The Curriculum
Core Curriculum Information Spring Term 2
We are continuing to review and update our core curriculum offer for our children. Each half term we will share with you the themes that we will be focussing on as part of our teaching. These are based on areas of learning and topics that we feel will support the development of your children’s knowledge. Alongside these themes, staff are tuned into your children’s interests and will tailor learning and activities to them to maximise opportunities. We hope that by sharing this information with you, you will be able to know more about what they are doing in school. More detail can be found on Tapestry. Some ways that you might use this information are:- Reading or talking about some traditional stories at home- focus from last half term
- Noticing when something is bigger/ smaller/ taller/ shorter
- Looking for the focus shape (square and rectangle this half term) at home and when you’re out and about
- Practising the nursery rhymes
- Counting out four crisps objects, looking for number four on the TV remote and in your home etc.
- Looking for opportunities to talk to your children when someone is caring or shows patience
- Encouraging your children to use the words in the vocabulary section
- Looking for signs of spring. For example daffodils, crocus flowers, lambs etc
We know that many of your children can count and recognise numbers beyond four. Research shows that helping children to have a deeper knowledge of number is vital for future learning so there is no rush to move on.
Core Curriculum Information Spring Term 1
We have been working on developing our core curriculum offer for our children. Each half term we will share with you the themes that we will be focussing on as part of our teaching. These are based on areas of learning and topics that we feel will support the development of your children’s knowledge. Alongside these themes, staff are tuned into your children’s interests and will tailor learning and activities to them to maximise opportunities.
We hope that by sharing this information with you, you will be able to know more about what they are doing in school. More detail can be found on Tapestry.
Some ways that you might use this information are:
We know that many of your children can count and recognise numbers beyond three. Research shows that helping children to have a deeper knowledge of number is vital for future learning so there is no rush to move on.
Core Curriculum Information Autumn 2
We have been working on developing our core curriculum offer for our children. Each half term we will share with you the themes that we will be focussing on as part of our teaching. These are based on areas of learning and topics that we feel will support the development of your children’s knowledge. Alongside these themes, staff are tuned into your children’s interests and will tailor learning and activities to them to maximise opportunities. We hope that by sharing this information with you, you will be able to know more about what they are doing in school. More detail can be found on Tapestry. Some ways that you might use this information are:We know that many of your children can count and recognise numbers beyond two. Research shows that helping children to have a deeper knowledge of number is vital for future learning so there is no rush to move on.
This will be represented in the environment through:
- Key vocabulary displayed in all classes, appropriate to the stage of development for the children. Categorised into anchor, Goldilocks and step on
- Nursery rhymes displayed in the reading area with visuals, puppets/ masks. Allocate a display at child height for this. Split the board into 6 and add to it across the term. Change it each term
- Our Reading Journey display to add key texts onto the road map over the year
- Book areas reflect the topic and interests for the half term. E.G books around families for this half term
Planning and Assessment Documents
At Ganneys Meadow, we welcome all children and their families and pride ourselves on working together to enthuse and support them to reach their goals. Our ‘whole child’ focus targets are based on the Characteristics of Effective Learning and will provide children with the skills that they need to access all future learning and prepare them for life beyond our school.Core Curriculum Information Summer 2
We have been working on developing our core curriculum offer for our children. Each half term we will share with you the themes that we will be focussing on as part of our teaching. These are based on areas of learning and topics that we feel will support the development of your children’s knowledge. Alongside these themes, staff are tuned into your children’s interests and will tailor learning and activities to them to maximise opportunities. We hope that by sharing this information with you, you will be able to know more about what they are doing in school. More detail can be found on Tapestry. Some ways that you might use this information are:- Reading or talking about animals and pets. These may include information book ( non- fiction) and or fiction books- stories about animals or pets
- Looking for the 2D shapes at home and when you’re out and about. Please look for circle, triangles and squares.
