See how we approach the curriculum.
We aim for our school to be a place of possibilities. A place where children and childhood are honoured, their ideas and abilities valued. We aim to motivate, inspire and challenge children in their learning, to create a space where fascination, creativity and endless possibilities for learning are at the core of what we do.
We believe that when teaching and learning is relevant, challenging and inspiring, children will develop a true passion for learning. This passion will encompass and support every aspect of growth – physical, social, emotional, intellectual and moral.
We believe that when a child has the freedom to explore the world around them and share memorable experiences with their peers and highly trained practitioners, learning becomes joyful and long-lasting.
Our Curriculum is based on 3 interconnecting worlds: my world, the world around me and the world beyond.
Our highly trained staff will use these worlds as a starting point for engaging children in learning across all seven areas of learning as outlined in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
The implementation of our curriculum is based on a clear pedagogy which recognises the following key principles:
(DFE, Statutory Framework the Early Years Foundation stage, 2017)
These characteristics explain how young children learn.
Relevant learning experiences that are engaging and interactive that facilitate challenging and sustained learning. Learning is defined as the progress in one or more of the following areas:
For learning to flourish children need rich opportunities that promote engagement, challenge, inspiration and fascination, for example working collaboratively to build a bridge across a stream.
For children’s thinking to flourish, practitioners need to know the child and establish secure relationships. It is once such secure relationships are established that practitioners can tune into children’s thinking. The use of thinking language can facilitate the means for children to reflect on their learning this includes: open ended questions, running commentaries, pondering and repeating children’s language back to them to highlight their thinking.
We value these teaching strategies which are underpinned by a knowledge of child development and warm, trusting relationships.
Observe to Understand
Open ended questions to promote thoughtfulness.
Benign Neglect
Model and Guide
The environment as the third educator
Children’s’ learning will be closely monitored in close collaboration with parents to ensure that all children are supported to reach significant milestones for their age. (OPAL)
Cultural Capital: The essential skills and knowledge that children need to be successful.
Learning within a place of possibilities, children will be nurtured. Their individual interests and talents will be valued and developed.
As a result, children’s well-being will be high. They will have a belief in themselves and their abilities. They will know that they are loved, that they are strong, capable and unique. They will have resilience and the perseverance to keep on trying when things are challenging.
They will have the confidence to try new things, to take risks and be physically active. Children will know how to communicate their ideas, beliefs and feelings, choosing different ways to do this. Some children will choose to dance, others to build or draw or sing. They will have experienced and remembered a wide range of words through stories, rhymes and poems. They will have the skills to make friends and will show kindness to others. They will know how to look after themselves, their friends, their school and the environment.
They will know about important mathematical and scientific concepts. They will have an understanding and respect of the world around them and the world beyond. They will have a desire to learn and be ready for their next stage in education.
As a Federation of Nursery schools, we feel a responsibility to develop a model of effective, meaningful and principled assessment of young children’s learning.
Observing children in the early years should not be a chore. We decided to stand up to the increasing demands for ‘paperwork’ and ‘evidence’ with the aim of giving ourselves time. Time to spend interacting and playing with our children, not testing them. We have written three blog posts about how we are making observation and assessment more meaningful for both children and adults.
Let’s bring back the joy of observing children in the Early Years
Part One: OPAL – A different way to look at assessment in the early years.
Part Two: OPAL – How it works in practice
Part Three: OPAL – Thoughts from practitioners
BEYA is working hard to build a culture of collaboration beyond our three schools and Children’s Centre. We believe we have developed a truly wonderful Observation of Play and Learning (OPAL) assessment tool that the Early Years Sector can benefit from and that we would like to share.
For further information please email opal@beya.org.uk