New Beginnings Curriculum Policies

and Procedures.

1. Early learning opportunities statement

2. Quality provision policy

3. Equipment and resources

4. Gifted and talented children

5. The Early Years Foundation stage (EYFS)

6. British Values

7. Benefits of listening to the voice of children and young people and taking participating

seriously

8. Curriculum

This policy was adopted on

Signed on behalf of the management

team at New Beginnings Nurseries

Ltd

Date for review

September 2019

September 2020

1. Early Learning Opportunities Statement

EYFS: 1.1 – 1.12, 2.1-2.6

At New Beginnings Nurseries Ltd we recognise that children learn in different ways and at

different rates and plan for this accordingly. Our aim is to support all children attending the

nursery to attain their maximum potential within their individual capabilities.

We provide a positive play environment for every child, so they may develop good social skills

and an appreciation of all aspects of this country's multi-cultural society. We plan learning

experiences to ensure, as far as practical, there is equality of opportunity for all children and a

celebration of diversity.

We maintain a personalised record of every child's development, showing their abilities,

progress, interests and areas needing further staff or parental assistance.

For children whose home language is not English, we will take reasonable steps to:

• Provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and

learning and support their language development at home; and

• Ensure that children have sufficient opportunities to learn and reach a good standard in

English language during the EYFS, ensuring that children are ready to benefit from the

opportunities available to them when they begin year.

We ensure that the educational programmes are well planned and resourced to have depth and

breadth across the seven areas of learning. They provide interesting and challenging

experiences that meet the needs of all children. Planning is based on a secure knowledge and

understanding of how to promote the learning and development of young children and what

they can achieve.

We implement the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) set by the Department for Education

that sets standards to ensure all children learn and develop well. We support and enhance

children’s learning and development holistically through play-based activities. We review all

aspects of learning and development and ensure a flexible approach is maintained, which

responds quickly to children’s learning and developmental needs. We develop tailor-made

activities based on observations which inform future planning and draw on children’s needs

and interests. This is promoted through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated opportunities

both indoors and outdoors.

Direct observation is supplemented by a range of other evidence to evaluate the impact that

practitioners have on the progress children make in their learning including:

• evidence of assessment that includes the progress of different groups of children:

o assessment on entry (starting point), including parental contributions

o two-year-old progress checks (where applicable)

o on-going (formative) assessments, including any parental contributions

o the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (where applicable) or any other

summative assessment when children leave.

We acknowledge parents as primary educators and encourage parental involvement

as outlined in our Parents and Carers as Partners policy. We build strong home links in order

to enhance and extend children’s learning both within the nursery environment and in the

child’s home.

We share information about the EYFS curriculum with parents and signpost them to further

support via the following website:

www.foundationyears.org.uk/

2. Quality Provision Policy

At New Beginnings Day Nurseries Ltd we aim to provide high quality care and education for

all children. High quality care leads directly to better outcomes for children and this is what we

are all aiming for.

As part of our quality practice we will do the following to ensure children receive the best care

and education:

• Ensure high expectations for children to realise the best outcomes

• Ensure all staff know what is meant by quality practice and how to deliver it

• Create a quality vision that all staff can follow

• Deliver high quality practice and teaching that makes a difference on a daily basis to

children’s outcomes.

• Ensure a solid understanding of the importance of pedagogy and chid development

amongst all practitioners

• Value continuous professional development in all staff and access a variety of training

and development to support the needs of the children in the nursery

• Evaluate the effectiveness of training and link to the outcomes for children

• Ensure all staff are confident in their roles and have the training they need to be able to

perform these roles

• Conduct regular supervision meetings with all team members to ensure all staff are

supported to be the best they can be

• Use peer on peer observations to share, discuss and improve practice across the setting

• Monitor all practice and feedback ideas for improvement

• Ensure all planning, observation, assessment and next steps are linked to each

individual child’s needs and interests and are evaluated for effectiveness

• Undertake a quality programme to ensure all quality is embedded throughout the

nursery

• Engage with families and carers and link across the home learning environment and

other carers to provide consistency of care and education

• Operate a robust and embedded evaluation process across the whole setting that

includes all parties such as practitioners, children, parents and external partners. We

tackle poor performance using our staff procedures to ensure high quality remains

forefront at all times.

3.Equipment and Resources

EYFS: 3.54, 3.64

At New Beginnings Nurseries Ltd we believe that high-quality care and early learning is

promoted by providing children with safe, clean, stimulating, age and stage appropriate

resources, toys and equipment.

To ensure this occurs within the nursery, including in our outdoor areas, we will:

• Provide play equipment and resources which are safe and, where applicable, conform

to the European Standards for Playground Equipment: EN 1176 and EN 1177, BS EN

safety standards or Toys (Safety) Regulation (1995)

• Provide a sufficient quantity of equipment and resources for the number of children

registered in the nursery

• Provide resources to meet children’s individual needs and interests

• Provide resources which promote all areas of children's learning and development

• Select books, equipment and resources which promote positive images of people of all

races, cultures, ages, gender and abilities, are non-discriminatory and do not stereotype

• Provide play equipment and resources which promote continuity and progression,

provide sufficient challenges and meet the needs and interests of all children

• Store and display resources and equipment where all children can independently choose

and select them

• Check all resources and equipment before first use to identify any potential risks and

again regularly at the beginning of every session and when they are put away at the end

of every session. We repair and clean or replace any unsafe, worn out, dirty or damaged

equipment whenever required

• Keep an inventory of resources and equipment. This records the date on which each

item was purchased and the price paid for it

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the resources including the children’s opinions and

interests

• Encourage children to respect the equipment and resources and tidy these away when

play has finished. This is into a designated place via the use of silhouettes or pictures

the children can match the resource to.

