Quality of Spaces p20 – Quality, safety and maintenance of spaces

Our physical environment, whether offered indoors or outdoors, is welcoming, fully meets children’s needs, and is well equipped. It gives a strong message to children that they matter. We make the best use of available resources to create, sustain and enhance a motivating physical environment. As a result, children experience high-quality care and learning centred on their needs and interests.

We recognise the importance of daily outdoor play and the benefits of this for enhancing learning and wellbeing. We support, facilitate and encourage children to explore and build independence. Children are supported to actively explore and learn about the wider world.

 

Quality of Spaces p22 – Children Influence and Affect Change

Through outdoor play, children are learning about sustainability, gaining a deeper understanding of how to care for and preserve their natural environment.

 

Playing, Learning & Developing p27 – Children’s Engagement

We have a strong understanding of how children develop, learn and progress. Our staff skilfully use relevant theory and practice to support their delivery of high-quality play experiences that excite and engage children as they learn. Children are successful, responsible and confident in their play as a result of the high-quality experiences we offer. They are highly motivated and fully engaged by the range of rich, challenging, planned and responsive experiences both indoors and outdoors.

 

Playing, Learning & Developing p28 – Quality of interactions

We enable children to play and learn at their own pace, having fun as they explore the world around them.

Careful observation allows us to interpret children’s interests and provide opportunities to extend their thinking without directing their play. We use a variety of approaches to respond to children’s cues to support development of self-regulation, empathy, confidence, creativity and curiosity.

We support children through approaches such as sustained shared thinking, wondering aloud and balancing comments with developmentally appropriate questions to extend and expand their thinking. We understand that interacting and exploring with children is a valuable way to build vocabulary and foster understanding, and a sense of wonder and excitement about the world.

p31

How well do we support and encourage children’s natural curiosity, creativity and problem solving?

How do we approach support for children to develop their thinking and problem solving skills?

 

Curriculum p33 – Curriculum rationale and design

Outdoor learning is a valued and embedded part of our curriculum design. It offers rich opportunities for inquiry, exploration and wellbeing, and is planned progressively to support children’s development and learning across curricular areas.

 

Curriculum p36 – Skills for Life and Learning

We provide very good opportunities to support the development of children’s skills for life and learning. This includes a knowledge and understanding of the world in which they live and grow. Children develop these skills through a broad range of experiences within motivating and relevant contexts.

p37

In what ways does our curriculum foster creativity, enterprise, outdoor learning and learning for sustainability?

 

Learning, Teaching & Assessment p39 – Children’s Learning and Engagement

We make very effective use of indoors, outdoors and the local community to provide high quality, real-life experiences. Our children are motivated and sustain engagement as they interact purposefully with a rich range of challenging and open-ended opportunities across the curriculum. We are highly effective in using the environment to support children’s learning. Children explore, experiment, and develop curiosity and creativity through a wide range of high-quality resources and spaces.