A Curriculum of Wonder
Curriculum Statement
Every child's early years are the beginning of a very special story
Our practitioners are there to notice those sparks. We watch. We listen. We wonder alongside the children. In everything we do, our curriculum reflects our belief that learning should be curious, challenging, independent, fun, and respectful, preparing children not just for school, but for life.
Growing together
We believe every child arrives with their own little spark of curiosity - a fascination with dinosaurs, a love of stories, a fascination with puddles, a tower they desperately want to build, or a question that simply cannot wait until tomorrow.
Sparking curiosity
Rooted in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), our curriculum comes alive through the things children love most: play, stories, friendships, adventures, questions, and moments of discovery.
Big adventures
Our curriculum is the magical thread that weaves through each child’s day - inviting them to wonder, explore, imagine, discover, and grow. It is thoughtfully shaped around what we want children to learn, experience, and become as they take their first steps into the wider world.
Where wonder begins
Discoverers (0-2 years)
Personal, social & emotional development
Making relationships
• The environment will be welcoming, calm and caring and the day will be predictable enough to give us the sense of security we need but flexible to meet our individual care routines to enable us to enjoy the company of our key personnel and friends.
• We will show our readiness to be social through using our sensory abilities by the following movements and gazing at faces intently as well as responding to what our key person is paying attention to. We will begin to share interest and attention by looking where an adult is looking.
• We will watch, follow and imitate each other in play and will start to build relationships with special people and explore our environment but will be wary of unfamiliar people and will want to stay close to our caregivers.
• We will begin to be interested in others’ play and start to play together.
• We will begin to have our own ideas and preferences and take notice of other people’s responses.
Sense of self
• We will have lots of physical interaction with our key person to enable us to become aware of ourselves and eventually have increased awareness of our own name and find body parts such as; the eyes, nose or tummy.
• Our sense of self will grow and we will start to make choices and decisions as well as emphasise our likes and dislikes.
• We will show emerging independence through asserting choices and preferences such as different tastes and we will reject things we don’t want.
• We will show growing self-confidence through playing freely with involvement.
• We will be aware and interested in our own and others’ physical characteristics, pointing to and naming features such as noses, hair and eyes.
• We will begin to learn that different actions have consequences.
Understanding emotions
• We will communicate a range of emotions and begin to become aware of them through our key person responding to these appropriately.
• We will seek physical and emotional comfort by snuggling into trusted adults.
• We will become more able to adapt our behaviour and increase our participation and cooperation as we become familiar with and anticipate routine.
• We will explore boundaries and become aware of basic rules.
• We will become aware of others’ feelings and begin to show empathy and start to share with our peers and as we get older we will show concerns and offer comfort.
Explorers (2-3 years)
Personal, social & emotional development
Sense of self
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We will begin to know our names, our preferences and interests, our likes and dislikes and be able to make choices and decisions. We will also learn that our actions have consequences but not always the one’s we’d hoped for.
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We will gain a sense of belonging by helping key persons with daily tasks as part of our routine and through these tasks, our self-confidence and self-esteem will flourish.
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Our key persons will promote independence and encourage us to articulate our wants and needs.
Making relationships
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Once we have gained more confidence we will build relationships with special people and share experiences with them and gradually become more able to separate from our parent/carer to explore the environment.
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We will gain an understanding that other people have different needs and want from our own.
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We will start to share our experiences with others and may start to play with a familiar friend with similar interests.
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We will form positive relationships and share our experiences and play ideas, develop different points of view and recognise the impact of our choices.
Understanding emotions
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We will begin to think about our feelings and manage our emotions and will start to express these through interactions with others as well as responding to the feelings of others, showing concern and offering comfort.
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The practitioners will apply rules consistently in a fair and flexible way which will enable us to begin participating within boundaries and following routines.
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We will recognise that some actions can hurt or harm others and begin to stop ourselves from doing something we shouldn’t. We will also begin to express a wide range of feelings through our interactions with others.
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We will talk about and express how we are feeling and show understanding of other people’s needs and wants as well as being able to recognise the impact of our choices and behaviours.
Inventors (3+ years)
Personal, social & emotional development
Making relationships
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We will form positive relationships and share our experiences and play ideas, develop different points of views and recognise the impact of our choices. As we get older we will start taking into account others’ opinions.
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We may start to develop particular friendships with our peers and say why they are our friend.
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We will be taught about rules and routines and learn how to follow these and as we get older we will remember these rules and know why it is important to follow them.
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We will independently engage in a range of different play opportunities, be able to play on our own or as part of a group and we will begin to negotiate with our peers to resolve conflicts.
Sense of self
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Our key persons will promote independence and encourage us to articulate our wants and needs and be involved with daily tasks as part of our routine and through these tasks, our self-confidence and self-esteem will flourish.
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We will become more aware of similarities and differences between ourselves and others and be able to describe ourselves in positive terms and talk about the things we’re good at. As well as learning that as peers, we belong to different groups within our communities, and as we get older, we will be able to talk in detail about these groups.
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We will show confidence in the activities we choose and have a clear idea about what we’d like to achieve from these activities and how we’d like to achieve it. We will also begin to gain the confidence we need to ask for help and support.
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We will be able to talk freely about our home life, our likes and dislikes and personal experiences. As well as recognising and accepting that our peers have different opinions and ideas than ourselves.
Understanding emotions
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We will talk about and express how we are feeling and show understanding of other people’s needs and wants as well as being able to recognise the impact of our choices and behaviours.
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We will develop a sense of fairness and be able to explain when and why something isn’t fair.
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We will begin to be able to manage our feelings and regulate our emotions especially when our wishes aren’t being met and when we are calm we will begin to be able to give explanations for our feelings.
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We will begin to take steps to resolve conflicts with our friends using our social skills and negotiating and we will become more flexible and understanding of other peers’ needs and wants.
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We will show empathy towards our peers and offer help and support when they need it.