4.Gifted and Talented Children Policy

EYFS: 1.1, 1.6, 1.8, 2.1

At New Beginnings Day Nurseries Ltd we plan our teaching and learning so that each child

can aspire to achieve their full potential.

The purpose of this policy is to help to ensure that we recognise and support the needs of those

children in our nursery who have been identified as 'gifted' and/or 'talented' and extend their

learning to challenge them further.

'Gifted' refers to a child who has a broad range of achievement at a level well above

average, typically in the more academic subjects;

'Talented' refers to a child who excels in one or more specific fields, typically those that call

for performance skills, such as sport or music, but who does not necessarily perform at a high

level across all areas of learning.

With this in mind we will ensure all children are fully supported and challenged by:

• Working together with parents and carers to establish starting points on entry to nursery

• Observing, assessing and planning activities in line with the individual child’s needs

and interests

• Providing challenging next steps to enhance the learning opportunities

• Working with the child’s school to provide activities that will stretch the child further

in line with the child’s future curriculum

• Support transitions by providing key information to the next provision

Gifted children in language and literacy:

• Are able to read and respond to a range of texts at a more advanced level

• Use a wide vocabulary and variety of words in conversations and play

• Are able to write fluently and with little support

Gifted children in mathematics:

• Explore a broader range of strategies for solving a problem

• Establish their own strategies for problem solving

• Are able to manipulate numbers in a wide range of ways, e.g. adding, subtracting.

The management monitors all outcomes for children by tracking cohorts and individual

children across the whole setting. This will include the gifted and talented children.

Management will ensure that all children are progressing at an appropriate rate from their

starting points through challenging and supportive activities and opportunities.

5.The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

A revised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was published

in March 2017 for implementation in April 2017. The main changes include amendments to

child protection requirements, qualification and health and medicines. A full breakdown of the

changes can be found at

http://www.ndna.org.uk/NDNA/Shop/previews/EYFS_april_2017.aspx

NDNA continues to include the key policies within the EYFS section, as the EYFS continues

to require providers to have systems in place for example to follow health and safety legislation,

to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 and to be responsible for managing

children’s behaviour in an appropriate way. It is in your best interests to have written policies

in place to support practice, consistency across staff, to provide clarity for parents and to

promote quality for children and families.

The following written policies are still legal requirements in the EYFS 2017 for

group provision:

• Child protection

• Responding to specific health needs of children who are ill or infectious

• Administrating medicines

• Complaints.

1: Child protection

This includes the overall summary for safeguarding and child protection, intimate and safe

care, whistleblowing, allegations against staff, Prevent Duty, online safety, human trafficking

and modern slavery, domestic abuse, use of mobile phones and other electronic devices and

social networking policy. The policy must include the referral process with named individuals

who are responsible for reporting concerns and the contact details of the local children’s social

care team and Local Authority Designated Lead (LADO) to report concerns.

2: Equality

This includes the overall summary of inclusive practice, special educational needs, looked after

children and dealing with discriminatory behaviour.

3: Health and Safety

This includes the overall summary of health and safety. Further recommended information can

be found in the health and safety section.

4: Responding to specific health needs of children who are ill or infectious

This includes the sickness and illness policy and infection control policy. Further

recommended policies and procedures can be found in the best practice section.

5: Administrating medicines

This includes the medication policy and form.

6: Managing behaviour

This includes the promoting positive behaviour policy and biting policy.

7: Overall approach to risk assessment

This includes the new risk assessment policy.

8: Complaints

This includes the complaints and compliments procedure.

6.British Values in Early Years

Following a consultation on ‘British Values’ in June 2014 by the Dept for Education, Ofsted

have now introduced reference to ‘British Values’ in the Common Inspection Framework

(Ofsted fact sheet 150065) which will be introduced in September 2015. At inspection, under

the criteria of ‘Leadership and Management’, the inspector will make a judgement on aspects

of the early years setting such as; self-assessment, safeguarding arrangements, professional

development, promotion of diversity, narrowing the gap in achievement, and from Sept 2015,

inspectors will also make a judgement on how the early years setting “actively promotes British

Values”.

The fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect

and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs are already implicitly embedded in the

2014 Early Years Foundation Stage. However the EYFS is likely to be amended to reference

providers’ responsibilities in the light of the Prevent Duty, which is part of the Counter

Terrorism and Security Act. The Prevent Duty says that early years providers should have “due

regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism” The government sets out

its definition of British Values in the 2011 Prevent Strategy, the values of:

• democracy

• the rule of law

• individual liberty

• mutual respect

• tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs To help demonstrate what this means in

practice, the Foundation years came up with the following examples based on what is in

the statutory guidance. They are just that – examples - and not exhaustive, but hopefully

useful to you.

