Cathedral Nursery Class has four distinct learning areas:

LEARNING AREA 1: Snack, Baking, Loving Lunches, Home Area

LEARNING AREA 2: Creative, Sand, Water

LEARNING AREA 3: STEM, Block Play

LEARNING AREA 4: Outdoors (Garden, Building, Discovery, Creative)

Literacy and numeracy are incorporated throughout the playroom and there is also a dedicated reading area. Early Years Practitioners plan, organise, facilitate and support the children’s learning across the different areas in line with our overarching pedagogy (see below).

The overarching pedagogy (the way in which we plan, organise, facilitate and support learning) in Cathedral Nursery Class draws on the work of Julie Fisher (2016) and exploits all three of the main contexts in which children learn:

ADULT-LED LEARNING: practitioners focus children’s thinking
The adult has planned objectives/outcomes and stays with children whilst learning takes place.

ADULT-INITIATED LEARNING: practitioners ignite children’s thinking
The adult sets up a starting point, invitation, provocation or stimulus with planned intentions and then stands back to wait, watch and wonder. Children engage independently until the adult joins to observe, interact or enhance learning.

CHILD-LED LEARNING: practitioners follow children’s thinking
Resources, experiences and outcomes are freely chosen by the child and are under the control of the child. This may or may not involve direct interaction with the adult.