Early Years Education and care are the most important moments in every child’s life. These are the foundations on which every child's future experience and learning are built upon. At the Nishkam Nursery, we aim to ensure that all children from birth up to five years have access to a high standard of play, spiritual development, education and care. Stimulation activities, opportunities and experiences will be provided for the child according to the age and appropriateness.
Early Years Foundation stage
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework builds a coherent and flexible approach to care and learning. The Nishkam Nursery will use the EYFS to ensure parents can be confident that their child will receive a quality experience that supports their development and learning.
Children from the age of birth to five years will use the guidance of the Early Years Foundation Stage for planning activities, opportunities and experiences having seven areas of learning:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Our curriculum is play based with high emphasis on free-play and free-flow, and during the day there will be opportunities for problem solving, making choice, exploration, physical play, imaginative play and developing confidence and independence. The themes and weekly activity plans will be on display in each base room.
British Values
Our nursery curriculum is underpinned by our core values (see SACRE Dispositions in Appendix). The curriculum is the means by which the nursery achieves its objective of educating and caring for children in the knowledge, skills and understanding that they need in order to lead fulfilling lives
We value:
- The way in which all children are unique, and our curriculum promotes respect for the views of each individual child, as well as for people of all cultures.
- The spiritual and moral development of each person, as well as their intellectual and physical growth.
- The importance of each person in our community. We organise our curriculum so that we promote co-operation and understanding between all members of our community and within our community.
- The rights enjoyed by each person in our society. We respect each child in our nursery for who they are, and we treat them with fairness and honesty. We aim to enable each person to be successful, and we provide equal opportunities for all the children in our nursery.
- We aim, through our curriculum, to teach respect for our world, and how we should care for it for future generations, as well as our own.
Staff
All staff employed are qualified and ratios are in accordance with the EYFS. All staff are given appropriate training with regards to planning and implementing activities and learning. From time-to-time, staff will be given the opportunity of learning by in-house as well as out-side training.
All Staff are trained to work with a variety of age ranges and will move from one room to another, according to ratios and requirements.
Staff are responsible for planning and displaying the curriculum within their rooms. A qualified teacher will work alongside staff to ensure a high standard of education. Staff will prepare the rooms, activities as well as delivering the curriculum. Staff will also assess and record children’s progress.
Support
Management will support staff and parents at all times. Staff will also be expected to support each other, as well as supporting parents and carers by involving them in planning and inviting them to trip and outings.
Parents and carers will be involved in the 'Inspire Workshops’ supporting them to
work along side the practitioner with their child.
All nursery officers are expected to undertake extra curriculum tasks such as planning for and organising for:
- Festivals
- Trips/Visits
- Books/Resources
- Creative area
The nursery has practitioners who are graduates in Early Years, having the Early Years Professional Status and Qualified Teachers supporting other staff with the curriculum and planning.
Amongst the staff, we have a Behaviour Co-ordinator (Beco), and a Special Needs Co-ordinator (Senco), who will both work with parents or carers and children when they need the support appropriately.
We have an Equal Opportunities Co-ordinator to ensure equality and diversity within our centre, and will have professional Agencies for support when needed.
Environment
The environment is continually assessed for safety with extensive risk assessments.
Furniture, resources, equipment, toys are and the general layout of the centre is suitable for children and will be reassessed and updated when necessary. Children have access to activities to allow for independence and choice.
The Nishkam Nursery reserves the right to keep developmental records on all of the children that attend. These records will be used to ensure that each Childs' individual needs are met by the curriculum provided. Parents will be granted access to these records on request.
Twice yearly, parents will be given a formal review of their child's progress and, the opportunity to meet with their child's Key Person to discuss their progress.
Appendix
The 24 Spiritual and Moral Dispositions
In 2007, Birmingham City Council’s Education Department and the Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education (SACRE) worked closely with Birmingham Faith Leaders Group, an organisation representing faith communities from within the city, to identify 24 spiritual and moral dispositions. These were included in the Birmingham Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education, which transformed the traditional concept learning ‘about’ faith, into learning ‘from’ faith, and illustrated what values faith had to offer.
At the Nishkam Nursery, all children are given the opportunity to explore and develop their whole-selves by using the dispositions in all areas of learning.
At Nishkam Nursery, we have looked at the needs of the children, and added to the 24 dispositions making a total of 30.
Updated April 2019
