At Country Garden Day Nursery we follow the Early Learning Goals known as the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).  Each term we base our activities on different topics covering each of the seven areas of learning and development;

Prime areas

• Communication and language; includes listening and attention, understanding and speaking
• Physical development; involves moving and handling, health and safe-care
• Personal, social and emotional development; self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behaviour and making relationships

Specific areas

• Language and literacy; reading and writing
• Mathematics; numbers, problem-solving, shape, space and measures
• Understanding the World which includes people and communities, the World and technology
• Expressive arts and design involves exploring and using media and materials, being imaginative

We provide opportunities for children to make maximum progress towards the seven learning outcomes. Play gives children the opportunity to learn through experience and is reinforced through adult interaction. It is important there is a combination of children-led and adult-led activities in both groups and individually to develop a child's level of concentration and sense of perseverance.

Communication and Language

We nurture development dependent on the readiness and capability of each individual child, progressively entitling them to;

• listen attentively and talk about their experiences
• use a growing vocabulary, increasing their fluency to express thoughts and convey meaning
• listen and respond to stories, songs, nursery rhymes and poems
• make up their own stories, taking part in role-play with confidence
• learn that words and pictures carry meaning and that, in English, print is read from  left to right and from top to bottom
• associate sounds with patterns in rhymes, with syllables and with words and letters
• recognise their own names and some familiar words
• recognise letters of the alphabet by shape and sound
• write symbols, familiar words and letters to communicate meaning, showing awareness of some of the different purposes of writing and using pictures in creative writing
• write their names with appropriate use of upper and lower case letters

Physical Development

We offer the children a wide-range of activities to develop their gross motor skills. Having large gardens and play areas allows all the children to have ample space to enjoy interacting with others and giving every child time to learn awareness of other people's space. We encourage all the children to;

• move confidently and imaginatively with increasing control and co-ordination, having an awareness of space and others
• use a range of small and large equipment, balancing and climbing apparatus with increasing skills
• handle appropriate tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely, with increasing control

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

This may be the first time your child has spent time away from home, consequently we ensure your child takes their first steps towards independence in a caring and secure environment. As they get older we introduce topis such as friendship, healthy living, safety, personal development (emotional and physical), respect for self, others and the environment. We ensure;

• children are confident, show appropriate self-respect and are able to establish effective relationships with other children and with adults
• your child works as part of a group, however can independently work alone but is able to seek help when needed
• they are eager to explore new learning and show the ability to initiate ideas, solving simple practical problems
• your child can demonstrate independence in selecting an activity or resource
• a child can demonstrate independence in dressing and personal hygiene
• all children are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others and show respect for people of other cultures and beliefs
• every child takes turns and shares fairly
• every child can express their feelings, behaving in appropriate ways, developing an understanding of what is right, what is wrong and why
• children treat living things, property and their own environment with care and concern
• all children respond to relevant cultural and religious events, showing a range of feelings such as wonder, joy or sorrow in response to their experience of the World

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Quality provision at Country Garden encourages children to pose their own problems with a range of possible solutions.  Our flexible resources create more mathematical opportunities, prompting children to choose shapes according to their properties and to explore different combinations and arrangements. We encourage your child to;

• use mathematical language, such as circle, in front of, bigger than and more, to describe shape position, size and quantity
• recognise and recreate patterns
• be familiar with number rhymes, songs, stories and counting games and activities
• compare, sort, match, order, sequence and count using everyday objects
• recognise and use numbers to 10 and are familiar with larger numbers from their everyday lives
• begin to use their developing mathematical understanding to solve practical problems
• understand and record numbers, showing awareness of number operations, such as addition and subtraction, using the language involved

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

This area of learning encompasses geography, history, science, design and technology and information technology.  We aim to stimulate the children's curiosity about their surroundings and give them practical experience to increase their understanding. We give the children an opportunity to;

• talk about where they live, their own environment, their families and past and present events in their own lives
• explore and recognise features of living things, objects and events in the natural and made World, looking closely at similarities, differences, patterns and change
• show an awareness of the purpose of some features of the area in which they live
• talk about their observations, sometimes recording them and asking questions to gain information about why things happen and how things work
• explore and select materials and equipment, using skills such as cutting, joining, folding and building for a variety of purposes

Expressive Arts and Design

We encourage all children to explore, experiment and investigate a variety of materials, techniques, sounds, music, actions, movement, performing, improvisation and imaginative play. We ensure every child is given the full opportunity to;

• explore sound and colour, texture, shape, form and space in two and three dimensions
• respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel
• through art, music, dance, stories and imaginative play, show an increasing ability to use their imagination, to listen and to observe
• use a widening range of materials, suitable tools, instruments and other resources to express ideas and to communicate their feelings