaborate.

In the autumn and summer terms we invite you to meet with your child’s Key Person.

Age two and a half...

At two and a half, and 6 weeks after joining the school, the Key Person writes the statutory two-year-old check of the Prime Areas of the EYFS.

The Key Person shows this to the Executive Headteacher, then shares it with you. We ask you to add your thoughts to it. If there are concerns about a child's development, we share this with the SENDCo. She will work with you to put further support in place. We may share what we are doing and why with your child's health visitor. We might also share it with other experts, like speech and language therapists and educational psychologists.

After the first six weeks in the 3-year-old group...

Six weeks after joining the 3-year-old group, your child's Key Person fills in an on-entry assessment. This is shared with you. If there are concerns about how a child is settling or their language, we share this with the SENDCo. She will work with you to put in any support a child eeds.

Once a term in the 2-year-old and 3-year-old Special Books and Curricular Goals booklet...

• A collection of your child's drawings
• A Tales Toolkit story (three-year-olds only)
• Two observations a month which show things that interest your child and that they are very engaged in. Photographs to show your child's process. One observation might show a child-initiated play situation, the other a Curricular Goal. We record these on observation stickers.

The Key Person assesses which stage your child is at for each Curricular Goal. This information helps the team plan for your child's next steps. It is also recorded on a spreadsheet so that the school leaders know how different groups are progressing.

And the end of the term, we email you a breakdown of your child's Curricular Goals progress.

As your child  leaves nursery to go to primary school...

We ask your child what they think about their Special Book. We ask you what you think about your child's learning and progress. We write all this down in the Curricular Goals booklet, next to the record of your child's achievement.

We pass your child's Curricular Goals booklet on to their primary school. This helps the primary school to plan for your child's transition.

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Words to build confidence

This is taken from: Nicola Call, The Thinking Child Resource Book: Brain-based learning for the early years foundation stage (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010)

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