Curriculum

SEASHELLS

NURSERY

Community Centre

Albert Road

Eyemouth

TD14 5DE

Tel. 018907 52082

Email: seashellsnursery@hotmail.co.uk

www.seashellsnursery.jimdo.com

LAST UPDATED / REVIEWED ON	SIGNATURE
22^nd February 2017	Miriam Lindsay
25^th March 2020	Miriam Lindsay

This policy was adopted at a meeting of:

(Insert name of Early Learning and Childcare (ELCC) Setting) Seashells Nursery ELCC

On (date) 25^th March 2020

Signed M. Lindsay Designation Nursery Manager

Statement of Purpose

Within Seashells we recognise the importance and value of high quality early education and childcare. We are committed to providing a stimulating and challenging environment which will develop and broaden children's learning experiences, leaving them confident, eager, highly motivated and disposed to learn more. We aim to be responsive to each child's individual needs, including any additional support needs, and to build on the child's prior learning and natural curiosity.

In the design and delivery of the curriculum we will adhere to national guidance. As appropriate to the child's age and stage of development, our curriculum will be guided by:

Building the Ambition: National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare (Scottish Government 2014)

Pre-Birth to Three: Positive Outcomes for Scotland's Children and Families (Scottish Government 2010) and Curriculum for Excellence: early level (Scottish Government)

Throughout this guidance the term parents is used to include all main caregivers.

National Guidance

Pre-Birth to Three: Positive Outcomes for Scotland's Children and Families will inform our provision for our youngest children based on the key principles of:

Rights of the Children
Relationships
Responsive Care
Respect

We will be guided by Building the Ambition: National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare with regard to what babies and toddlers need, taking cognisance of its advice on experiences, adult input and environment.

For older children we will be guided by Curriculum for Excellence: early level. We embrace the values inscribed on the mace of the Scottish Parliament (wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity) which underpin Curriculum for Excellence.

Our aim is to nurture each child's capacity to become a:

Successful learner
Confident individual
Responsible citizen
Effective contributor

Our curriculum will provide experiences and opportunities to foster these capacities.

Curriculum planning will follow the design principles of:

Challenge and enjoyment
Breadth
Progression
Depth
Personalisation and Choice
Coherence
Relevance

Scottish Government has placed a particular emphasis on raising attainment and acquiring skills for work and employability in later life and we will look to these as we consider progression and relevance within our planning. (Raising Attainment for All Programme, June 2014. Developing the Young Workforce – Scotland's Youth Employment Strategy, December 2014).

Curriculum content will be driven by the experiences and outcomes for early level, described in Curriculum for Excellence, within the broad curriculum areas of:

Health and wellbeing
Languages
Mathematics
Social studies
Expressive arts
Religious and moral education
Sciences
Technologies

The principles and practice guidance within each of these curricular areas will support our understanding of subject importance, structure, progression, assessment and its relevance within the wider curriculum. We will use this guidance to inform our role in delivering the curriculum.

All children have a right to a broad general education and although our curriculum will be driven by children's needs and interests, we will ensure that they have access to a wide range of experiences across all curricular areas.

Scottish Government has identified health and wellbeing, literacy and numeracy as key areas of learning and development for all and we will ensure that opportunities to foster learning and skills in these areas permeate our curriculum and all aspects of the setting's life.

Seasonal activities and the celebration of festivals will form a backdrop to our planning as appropriate, rather than the key focus of learning, which will be dictated by children's needs and interests in conjunction with the guidance above.

We will also be guided by Building the Ambition: National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare with regard to what the young child needs, taking cognisance of its advice on experiences, adult input and environment.

Approaches to Learning

All children learn in different ways and we will employ a variety of approaches to learning and teaching. Our curriculum will be driven by children's needs and interests.

We will ensure active and experiential learning with a strong emphasis on learning through play. We take a holistic view of learning and will ensure coherence of curricular areas and experiences, focussing on their relevance for the child. This will involve planned, meaningful interdisciplinary learning experiences for children.

Co-operative learning and peer education strategies that allow for collaboration among children will be used to support and consolidate children’s learning. We will constantly revisit experiences and outcomes to consolidate and embed learning.

We will introduce cross-cutting themes as appropriate, ensuring rich, meaningful and challenging learning experiences for children.

Benchmarks have been developed to provide clarity on the national standards expected within each curriculum area at each level. They set out clear lines of progression in literacy and English, numeracy and mathematics, and across all other curriculum areas from Early to Fourth Levels (First to Fourth Levels in Modern Languages). Their purpose is to make clear what learners need to know and be able to do, to progress through the levels, and to support consistency in teachers’ and other practitioners’ professional judgements.

Skills development is integrated into the Benchmarks to support greater shared understanding. An understanding of skills and how well they are developing will enable learners to make links between their current learning and their future career options and employment.

