We learn through play..!
Health & Wellbeing
In the first few years of life, children acquire social and emotional skills, such as regulating their emotions, developing an ability to understand them and to develop a positive self-image. At Denend staff model positive behaviours by showing warmth and respect for each child, and through giving praise and recognition to each child as an individual.
Whilst children are getting to know the world around them, they are full of questions and observations. Staff encourage children to share their ideas, thoughts, feelings and experiences during interactions and through their play. This gives staff the opportunity to build trusting and nurturing relationships with children, giving them a sense of reassurance and emotional safety.
We promote children’s wellbeing by providing healthy snacks and lunches, with fruit being available throughout each session. We encourage positive discussions around food so that children can learn by example and are encouraged to make healthy food choices.
Languages
Speech, language, and communication skills are crucial to children’s overall development. Being able to communicate, understand others and express their ideas with others are important building blocks for children’s development. Denend staff encourage and support all children to express their wants and needs with effective communication through a variety of activities and interactions. All staff consistently follow and nurture children’s play and interests in a responsive and safe environment, with time to explore and develop new skills through activities such as reading stories, sharing books, singing, and talking games. These first-hand experiences allow all children to foster independent skills. They start to ask questions, demonstrating good listening skills as their language skills strengthen. Staff ensure all children feel valued as they respond to the child by commenting and rephrasing what has been said. This gives children the opportunity to revisit their learning and builds confidence.
Numeracy
We aim to provide all children with a numeracy rich environment giving children lots of opportunities to play with maths concepts in their everyday play. Children participate in tabletop games, thereby practising their turn taking and listening skills. Activities such as play dough and powder paints are available for children to explore, investigate and recreate their ideas.
At snack and lunch times, the concepts of shape, size, quantity, and length are discussed and encouraged by all staff. Children experience this for example by cutting sandwiches, pouring milk/water and counting the number of people at the table before setting the table. Opportunities are provided throughout the nursery environment for children to experiment with puzzles, patterns, shapes and numbers. Rhymes and music activities also encourage children to develop early number skills.
Expressive Arts
Our nursery aims to provide a high-quality learning environment that promotes all children’s creativity and imagination. Children are supported to explore and experience a rich range of materials, media, music, stories, technology and design, with staff being actively responsive to children’s differing needs and interests. Play experiences, such as mark making, encourage children’s curious nature as they manipulate a variety of items to create and design. Malleable materials are provided for children to explore their senses, to discover cause and effect and develop problem solving skills.
Expressive arts provide a wide breadth of creative areas, such as listening and responding to music, singing, dancing, performing, experimenting with colour mixing and different textures, creating models and engaging in role play. Staff ensure all children are provided with the opportunities to develop their interests and to grow in confidence as they explore who they are, as staff nurture and scaffold their learning and curious natures.
We encourage children to express themselves through play as they explore new ideas and different ways to self-express, learn new emotions and experiment with role play scenarios. Role play experiences give children the sense of security as they work through their emotions, learning to self -regulate how they are feeling in a safe and nurturing environment.
Social Subjects
In our nursery we welcome and embrace all children and their families and we learn about each child’s preferences, interests, background and culture with a respectful attitude. Children are encouraged and supported to respect and include their peers. Staff provide activities that foster positive social interactions, nurturing all children to grow independently, to celebrate their similarities and differences and what makes them unique. Staff role model positive behaviours supporting children’s social interaction skills with play experiences that encourage children to play cooperatively, to share their space and work together to keep themselves and others safe. Play opportunities such as using technology encourages children to lead their learning as they find out about the world around them. Resources, clothing and books from different cultures and backgrounds are provided to encourage children to share their own home life experiences.
Science
In our nursery we introduce children to scientific play through activities that encourage them to explore, problem solve, observe, predict, think, make their own decisions, and talk about the world around them. Children are natural scientists – they explore physical, natural, and social science in their everyday life experiences! Staff encourage children to direct their own learning as we scaffold and build on their ideas, being responsive to their curious nature and questions. Children are encouraged to learn and investigate the world around them with opportunities to explore creatures, people, plants, and objects in their everyday play.
Science encourages children to learn about themselves and increase their confidence as they begin to understand their own bodies and their functions. We provide play experiences that helps children to use their senses within their natural environment both indoors and outdoors. Children are encouraged to ask questions about why things happen and how things work, with relevant activities that help children to communicate their ideas, to investigate, record and evaluate their findings.
Religious and Moral Education
Our staff support and encourage children to develop an understanding of different beliefs and how others may think or see something differently. We respond to children’s questions in a caring and nurturing manner; we demonstrate good listening and provide quiet calm spaces so all children are given the opportunity to have their voice heard. Staff provide learning activities to support social and communication skills with time to play and learn to make sense of their world around them. Children have opportunities to explore stories, images, music, and poems as they become familiar with the beliefs of the world and other religions.
Technologies
Staff provide support and encouragement for children to learn about and with technology. They aim to provide activities that are relevant to children’s individual interests and learning needs as they scaffold and nurture children’s skills. Interactions with technology supports children’s fine motor skills and dexterity as they learn to press buttons and letters, dragging and swiping items from the smartboard. Interactive games support letter, number, and shape recognition providing children with new learning opportunities as they manipulate the keyboard, mouse or using their fingers across the smartboard. Their hand-eye co-ordination, writing, reading, colour knowledge and problem-solving skills are developing
Children are encouraged and supported to recognise and understand that technology is used at places such as their home, shops, and environment and what their particular purpose is for. During our environmental walks we encourage children to discuss what they see and how things might work.