Democracy: making decisions together

As part of the focus on self-confidence and self-awareness as cited in Personal, Social and

Emotional Development:

• Managers and staff can encourage children to see their role in the bigger picture,

encouraging children to know their views count, value each other’s views and values and

talk about their feelings, for example when they do or do not need help. When appropriate

demonstrate democracy in action, for example, children sharing views on what the theme

of their role play area could be with a show of hands.

• Staff can support the decisions that children make and provide activities that involve turn-

taking, sharing and collaboration. Children should be given opportunities to develop

enquiring minds in an atmosphere where questions are valued.

• Rule of law: understanding rules matter as cited in Personal Social and Emotional

development

As part of the focus on managing feelings and behaviour:

• Staff can ensure that children understand their own and others’ behaviour and its

consequences, and learn to distinguish right from wrong.

• Staff can collaborate with children to create the rules and the codes of behaviour,

for example, to agree the rules about tidying up and ensure that all children understand

rules apply to everyone.

Individual liberty: freedom for all

As part of the focus on self-confidence & self-awareness and people & communities as cited

in Personal Social and Emotional development and Understanding the World:

• Children should develop a positive sense of themselves. Staff can provide opportunities

for children to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and increase their confidence

in their own abilities, for example through allowing children to take risks on an obstacle

course, mixing colours, talking about their experiences and learning.

• Staff should encourage a range of experiences that allow children to explore the

language of feelings and responsibility, reflect on their differences and understand we

are free to have different opinions, for example in a small group discuss what they feel

about transferring into Reception Class.

• Mutual respect and tolerance: treat others as you want to be treated

As part of the focus on people & communities, managing feelings & behaviour and making

relationships as cited in Personal Social and Emotional development and Understanding the

World:

• Managers should create an ethos of inclusivity and tolerance where views, faiths,

cultures and races are valued and children are engaged with the wider community.

• Children should acquire a tolerance and appreciation of and respect for their own and

other cultures; know about similarities and differences between themselves and others

and among families, faiths, communities, cultures and traditions and share and discuss

practices, celebrations and experiences.

• Staff should encourage and explain the importance of tolerant behaviours such as

sharing and respecting other’s opinions.

• Staffs should promote diverse attitudes and challenge stereotypes, for example, sharing

stories that reflect and value the diversity of children’s experiences and providing

resources and activities that challenge gender, cultural and racial stereotyping.

• A minimum approach, for example having notices on the walls or multi-faith books on

the shelves will fall short of ‘actively promoting’.

What is not acceptable is:

• Actively promoting intolerance of other faiths, cultures and races

• Failure to challenge gender stereotypes and routinely segregate girls and boys

• Isolating children from their wider community

• Failure to challenge behaviours (whether of staff, children or parents) that are not in

line with the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty,

mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs

If you would like to do some work around moral development, you could select ‘a right’, as

the basis for children’s discussion. Take a look at the UNCRC ‘articles’ or children’s rights

explained simply. See the poster

http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/files/uncrcchilldfriendlylanguage.pdf and the book ‘For Every

Child’ by Unicef. More books which reflect values and will stimulate discussion

• ‘The Gruffalo’,

• ‘The Rainbow Fish’

• ‘Giraffes can’t dance’

• ‘The tiger who wanted to love’

• ‘The family where rich people live’

• ‘Piggybook’. Statutory guidance on the prevent duty is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

7.Benefits of listening to the voice of children and young

people and taking participation seriously

Involving children and young people in the decision-making process benefits us all where

everyone including; small community groups, churches, statutory youth providers, schools and

colleges, the Police, housing providers, Local Councils, Governments etc. can reap the benefits.

Here are some of the benefits:

Meeting needs

• By listening to children and young people and acting upon their comments means that

there is far less chance of delivering something they do not want or need. It may also

help to avoid waste and better use resources;

• Greater ownership;

• Children and Young people's participation helps to create greater ownership. They are

more likely to be interested in something succeeding, if they have helped to shape and

create it.

Provides learning opportunities

• Children and young people's participation benefits adult leaders as their views and ideas

can offer a different perspective;

• Adults and children / young people working together are more likely to find solutions

that meet different needs. This type of shared learning experience can enrich all

involved;

• Adults will learn more about their organisation or community by listening to children /

young people's experiences of it;

• Participation can often provide an opportunity for children / young people who are

marginalized or who don’t usually ‘fit in’ to have a voice;

• Through the process of participation children and young people have the

opportunity to learn and develop new skills. These skills can enable them to have the

confidence to take more of an active part in decisions in the future and in the decisions

they take about their own lives;

• Increased participation amongst children and young people also helps to increase self-

esteem and self-confidence.

Benefits to your organisation / the community

• Involving children and young people in decision-making and in active participation

sends out the message that they are a valued part of your organisation / community,

with a role to play and a contribution to make. This helps to create a greater sense of

belonging that can promote mutual respect and better communication between

generations;

• Participation in decision making gives children and young people the message that their

opinions and needs are important;

• Children and young people are the experts on the services they receive and are the best

people to be involved in decisions about what should be provided;

• Services get the benefits of using young people as a resource, rather than treating them

as a burden;

• Children and young people feel valued and are able to learn about their responsibilities

as well as their rights.

