Early Years Foundation Stage

First Class Childcare Centres ~

Scheme of Work

At First Class Childcare Centres we provide the children with a balanced coherent and flexible approach to care and learning, based on play and following the Early Years Foundation Stage.

We ensure parents are confident that their child will receive a quality experience that supports their development and learning. The EYFS is based upon understanding each child and their family as unique, with different needs and concerns. We oppose discrimination and prejudice and welcome all families and children. We provide care and education for a wide range of children in environments that enable children to feel safe and supported and which extend their learning and development.

The principles which guide our work are grouped into four themes.

A Unique Child - Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

Positive Relationships - Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.

Enabling Environments - The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children's development and learning.

Learning & Development - Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of learning and development are equally important and interconnected.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Children are provided with experiences and support which will help them to develop a positive sense of themselves and others, respect for others, social skills, and a positive disposition to learn.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development is made up of the following aspects;
Disposition and Attitudes - children become interested, excited and motivated about their learning.
Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem - children have a sense of their own values, and understand the need for sensitivity to significant events in their own and other people's lives.
Making Relationships - is about the importance of children forming good relationships with others and working along side others.
Behaviour and Self-Control - children develop a growing understanding of what is right and wrong and why, together with learning about the impact of their words and actions.
Self-Care - children gain a sense of self-respect and concern for their own personal hygiene and care, and how to develop their own independence.
Sense of Community - children understand and respect their own needs, views, cultures and beliefs and those of others.

In nursery Personal, Social and Emotional Development is promoted in the following ways;

 Providing varied and stimulating play opportunities
 Role play
 Parental involvement
 Sensory experiences, including soft lighting, music, pleasant smells and tactile resources
 Encourage children to make decisions
 Encourage children to talk about themselves and their families as well as the community in which they live.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

Children are supported in developing knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Their learning is supported through offering opportunities for them to use a range of tools safely; encounter creatures, people, plants and objects in their natural environments and in real-life situations; undertake practical 'experiments' and work with a range of materials.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World is made up of the following aspects;
Exploring and Investigation - children investigate objects and materials and their properties, learn about change and patterns, similarities and differences, and question how and why things work.
Designing and Making - children learn about the construction process and the tools and techniques that can be used to assemble materials creatively and safely.
ICT - children learn how to use appropriate information and technology such as computers and programmable toys that support their learning.
Time - children find out about past and present events relevant to their own lives or those of their families.
Place - children become aware of the natural world, and find out about their local area, knowing what they like and dislike about it.
Communities - children begin to know about their own and other cultures in order to understand and celebrate the similarities and differences between them in a diverse society.

In nursery Knowledge and Understanding of the World will be promoted in the following ways;

 Positive role models
 Books and resources
 Computers
 Trips and visitors
 Celebrating and sharing significant events such as birthdays, Christmas etc...
 Time and space to explore

Creative Development

Children are supported through curiosity, exploration and play. They are given opportunities to explore, share thoughts, ideas and feelings, for example through a variety of art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role-play activities, mathematics, and design and technology.

Creative Development is made up of the following aspects;

Being Creative Responding to Experiences, Expressing and Communicating Ideas - children respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch or feel, as a result of these encounters, they express and communicate their own ideas, thoughts and feelings.
Exploring Media and Materials - children are supported or guided to a wide range of media and materials, finding out about, thinking about and working with colour, texture, shape, space, and form in two and three dimensions.
Creating Music and Dance - children are supported or guided to explore sound, movement and music. Focusing on how sounds can be made and changed and how sounds can be recognised and repeated from a pattern, it includes ways of exploring movement, matching movements to music and singing simple songs from memory.
Developing Imagination and Imaginative Play - children are supported to develop and build their imaginations through stories, role-plays, imaginative play, dance, music, design, and art.

In nursery Creative Development will be promoted in the following ways;

 Music
 Dance
 Drama
 Puppets
 Art and craft
 Small world
 Heuristic play
 Malleable experiences such as sand, water, clay and gloop
 Role play

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

Children are supported in developing their understanding of Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn and practice and talk about their developing understanding. They are provided with opportunities to practice these skills and to gain confidence and competence in their use.

Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy is made up of the following aspects;

Numbers as Labels and for Counting - children gradually know and use numbers and counting in play, and eventually recognise and use numbers reliably, to develop mathematical ideas and to solve problems.
Calculating - children develop an awareness of the relationship between numbers and amounts, they know that numbers can be combined and can be separated.
Shape, Space and Measures - through talking about shapes and quantities, and developing appropriate vocabulary, children use their knowledge to develop ideas and to solve mathematical problems.

In nursery Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy will be promoted in the following ways;

 Counting
 Singing
 Days of the Week / Months of the Year
 Shape Sorters
 Language such as big and small, heavy and light
 Jigsaws
 Questioning
 Sorting by type, size, colour etc....

Communication, Language and Literacy

We provide a wide range of opportunities and encouragement for children to use their skills in a range of situations and for a range of purposes; we support their development, confidence and disposition to do so.

Communication, Language and Literacy is made up of the following aspects;

Language for Communication - learning to listen and speak emerges out of non-verbal communication, which includes facial expressions, eye contact and hand gestures. These skills develop as children interact with others, listen to and use language, extend their vocabulary and experience stories, poems and rhymes.
Language for Thinking - children learn to use language to imagine and recreate roles and experiences. They use speech to clarify their thinking and ideas or to refer to events they have observed or are curious about.
Linking Sounds and Letters - children develop the ability to distinguish between sounds and become familiar with rhyme, rhythm and alliteration. They develop understanding of the correspondence between spoken and written sounds.
Reading - children understand and enjoy stories, books and rhymes, recognising that print carries meaning, both fiction and fact, and reading a range of familiar words and simple sentences.
Writing - children build an understanding of the relationship between the spoken and written word, through making marks, drawings and personal writing and attempting to write for various purposes.
Handwriting - the ways in which children?s random marks, lines and drawings develop and form the basis of recognisable letters.

In nursery Communication, Language and Literacy will be promoted in the following ways;
 Talking
 Singing
 Story telling
 Tiny Talk (Baby Signing)
 Listening
 Acknowledging and responding to sounds made by the babies and young children and also within their environment
 Providing a wide range of writing implements in all areas within a room

Physical Development

The physical development of babies and young children will be encouraged through opportunities for them to be active and interactive and to improve their skills of co-ordination, control, manipulation and movement. They will be supported in using all of their senses to learn about the world around them and to make connections between new information and what they already know. They will be supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food.

Physical Development is made up of the following aspects: -

Movement and Space - children learn to move with confidence, imagination and safety, with an awareness of space, themselves and others.
Health and Bodily Awareness - children learn the importance of keeping healthy and the factors that contribute to maintaining their health.
Using Equipment and Materials - children use a range of small and large equipment. We encourage them to handle tools, objects, construction and malleable materials safely and with increasing control.

In nursery Physical Development will be promoted in the following ways;

 Encourage crawling, hiding and peeping
 Provide non-specific materials such as boxes and blankets
 Encourage babies to gradually share control of the bottle
 Provide a comfortable, accessible sleeping/ rest area
 Provide and encourage opportunities for children to feed themselves
 Offer choices for potty training i.e. potties, small toilets and steps
 Offer well balanced and nutritious meals
 Dance
 Outdoor play/ fresh air
 Space
 Climbing and balancing apparatus, bikes/ trikes
 Gluing and sticking