Woodlands Curriculum

OUR CURRICULUM & PEDAGOGY

At Woodlands Nursery, we offer a play-based in the moment  curriculum which supports the overall well-being and development of all our children and is aligned with the four overarching principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

A Unique Child

Positive Relationships

Enabling Environments

Learning and Development

We promote uniqueness, and while we can be guided by an understanding of some general patterns of child development, progression is uneven and unfolds differently for each individual child. Our excellent early years professionals have a wealth of experience and knowledge of child development and support children to make the best outcomes.

We have a named Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) who has a breadth of experience working with children who have additional education needs. She helps and guides our early years professionals to provide an inclusive environment and adapt our practices to ensure all children have access to high quality early years provision. 

Children’s wellbeing is our upmost priority. We know that children need to feel safe and secure to be in the best place to absorb all the learning opportunities on offer. Our early years professionals are key people to a group of children. They spend valuable time getting to know their key children and their families which helps secure nurturing bonds. This comes in many forms including a friendly smile on arrival and a listening ear if things get tough.

We promote respectful relationships with open communication about care practices such as nappy changing and nose wiping. We respond to children’s actions and label them to help children understand the meaning behind the word. We support them to understand empathy by role modelling and offering a nurturing space. Our early years professionals understand that children have large emotions and these emotions can be displayed in a number of ways. We see that all behaviour is a way of communication.

 We proactively plan for each child’s learning. Our environment is purposeful to inspire children to practice skills they already know and develop skills they have not yet learned. We invest time in observing children and finding out their interests. Starting with in the moment  planning, this  enables us to create a suitably challenging curriculum and allows many opportunities for children to build on what they have previously learned.