Ideas for hearing the voice of children and young people

Planning

• It is good practice to involve children in sharing their ideas about the activities that are

being planned or selected. It is important that children are also involved in the

evaluation process.

Open consultations and Questionnaires

• Talk with a wide variety of children to get a view on how they see your organisation. It

is good to have two or three open questions, or a simple questionnaire;

• Questionnaires can be a useful way of getting children opinions on a particular issue.

Questionnaires need to be kept short and interesting, using things like tick boxes, word

circling, pictures and symbols.

Discussion, focus groups and open meetings

• Group interviews or discussions of about eight to ten children / young people can enable

them to talk about their issues, attitudes, choices and ideas to do with your organisation;

• Open meetings with a larger group of children / young people can provide a way of

inviting views about an issue that effects them (meetings can be completely open or by

invitation- only);

• Be aware that this type of open meeting can be harder to manage. Youth forum / youth

council/young people’s panel/ youth PCC reps / youth synods;

• Organised youth / children’s councils (including school councils), panels,

discussion groups etc. are a way of bringing together children /young people to

regularly discuss issues that affect them and their lives. These can then be fed into other

bodies via youth reps;

• Always make it clear what the purpose of the meeting is and agree roles and

responsibilities;

• Never make promises that cannot be fulfilled.

Meetings that would not usually include children / young people may need to adapt or change

venue to better enable the inclusion of children / young people

Drawings, artwork, design, model building, role play, play, games, drama, story and

multimedia

• Children / young people can be asked to draw, paint, build a Lego model or produce

other artwork to express their views on a certain topic or idea;

• Using methods such as; play, drama, Godly play, video animation, video diaries,

photography projects etc. can be an effective way of children / young people expressing

their views. Multimedia presentations can be an effective way of children / young

people sharing their ideas and views in a more succinct way.

Newsletters and Websites

• Newsletters and websites can be designed exclusively for and by children / young

people.

However, they may need monitoring and support from adults. Websites must be covered by an

effective ITC policy.

8.Our Curriculum Policy

‘Watch us Grow’

“We want every child to get the best start in life, because we firmly believe that the early

years are the foundation on which a person's future life chances are built “

J Wilkinson

The New Beginnings EYFS Curriculum is based on the vision and values of ‘Watch us grow’. More

information can be found on our vision and values document attached. Additionally, this policy

should be read and used alongside the Quality provision policy.

Our Curriculum is carefully designed to enable children to practise and master the necessary

knowledge and skills needed to learn and develop in the important early years.

Quality provision

At New Beginnings we aim to provide high quality care and education for all children. High quality

care leads directly to better outcomes for children and this is what we are all aiming for.

As part of our quality practice we will do the following to ensure children receive the best care and

education:

• Ensure high expectations for children to realise the best outcomes

• Ensure all staff know what is meant by quality practice and how to deliver it

• Create a quality vision that all staff can follow

• Deliver high quality practice and teaching that makes a difference on a daily basis to

children’s outcomes

• Ensure a solid understanding of the importance of pedagogy and child development amongst

all practitioners

• Value continuous professional development in all staff and access a variety of training and

development to support the needs of the children in the nursery

• Evaluate the effectiveness of training and link to the outcomes for children

• Ensure all staff are confident in their roles and have the training they need to be able to

perform these roles

• Conduct regular supervision meetings with all team members to ensure all staff are supported

to be the best they can be

• Use peer on peer observations to share, discuss and improve practice across the setting

• Monitor all practice and feedback ideas for improvement

• Staff will be responsible for their own continuous professional development and close gaps in

knowledge about any area of the Early Years Foundation stage, characteristics of effective

learning or other aspects which require focus to raise their knowledge and skills to an

“ Outstanding “ level .

• Ensure all planning, observation, assessment and next steps are linked to each individual

child’s needs and interests and are evaluated for effectiveness

• Undertake a quality programme to ensure all quality is embedded throughout the nursery

• Engage with families and carers and link across the home learning environment and other

carers to provide consistency of care and education

• Operate a robust and embedded evaluation process across the whole setting that includes all

parties such as practitioners, children, parents and external partners. We tackle poor

performance using our staff procedures to ensure high quality remains forefront at all times.

Teaching

The following is Ofsted’s definition of teaching within the early year’s handbook September 2019

(remains unchanged from 2014)

‘Teaching in the early years should not be taken to imply a “top down” or formal way of working. It

is a broad term that covers the many different ways in which adults help young children learn. It

includes their interactions with children during planned and child-initiated play and activities:

communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas,

encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing, facilitating and

setting challenges.

‘It takes account of the equipment adults provide and the attention given to the physical environment,

as well as the structure and routines of the day that establish expectations. Integral to teaching is how

practitioners assess what children know, understand and can do, as well as taking account of their

interests and dispositions to learn (characteristics of effective learning), and how practitioners use this

information to plan children’s next steps in learning and monitor their progress.’

What does teaching mean at New Beginnings?

Let’s begin at the beginning because to understand how best to teach small children we need to

understand how they develop and learn; quite different things!