Benchmarks draw together and streamline a wide range of previous assessment guidance (including significant aspects of learning, progression frameworks and annotated exemplars) into one key resource to support teachers’ and other practitioners’ professional judgement of children’s and young people’s progress across all curriculum areas.

Outdoor Learning provides rich opportunities for children to learn in exciting, absorbing, imaginative and meaningful ways. We will seek to make good use of these opportunities in and around the setting and further afield. Outdoor learning is an approach to learning that is integral to the curriculum. It takes place in a range of contexts such as the grounds of the setting, the local area and day trips. Its purposes include health and wellbeing; we will encourage investigation and exploration, physical activity, and personal and social development. HGIOELC

Learning Environment

The setting will provide a safe, stimulating indoor and outdoor environment, where children feel secure and confident to explore, to experiment, interact and take up new challenges in their learning and development. The learning environment will be stimulating and rich in opportunities that foster inquiry, communication and language development. We will be responsive to children's needs, interests and preferred approaches to learning.

Role of the Adult

Staff will provide nurturing and caring support for children's learning. They will observe and monitor children's learning and use this knowledge to plan for progression, intervening skilfully to support shared thinking and foster new learning. They will also use this information to help identify children with additional support needs and to develop individual programmes of learning and support as required.

Parents will be encouraged and supported to participate in their child's learning within the setting and in the home. We value their knowledge of the child's prior learning and their role as prime educator of the child.

Planning for Progress

We will identify and build on the child's prior learning. We will set out clear goals for children's learning and development which will be flexible enough to respond to the breadth of starting points indicated by the children themselves, or their parents.

Through observing, talking to and listening to children, staff will monitor and record individual children’s progress. The information gained will be used to ensure that children’s needs are being met and that they are being offered activities and experiences which are relevant and meaningful to them.

Individual profiles/records of the child’s development will be kept for each child. Children and their parents will be encouraged to contribute to the content along with the staff. The information contained in the file will be shared with parents informally during day to day activities, and formally at individual parents' meetings with a member of staff. These records are the property of the child and will be given to the child when they leave. Information will not be disclosed to any other person without the consent of parents.

Transitions

Transition times for the child (home to setting, within the setting, across settings and onward to primary school) can be times of great uncertainty and anxiety for them. We will handle these transitions sensitively and positively, being responsive to the individual child. We will ensure good lines of communication with child, parent and all colleagues involved to plan carefully for each transition, aiming to make it an exciting and positive experience that leaves the child feeling confident and secure. This may involve a variety of activities such as a series of visits in preparation for the transition or ensuring familiar activities and routines across settings.

The child's readiness to move on will be our prime concern rather than their chronological age. Transition programmes will effectively build on prior learning to support curriculum continuity and progression to meet the needs of all children.

In order to ensure a continuum of learning we will share information about the child's learning and development with relevant colleagues through meetings and transition records as appropriate. Curriculum for Excellence early level spans ELC settings into primary school. Transitions records will provide colleagues with meaningful and relevant information on the child's progress to date within this level. Parental permission for this will always be sought. Our overall approach to assessment will support effective transitions into, across and from our setting which enhance the learning process.

Monitoring of this Policy

It will be the responsibility of Miriam Lindsay, Nursery Manager to ensure that all staff, including new or temporary staff, are familiar with this policy and to monitor that it is being implemented. This will be achieved through both formal and informal observation of staff practice, staff review of curriculum plans and management review of all planning documentation and children's progress records. The quality indicators outlined in Child at the Centre: Self-evaluation in the early years (HMIE) will inform our monitoring practice.

Links to national policy:

Health and Social Care Standards 1.9, 1.25, 1.27, 1.30, 1.31, 1.32, 1.33-1.39?, 2.21, 2.22, 2.24, 2.27, 3.31, 3.5, 3.8, 3.9, 4.3, 4.11, 4.19, 4.23, 4.27.

https://www.gov.scot/Resource/0052/00520693.pdf

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00458455.pdf (Building the Ambition, Scottish Government 2014)

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/earlyyears/prebirthtothree/index.asp

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningandteaching/earlylearningandchildcare/curriculum/index.asp (Curriculum for Excellence, Scottish Government)

https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes.pdf

https://www.gov.scot/resource/doc/226155/0061245.pdf

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/earlylevelbenchmarksallareas_.pdf (Early Level Benchmarks)

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/Frameworks_SelfEvaluation/FRWK1_NIHeditSelf-evaluationHGIELC/HGIOELC020316Revised.pdf

Find out more:

https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/developing-the-education-profession/Early%20Learning%20and%20Childcare%20practitioners (Contains links to curriculum support materials, transitions, parental support, assessment)

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/Raisingeducationalattainment/RAFA

(Raising Attainment for All Programme)