Curriculum
At Grace Neighbourhood Nursery we are passionate about providing high quality care and education for all children. High quality care leads directly to better outcomes for our children and all the staff are committed to providing children with the best possible start in life and enable them to reach their full potential.
Children are given plenty of opportunities to make choices in their play, which encourages independence, problem solving, negotiating and risk taking skills. Every Child is unique and adults make room for this in their planning. We provide a learning environment both indoor and outdoor so that Children have fun, learn through their play, are challenged, supported and questioned by staff.
Children are supported to engage in free flow play through self – initiated experiences. Our environment is divided into curriculum areas that support active learning. Experiences are planned around children’s interests and key person knowledge of each child’s next steps. There are seven areas of learning and development around the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) that practitioners use to plan Child-Led or Adult- Led activities. When children leave to move onto school, they are confident, assured children who are well prepared and ready for the challenges school has to offer them.
Our staff have a diverse range of experience and knowledge that they bring into the setting and are continuously developing their skills and knowledge.
We hold 2 open days a year where parents can come in and experience a typical day at Nursery and meet with their child’s Key Person to discuss their progress.
New EYFS Reforms: Parent and Carer Information Sheet Click Here
To understand more about the EYFS, please click here:
Observations
We use an on-line learning journal called Tapestry to record children’s development and plan future activities in line with the EYFS. This will enable us to work more efficiently with our Parents as partners. Each observation we make will be done directly onto a mobile app and linked into your child’s personal profile. These observations can include notes, photographs, videos and they can be enhanced by comments from you as Parents. You will be able to view the complete set of observations as a learning journey, flipping through your child’s observation pages, in time-order, or filtering in flexible ways to access your favourite records, and bookmark your favourites for quick access.
Inclusion
We are committed to the inclusion of all children at our nursery. We ensure all children are cared for and educated to develop to their full potential alongside their peers through positive experiences. We enable them to share opportunities and experiences and develop and learn from each other. We provide a positive and welcoming environment where children are supported according to their individual needs and we work hard to ensure no child is discriminated against or put at a disadvantage as a consequence of their needs. Each child’s needs are unique and we do not attempt to categorise children.
We are committed to working in partnership with parents in order to meet each child’s individual needs and develop to their full potential. We are committed to working with any child who has a special educational need and/or disability and making reasonable adjustments to enable every child to make full use of the nursery’s facilities. All children have a right to a broad and well-balanced early learning environment.
We undertake a Progress Check of all children at age two in accordance with the Code of Practice and statutory framework for the EYFS to support early identification of needs.
We will also undertake the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) assessment for any children that remain with us in the final term of the year in which they turn five, as per the statutory framework for the EYFS.
We will work closely with the child’s parents and any relevant professionals if we identify any areas where a child’s progress is less than expected to establish if any additional action is required. This may include:
- Liaising with any professional agencies
- Reading any reports that have been prepared
- Attending any review meetings with the local authority and other professionals
- Observing each child’s development and assessing such observations regularly to monitor progress.
All new children will be given a full settling in period when joining the nursery according to their individual needs.
Safeguarding
Our Nursery is dedicated to the support, development and promotion of high-quality care and education for the benefit of our children, families and community. We are committed to safeguarding children and promoting their welfare through building a safer organisational culture.
All staff, students and volunteers have a responsibility for safeguarding children, being vigilant and identifying and reporting any safeguarding concerns, in line with this and other supporting policies.
We ensure all staff, students and volunteers have the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out their duties and are confident to implement these policy and procedures on an ongoing basis to support them in promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children. This is achieved through recruitment and induction processes and by offering ongoing training and support to all staff, appropriate to their specific role, in line with the criteria set out in Annex C of the EYFS.
At Grace Neighbourhood Nursery we work with children, parents, external agencies and the community to ensure the safety and welfare of all the children and to give them the best possible start in life. Children have the right to be treated with respect, be helped to thrive and to be safe from any kind of abuse. We support the children within our care, protect them from maltreatment and have robust procedures in place to prevent the impairment of children’s health and development. In our Nursery we strive to protect children from the risk of radicalisation and we promote acceptance and tolerance of other beliefs and cultures. Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility.
The welfare of any child is of paramount importance.
All children, whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity, have the right to protection from abuse.
All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately.
All staff (paid/unpaid) working with children and young people in Grace Neighbourhood Nursery have a responsibility to report concerns to the Manager or Designated Person.
Aims and objectives
Some of our aims are:
- To Keep the child at the centre of all we do, providing sensitive interactions that develop and build children’s well-being, confidence and resilience. We will support children to develop an awareness of how to keep themselves safe, healthy and develop positive relationships.
- Be aware of the increased vulnerability of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), isolated families and vulnerabilities in families, including the additional potential impact of the trio of vulnerabilities on children and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s).
- Ensure that all staff feel confident and supported to act in the best interest of the child, maintaining professional curiosity around welfare of children, sharing information, and seeking help that a child may need at the earliest opportunity.
- Ensure parents are fully aware of our safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures when they register with the nursery and are kept informed of all updates when they occur.
- Ensure that staff identify, minimise and manage risks while caring for children.
The DSL (Designated safeguarding Lead) has overall responsibility for Safeguarding children and child protection policy and procedures. It is their role to ensure that the policy and procedures are implemented to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. They are responsible for coordinating safeguarding and child protection training for staff across the organisation.
Designated Persons for the Nursery are:
Linda Osiyemi –Designated safeguarding Lead
Funmi Taiwo – Deputy Designated safeguarding Lead
The full details of our Nursery policies can be viewed by our Parents in the Nursery and a Parent handbook is given to all Parents who use the Nursery.