Set this in a context that children develop at their own pace, so there is no point in teaching them to

hold a pencil if they have not developed the physical grasp and coordination skills needed to do so

competently.

We have to be able to recognise the stages needed to get a child to be able to move from learning how

to use his hands and fingers to learning to mark make and eventually learn to write.

We also need to understand how the learning is being processed so we can recognise the characteristics

of effective learning in the children.

• Are the children willing to explore and have a go?

• Can they get involved and concentrate on an activity?

• Do they have their own ideas and the ability to pursue those ideas?

This may be a little toddler finding their favourite posting box and continuing to practice getting the

right shapes into the right holes or a brave three year old getting on their scooter over and over again

until they can keep it upright and eventually scoot away independently! We then have to work within a

pedagogical framework which articulates the art and science of teaching that we believe will lead a

child to learning.

An Early Year’s Pedagogy Pedagogy relates to the “how”, or practice of educating. It refers to a set of instructional techniques

and strategies which enable learning to take place and provide opportunities for the acquisition of

knowledge, skills, attitudes and dispositions within a particular social and material context. It refers to

the interactive process between teacher and learner and to the learning environment.

Our creative and imaginative themes are based on the four aspects of learning Engage, Develop,

Innovate and Express. They are perfect for developing the EYFS characteristics of effective learning:

Playing and Exploring, Active Learning, Creating and Thinking Critically.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

Staff should use these questions to prompt thinking about the knowledge you have about an individual

child and the way they learn. Think about what examples you have that support your knowledge.

Playing and exploring

Finding out and exploring-

• Does the child show curiosity about objects, events and people? In what way?

• Does the child use their senses to explore the world around them? Any sense perhaps used

more than other?

• Does the child engage in open-ended activity? How?

• Does the child show particular interests? In what?

Playing with what they know-

• Does the child pretend objects are things from their experience (symbolic play)? What

examples can you give?

• How does the child represent their experiences in their play?

• Does the child take on a role in their play? Any particular role?

• Does the child act out experiences with others (children or adults)?

Being willing to have a go-

• Does the child initiate activities/experiences? What kind of activities/experiences?

• How does the child seek challenges?

• Does the child show a ‘can do’ attitude? What example do you have?

• Does the child take risks, engage in new experiences and learn by trial and error?

Active learning

Being involved and concentrating-

• Does the child maintain focus on their activity for a period of time? Is this at any activity or

always at a particular activity or area in the environment?

• Does the child show high levels of energy, fascination? In what way?

• Does the child concentrate despite distractions? Any examples?

• Does the child pay attention to details?

Keeping on trying-

• Does the child show persistence with an activity when faced with challenges?

• How does the child demonstrate aspects of problem solving and show a belief that more effort

or a different approach will work/pay off? Does the child bounce back after difficulties?

Enjoying achieving what they set out to do-

• Is he/she proud of their accomplishments- not just the end result? Have you got an example of

when the child displayed this to share?

• Does the child enjoy meeting challenges for their own sake rather than for rewards or praise?

Creating and thinking critically Having their own ideas-

• Does the child think of ideas? Any examples?

• How does the child find ways to solve problems?

• Does the child find new ways of doing things?

Making links-

• Does the child make links and notice patterns in their experience?

• Does the child make predictions? What examples can you give?

• How does the child test out their ideas?

• Does the child develop ideas of grouping, sequencing, cause and effect?

Choosing ways to do things-

• Does the child plan, make decisions and about how to do something, solve a problem to reach

a goal? Can you think of any examples that support this?

• Does the child check how well their activity or what they are doing is going? How do you

know this?

• Does the child change strategy if needed? Or does the child always do what he/she knows?

• Does the child review how well their approach worked? With support or on their own?

Leuven Scale

The Leuven scale was first pioneered by Ferre Laevers and his team at Leuven University in Belgium,

the Leuven scales help you to understand how focused and comfortable the children are in the setting.

The Leuven scales of well-being and involvement can make a huge difference to the lives of the

children in Early Years settings.

According to Laevers, high levels of both well-being and involvement allow children to experience

deep learning. A happy, involved child is one who can experience the world at its fullest. They truly

learn from those experiences.

A child with low well-being is far more likely to exhibit extreme behaviour and they are never going

to engage with the opportunities in the setting.

High levels of involvement coupled with high levels of well-being is the perfect recipe for

deep learning and development.

“Well-being is the beautiful stage in which children can be when they feel OK. They feel at

ease. They radiate. They are open to anything that comes in”

Ferre Laevers

“Involvement is about concentration. Being totally focused on something, wanting to get that

contact with the reality around you. And from within there is a motivation to do that, a

fascination- you want to continue to have that sense of contact with the reality and in your

actions to take it in”

Ferre Laevers

Observation and assessment are a key part of the Leuven scales. Making them part of your reflective

practise will give you a much deeper understanding of the children you care for.

Settling in can be a particularly stressful time for children. The Leuven scales help identify distress

and reactions to new environments, they are particularly good for understanding how the children are

settling in. This is why we at New Beginnings use this tool to assess how the children settle in and

their involvement in interactions and activities.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a curriculum for children aged three to five years old.

