Nursery 

At St Peter & St Paul Primary School, we have an on site Nursery. 

 Curriculum 

Our ethos is to create an environment that is inspired by the ‘hygge’ philosophy. That is, a homely, calm and unhurried environment, using the seasons and nature to teach and inspire the children. A slow pedagogy instils peace and spirituality and allows the children to notice, absorb and go deeper into their learning. 

In line with the Early Years Foundation Stage, the curriculum covers each of the seven areas of learning: 

 • Communication and Language  

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development  

• Physical Development  

• Mathematics 

 • Literacy  

 • Expressive art and design  

• Understanding the world  

 

‘Storybook’ Curriculum and ‘rhythms of the year’. 

Our ‘Storybook curriculum' seeks to explore, in depth, different types of books and stories, including traditional tales and non-fiction texts, and provides an environment that is rich in print with abundant opportunities to engage with rhymes, books and stories, thereby developing communication and language skills and igniting and fostering a love of reading.  

Combined with daily access to key experiences in the continuous provision and the opportunities for children to follow their own interests and become involved in child-led learning experiences, ‘rhythms of the year’ provide a balanced, all-round, appropriate curriculum for young children. The ‘rhythms of the year’ are important for children to simply know about, understand and experience and are generally focused on the seasons, the natural world and ‘celebrations’. The ‘Storybook’ texts are often linked to one or more of these aspects. 

 

    

Routines of the day  

Routines during the day provide learning opportunities that support independent skills and confidence. Daily routines are specifically planned to ensure that there is maximum uninterrupted time for the children to explore and discover in the learning environment. This supports and enhances the children’s opportunities and supports children’s involvement in play. When children are highly involved in their play, the teaching and learning is at a deeper level. Simple boundaries are also embedded into the routines as this supports children’s personal, social and emotional wellbeing. Many experiences are offered to support this. The children have many opportunities to discover: ‘Who am I?’; ‘How do I feel?’; ‘What do I look like?’; ‘Why do I feel like that?’; ‘Am I different?’; ‘What is the same?’. As children become more independent in their personal and self-help skills, they are further supported by demonstrating positive health and hygiene routines. Snack times support children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development, alongside offering them opportunities to develop conversational skills thereby supporting their Communication and Language development. Staff interactions enhance the children’s knowledge and understanding of healthy lifestyles. 

 

Activities of the week  

These are planned in line with the curriculum, and according to the interests, passions and fascinations of the children. These are through: planned adult led group times, observations and interactions, relationships with children and their families, play partners during child-initiated play, and intervention work. The children’s learning throughout each session is constantly reviewed and reflected upon. This supports individual interests, thoughts and ideas, enhancing the provision to support future learning. 

We plan for and provide a learning environment that offers a wide range of rich learning opportunities (continuous provision), that enable children to flourish. We believe that children are learning all the time, from each other, from the adults around them and from the learning environment, through the medium of play. The learning spaces are created to support children’s learning and development - this is the bedrock of the continuous provision: blocks, small world spaces, sand, water, rich sensory experiences, malleable materials, role play, mark making, play with open-ended objects and loose parts and time spent in the outdoor space. 

These key learning experiences are at the heart of learning and are freely available to all children every day. We always start with what the children know and build upon this. Areas are enhanced to meet the needs and interests of the children, covering all areas of learning and development.  

Phase 1 phonics activities throughout the week concentrate on developing children’s speaking and listening skills, phonological awareness and oral blending and segmenting.