- Practising the nursery rhymes
- Counting out different amounts of objects from a group. Please focus on numbers up to five first
- Looking for opportunities to talk to your children about being kind. Noticing this and commenting. Celebrating teamwork and talking to them about being kind to animals
- Encouraging your children to use the words in the step on section when they’re ready
Planning and Assessment Documents
At Ganneys Meadow, we welcome all children and their families and pride ourselves on working together to enthuse and support them to reach their goals. Our ‘whole child’ focus targets are based on the Characteristics of Effective Learning and will provide children with the skills that they need to access all future learning and prepare them for life beyond our school.
Core Curriculum Information Summer 1
We have been working on developing our core curriculum offer for our children. Each half term we will share with you the themes that we will be focussing on as part of our teaching. These are based on areas of learning and topics that we feel will support the development of your children’s knowledge. Alongside these themes, staff are tuned into your children’s interests and will tailor learning and activities to them to maximise opportunities. We hope that by sharing this information with you, you will be able to know more about what they are doing in school. More detail can be found on Tapestry. Some ways that you might use this information are:We know that many of your children can count and recognise numbers beyond five. Research shows that helping children to have a deeper knowledge of number is vital for future learning so there is no rush to move on.
Core Curriculum Information Autumn 1
We have been working on developing our core curriculum offer for our children. Each half term we will share with you the themes that we will be focussing on as part of our teaching. These are based on areas of learning and topics that we feel will support the development of your children’s knowledge. Alongside these themes, staff are tuned into your children’s interests and will tailor learning and activities to them to maximise opportunities. We hope that by sharing this information with you, you will be able to know more about what they are doing in school. More detail can be found on Tapestry. Some ways that you might use this information are:Children from birth to five have their own Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. This curriculum offers children the opportunity to learn through a wide range of fun, practical experiences were children can observe, explore, discover and communicate in both the indoor and outdoor learning environments.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) has many aspects to it. Below are the four key principles that underpin our EYFS approach at Ganneys Meadow School and Family Centre.
A Unique Child
Every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.Positive Relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.Enabling Environments
The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.Learning and Development
Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and Development are equally important and inter-connected. The seven areas of learning and development are:Prime Areas
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
- Communication and Language(CL)
- Physical Development (PD)
Specific Areas
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
The word curriculum refers to the combination of the experiences and resources we offer, along with the support that we provide for every child to enable them to progress. The seven areas of learning and development, which describe what children need to know, experience and be able to do, are the EYFS curriculum. We implement this with a mixture of child and adult led explorations and adventures, through fostering the Characteristics of Effective Learning; knowledge of each individual child; teaching and modelling; discussion and conversation; providing resources and experiences, etc.
Ofsted describe the curriculum as ‘aspirational. It is meticulously designed to meet the needs and interest of children, including those with SEND.’ (Ofsted, 2024) whilst the EYFS describes it as practitioners deciding ‘’what they want children in their setting to learn, and the most effective ways to teach it.’’ It says practitioners must ‘’consider the individual needs, interests, and development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all areas of learning and development. (DfE, 2021).
Our curriculum has a strong focus on the importance of ensuring that children have a deep, secure understanding of each concept or skill before moving on, rather than rushing them on to next steps.
Intent
- The Ganneys approach to learning and development is mainly child led. Within our key worker groups, adults notice what children are interested in, what they are doing well and identify and discuss their next steps.
- Teachers and key workers then work together to discuss which areas of learning, skills and opportunities can be offered. They will also use this an opportunity to identify any key vocabulary and high quality texts which may link, to provide opportunities to extend learning.
- Alongside this, adults plan learning experiences linked to celebrations or themes. These are identified as opportunities to extend children’s knowledge of the wider world and increase their cultural capital.
Implementation
Impact
- Essentially this is what we are doing to make a difference
- We gather information about our children in the following ways:
- Playing and talking with them
- Carrying out long observations
- Communicating with parents
- Using our 6 month milestone checkpoints
- The observations checkpoints contain information from a range of EYs resources and documents. They help us to check that children are progressing. This information, alongside our expert knowledge of the children and conversations with parents, help us to identify any children requiring additional support.