This is broken down into three prime aspects and four specific areas of learning. The three prime

aspects of learning are:

Personal, social and emotional development-

One of the main aspects of your child’s time at nursery will be a focus on their personal, social and

emotional development. They will be encouraged to develop positive relationships, to play with a

variety of friends and to understand the feelings of others. There will be opportunities to build

confidence and self-awareness, and also to manage their feelings and behaviour.

Communication and language-

Communication is a key area of your child’s learning in nursery. They will spend lots of time sharing

rhymes, songs, stories and playing games to develop their speaking and listening skills. They will be

encouraged to learn to listen carefully, to develop concentration, to respond to questions and

instructions, to share ideas and experiences and to take part in conversations.

Physical development-

Your child will be given lots of opportunities to move in different ways, for example, running,

jumping, balancing and playing with balls. Another important aspect of physical development at this

stage is learning to hold and use tools, such as scissors, and also to use pencils and pens to draw lines

and shapes. Your child will also begin to understand how to look after themselves and be healthy.

In addition to these three prime aspects of learning, there are four specific areas:

Literacy-

The ‘Communication’ section above outlines some activities to develop speaking and listening skills.

In addition to sharing lots of stories, your child will probably be encouraged to handle and look at

books independently and to begin to learn about how stories are structured. There will be

opportunities for your child to recognise their own name. Your child will be encouraged to draw,

paint and make to develop control and hand-eye co-ordination. They may begin to learn to copy the

letters in their name.

Mathematics-

At nursery, your child will be given many opportunities to explore numbers and shapes in their play.

For example, they may be encouraged to count objects they are playing with and to compare two

groups of objects. They will probably begin to represent numbers using their fingers, marks on paper

or pictures.

Understanding the world-

Your child will learn about the world around them and they will be encouraged to use simple

technology and equipment.

Expressive arts and design-

Finally, imagination and creativity are explored and developed in the area of expressive arts. Your

child will explore different media and materials and be encouraged to use their imagination in a range

of different experiences.

Most of the time your child will be learning all seven areas of learning together, in a fairly jumbled

way. So if they spends lots of time in the sand area, there’s no need for concern! They may well be

covering all kinds of important learning: working with different materials; finding out about shape,

quantity and volume; creating imaginative worlds; feeling different textures; and even developing

motor skills and strength for writing!

Planning

Staff plan to provide the children with an environment and activities that are enjoyable and will

challenge them. There must be a balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities. Planning

needs to be done for the provision as a whole and for individual children, meeting their unique needs

and interests. Planning is vital to ensure that children’s learning is effective and that they are making

the required progress towards the early learning goals. Parents should be involved in this process.

Planning involves the consideration of how the provision develops and delivers their educational

programme (Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum) by identifying a child’s starting points and

ensuring they make progress through effective planning to meets the child’s developmental needs.

Under the Early Years Foundation Stage the emphasis for planning has shifted towards planning for

the individual child and away from planning for whole group. However, in order to run an effective

provision there is a need for some long and medium-term planning which are flexible enough to be

adapted to suit the needs and interests of the children and any changes in circumstances.

It is important that all children, whether they attend full time or part time, are given the

opportunity to experience a whole range of activities across all seven areas of learning and

development. This will provide them with the best outcomes to progress towards or exceed across the

seventeen early learning goals. The areas of learning and development cannot be delivered in isolation

from the others. The three prime areas, personal, social and emotional development, physical

development, and communication and language will be the areas that require greater planning, as they

under-pin the specific areas of learning, however all areas are important and needed to provide the

child with an all-round development. All areas need to be delivered through planned and purposeful

play. There must be a balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities.

Long-term Planning

Long-term planning can be kept very simple and carried out up to a year ahead. It gives an overview

of the themes, topics and enquiries that are going to be covered over the coming months and notes of

any special events and occasions that are planned.

Themes and topics are best chosen around the children’s interests, their own lives and communities. A

variety of investigations over time gives a broad range for children who remain in the provision for

several years.

A particular method of planning, teaching or assessment cannot be advocated by an Ofsted inspector,

as provisions must focus on what they teach and why (intent), how they teach it and why

(implementation) and what difference it makes to children’s learning, progress and child development

(impact.)

The themes, topics or enquiries should be shared with parents, maybe on a parents’ noticeboard

within the provision, in a newsletter and on the website. Involvement form the local community keeps

learning real for the children and staff. Parent partnerships enhance the home learning environment

and sense of involvement and contribution to the provision.

Medium-term Planning

Medium-term planning expresses more detail around the activities that will be organised and how

these link to the different areas of learning and development.

There is no specific recommended way of planning, however it should be easily read, adaptable and

aid practitioners to resource activities across all areas of learning. Some provisions like to plan around

the room layout and learning environment, some around a theme or topic, others follow the children’s

enquiries and interests. Practitioners should be tuned in to what is interesting to the children based on

what they know about the children and their observations of how the children like to learn, including

from discussions with parents.

Short-term Planning

Practitioners need to use their long and medium term plans to develop short term plans. These will be

based on the theme, topic or interests of the child and the observations/assessments of the children in

their care. These plans need to be flexible, enabling practitioners to take advantage of spontaneous

opportunities when they present themselves and the changing interests of the children. Short-term

planning must respond to children’s individual needs and include interventions as appropriate.

