The word curriculum refers to the combination of the experiences and resources we offer, along with the support that we provide for every child to enable them to progress. The seven areas of learning and development, which describe what children need to know, experience and be able to do, are the EYFS curriculum. We implement this with a mixture of child and adult led explorations and adventures, through fostering the Characteristics of Effective Learning; knowledge of each individual child; teaching and modelling; discussion and conversation; providing resources and experiences, etc.
Ofsted describe the curriculum as ‘aspirational. It is meticulously designed to meet the needs and interest of children, including those with SEND.’ (Ofsted, 2024) whilst the EYFS describes it as practitioners deciding ‘’what they want children in their setting to learn, and the most effective ways to teach it.’’ It says practitioners must ‘’consider the individual needs, interests, and development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all areas of learning and development. (DfE, 2021).
Our curriculum has a strong focus on the importance of ensuring that children have a deep, secure understanding of each concept or skill before moving on, rather than rushing them on to next steps.
Intent
- The Ganneys approach to learning and development is mainly child led. Within our key worker groups, adults notice what children are interested in, what they are doing well and identify and discuss their next steps.
- Teachers and key workers then work together to discuss which areas of learning, skills and opportunities can be offered. They will also use this an opportunity to identify any key vocabulary and high quality texts which may link, to provide opportunities to extend learning.
- Alongside this, adults plan learning experiences linked to celebrations or themes. These are identified as opportunities to extend children’s knowledge of the wider world and increase their cultural capital.
Implementation
- Each week, staff review the effectiveness of the continuous provision. This includes considering which areas of the indoor and outdoor environment are being used more/less and which/how resources within them are being used.
- The team will also consider any enhancements which can be added to further develop skills, knowledge and understanding.
Impact
- Essentially this is what we are doing to make a difference
- We gather information about our children in the following ways:
- Playing and talking with them
- Carrying out long observations
- Communicating with parents
- Using our 6 month milestone checkpoints
- The observations checkpoints contain information from a range of EYs resources and documents. They help us to check that children are progressing. This information, alongside our expert knowledge of the children and conversations with parents, help us to identify any children requiring additional support.