Learning and Development
Early Years Foundation Stage
Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Therefore our indoor and outdoor environment is carefully planned to ensure that we deliver the EYFS in a meaningful way for the children. This means that children will learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure the children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school life. (For futher information about the EYFS please visit parent information on the Early Years Foundation Stage on our website).
Forest School
At Southborough Pre-School we are privileged to have access to Southborough Schools’ woodland. As part of our continuing professional development ethos, one of our Pre-School managers, Melek, trained at the BEECHE Forest School, which means we are now part of the exciting new development for early years settings. She became a qualified forest school leader in 2014.
What is Forest School?
Forest school is a concept adapted from Scandinavian ‘Nature Nurseries’. The initiative was set up in this country to enable children to have regular access to high quality outdoor learning that is both fun and meaningful. Forest School has a philosophy of child-led learning, where the role of the adult is to observe and facilitate rather than lead the learning.
Aims
Forest school aims to improve confidence, self esteem and independence in children, improve language and social skills and develop healthy lifestyles, as we promote awareness and a respect for the natural world. This is achieved through regular visits to Forest School where children are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning, by giving them small, achievable tasks and the time, space and freedom to explore their own learning styles. Tasks and activities are repeated and revisited to consolidate learning and build confidence. Rules and routine are helped to make children feel comfortable and safe within the Forest School environment.
Benefits
Studies of nature nurseries in Sweden have shown that children are happier, have better social skills and co-ordination and are more able to concentrate than their peers who are placed in city based pre-schools. In addition they are also healthier and have 25% fewer sick days than city based children.
In the UK case studies have shown that children who attend Forest School are more open and mix more readily in a variety of situations. Quiet or introverted children are able to ‘come out of their shell’ and join in without the pressures they may experience in a classroom environment. Boys particularly benefit from the practical nature of Forest School, as they are working with ‘real’ things helping to improve their concentration and interest.
MATHS CHAMPIONS
We have recently completed the Maths Champion Programme. We now have a Maths Champion and a Deputy Maths Champion who have completed online training over the past year. This training will give all our team a deeper understanding of how young children learn maths. We will use this training as part of our continuous provision strongly embedding maths as part of our curriculum.
Research – shows that children’s mathematical learning in the early years makes a difference to their whole lives.
“Early Maths helps children make sense of the world, interpret situations, and solve problems.
Early maths skills are strongly linked toward a child’s mathematical achievement in primary and secondary school.”
Education Endowment Foundation
The Rainbow Drops Family
Supporting Children with Emotional Regulation
This is a project which we are involved in and use in the Pre-School. It has been rolled out in Bromley for Early Years settings that commit to training and then to using this approach as a whole setting. It enables adults to support children to develop crucial life skills that they will carry with them and build on throughout their lives.
What is self-regulation? – it is the ability to understand and manage your behaviour and your reactions to feelings and things happening around you.
How is this achieved at Southborough Pre-School through the Raindrops Family project?
- Consistency of language and understanding when supporting children to develop their early self-regulation skills.
- Use shared language and vocabulary for identifying emotions and developing self-regulation skills.
- Model self-regulation techniques using practical resources and activities.