Planning for the Individual Child: Personalised Learning

In order to plan for each individual child, practitioners need to observe the children in their care so

that they are aware of their abilities and interests. They need to know what the child has enjoyed and

achieved previously.

Parents need to be involved in the planning process in the following ways: Sharing experiences and

information on what interests their child has at home, setting next steps/targets for their child doing

activities at home that supports their child to reach their target and extending activities from the

provision documenting their input onto the planning sheets for their child.

Planning involves challenging the child to take the next step, so practitioners need to be aware of

child development. A child needs to feel satisfaction in having achieved a task before moving them

onto something more challenging. It is also important to remember that children enjoy revisiting an

activity and learn by repetition.

Planning for an individual child should also include how any transitions will be managed for them, for

example a baby moving into the toddler room, or a child moving onto Reception year in a school.

Practitioners should have high aspirations for all children, expecting and enabling them to achieve in a

holistic way across all areas of learning.

Planning for the Morning /Afternoon

When planning for the session practitioners will need to consider:

• Space available both outdoor and indoor

• Resources available

• Ages and developmental stage of the children in the group

• Size of the group

• Interest of children in the group

• Previous activities the children have participated in

• Staffing available

• Staff interests and skills

• Current theme, topic or interest

• How all seven areas of learning and development are going to be covered.

Planning for Individual Activities

Completing a planning sheet for an individual activity helps practitioners focus in on the learning and

development for the child. Each of the seven areas are considered within the activity providing a

holistic approach.

It encourages the practitioner to think about the resources needed for the activity and how they can be

adapted to suit the needs of the individual child.

Planning in the moment

Planning in the moment is about skilled practitioners using interactions with the children to develop

their knowledge and build on it there and then. Practitioners need to be able to identify the “teachable

moment” and know how to intervene to support their learning and when to just observe. This is

completely child initiated and allows practitioners to join them in their learning.

With planning in the moment, there will be no forward planning as all planning is

retrospective. The children’s learning can be captured in a learning journal that is provided weekly to

parents.

Formative Assessments

Evidence gathered through on-going formative assessment (annotated photographs, spontaneous and

planned observations, information from home, the voice of the child, samples of children’s

experiences and achievements) builds the picture, this enables the practitioners to make a ‘best fit’

judgement of the band that the child is working within. Formative assessments are an integral part of

the learning and development process because they inform and help you to plan your provision and

meet individual children’s needs and interests.

Observation

Observation is fundamental to the assessment of children’s learning and development. It is a key part

of planning individualised learning that takes account of each child’s specific needs. Observation

must be regular and evidence should be gathered by taking daily notes and photographs showing the

child engaged in an activity or of a piece of artwork. All providers who come into contact with the

child should contribute their observations which are then co-ordinated by each child’s key person.

Observation involves several processes with input from all staff who interact with the child as well as

the child’s parents.

• Looking — either just watching the child while you are playing and working with them or

more formal planned observation.

• Listening — attending to communication between each child and other children and adults in

the provision.

• Recording — making brief notes at the time, writing them out later on and including

photographs, video recording if useful.

• Thinking — using the observations recorded for assessment and to assist with planning.

• Questioning — either the child or their parents, to clarify an observation.

Summative Assessment A summative assessment is a summary of the child’s learning and development at a specific point in

time. It supports you in answering the question ‘What difference is the provision making to the

learning, development and progress of the children attending?’

On Entry Assessment (Starting Points) Practitioners gain information from parents in relation to their child’s learning and development on

entry to the setting. This could be information gathered during the stay and play and in ‘All About

Me’ documents and during settling in sessions. This should be used to identify children’s starting

points and used to plan suitably challenging experiences.

The key person should complete a review at around week 3 using the leaven scales taking into

account contributions from parents. At week 6 a meeting with the parent will consider which

age/stage band the child is working and indicate Emerging, Working Within or Secure. This would

then be reviewed periodically throughout the year to monitor progress with the parent.

Cohort Tracking Cohort tracking enables leaders and managers to raise questions about practice and provision and

specific children’s learning needs. It may help highlight patterns, trends, specific children and

vulnerable groups to ensure appropriate interventions are implemented and monitored to support all

children to make good progress.

Progress check age 2 The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a legal government framework used in early years

settings. Its aim is to encourage your child’s healthy development and readiness for future learning.

The EYFS requires all children attending nursery or a childcare setting to have a progress check at

age two which parents/ carers can share with their health visitor. This check happens sometime

between your child’s 2nd and 3rd birthday.

The Progress check is designed to help you:

• Understand how your child is developing in these three prime areas:

1. Personal, social and emotional development

2. Physical development

3. Communication and language

• Identify where your child is progressing well and where they may need extra help and

support.

Work with your childcare provider to identify the activities, experiences and support that will help

your child’s continual development.

At nursery we continually observe and assess your child and records are kept in their ‘Learning

Journey’.

The Two Year Progress Check is in addition to the learning journey. It’s a written summary that

records the behaviours, skills, understanding and knowledge we have seen your child do consistently

and without help. When making development assessments, we use the milestones outlined in the

Development Matters.

Tracking a child’s experience Gathering information about the child is not enough. Key people and managers consider how

information about the child is used to ‘ensure that every child’s learning and care is tailored to meet

their individual needs’ (EYFS, 2014, p.10).

It is important to analyse a child’s experience from the moment they enter to the time they leave. This

analysis helps identify children’s strengths and areas of development.

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage states that ‘If a child’s progress in any

prime area gives cause for concern, practitioners must discuss with the child’s parents and/or carers

and agree how to support the child’ (2014, p.9).

• In good practice settings, key people/leaders use their analysis to ensure children’s next steps

are fed into the planning, this should reflect identified areas of development. This maximises

the opportunity for children to achieve their full potential.

• Changes to practice and provision should be implemented to meet individual children’s

emerging needs. These changes may include adaptations to experiences, resources, routines,

the learning environment and staff continuous professional development.

How we will be evaluating learning, teaching and tracking children’s

experiences?

• Weekly room meetings – What has worked, what needs to change and why? How are we

implementing changes? How will be measure the impact?

• Observations – We will continue to observe all the time. We will continue to get to know our

children, their families and develop professional relationships. Practitioners will plan to

challenge children’s knowledge and skills, provide teaching opportunities that help children

develop knowledge and skills and monitor children’s experiences.

• Managers will carry out learning walks and monitor teaching and learning and tracking

children’s experiences. Professional discussion within supervision will assess children’s

learning and development.

• Planning will be based on the learning intentions for individual children and our topics,

themes and activities promoting knowledge and skill development.

• Daily Communication Books (0- 2 years)- Children under the age of 2 will have a daily

communication book, this enables two way communication between the practitioners and

parents and it promotes parent partnership. These dairies include information on the child’s

day at nursery and their routine, for example- sleep times, bottles, nappy change and

mealtimes.

• Weekly Activity Books- the weekly activity books are used as a communication tool between

practitioners and parents. These books are used to inform and show parents what their child

have been learning throughout their week at nursery. There is an ‘This week/ end at home’

page where parents can tell the staff what they have experienced at that time away from

nursery, whether that be a trip to the park, playing with their sibling, going on holiday, etc.

This enables the staff to use the information you provide us with to support their weekly

planning and ensure children’s interests are always included throughout the weeks planning.

Stage 1- Before a child starts at New Beginnings

• Learning Journey- The child’s key person will ensure that the child has a learning journey

folder ready with all the relevant documents and forms to be filled out at the child’s settling in

sessions.

• Settling in’s -Before a child starts at New Beginnings, they will attend two settling ins. The

first settling in session is for 1 hour and the second settling in session is for 2 hours, if the

parent feels comfortable then they are able to leave their child for the second settling in. This

will enable practitioners to assess the child and see how they react when the parent has left, it

will give the practitioner an insight to how the child may settle when they start nursery.

• All about me- The parent will have a discussion with their child’s key person in the first

settling in session, to enable the key person to get to know the child and their parents. The all

about me form will be filled out by the parent.

• Care Plan- The parent will have a discussion with their child’s key person in the first settling

in session, to enable the key person to get to know the child and their parents. The care plan

will be filled out by the parent.

• Menu Care Plan- If the manager is notified that a child has any allergies or intolerances to

any foods, an individual care plan will be created for the child giving substitutes for any of

the foods they are unable to eat.

Stage 2- The first 6 weeks

• Leuven Scale Assessment- Throughout the child’s first 6 weeks at nursery, 2 observations

will be completed on the child. One observation at around halfway through the child’s 6

weeks settling in and one observation towards the end of the 6 weeks. These

observations will be linked to the Leuven scale assessment tool and the characteristics of

learning.

• Baseline EYFS/ meeting with parent- At the end of the 6 weeks settling in period, the key

person will arrange a meeting with the child’s parent. During this meeting the key person and

parent will discuss how the child has settled in and they will form a baseline judgement of

what stage of development the child is at based on: observations made by key person and

parent, all about me forms, general discussion with the parent and child’s well-being and

involvement as per the Leuven scale tools and assessments of the child’s skills linked to

characteristics of learning.

Stage 3- After the 6 weeks

• Observations- Practitioners will complete 2 long written observations on each child every

term using the progress summary report. This will then be discussed in a professional

discussion with the curriculum officer/ a senior manager and used as part of the tracking a

child’s experience.

• Focused Activities- 1 focused activity will be completed each month. These will be focused

on the children’s developmental next steps and used as part of the tracking a child’s

experience.

• Individual Progress Tracker- The Individual Progress Tracker is a summative document

which demonstrates progress in the EYFS by identifying children’s starting points (on entry)

and is reviewed periodically throughout the year. These judgements are based on the skills,

knowledge, understanding and behaviour that the child demonstrates consistently and

independently in a range of contexts when working securely. They show the ‘best fit’

age/stage band for the individual child using evidence from formative assessments.

• Parents evening (November and June)- This provides an opportunity for the key person and

parents to discuss the child’s development and achievements and work in partnership

to discuss the child’s next steps and any concerns or worries the parents may have.

Reflective questions

Tracking is not statutory; however, you need to consider the following points: How

would you:

• At a glance, demonstrate that all children, and in particular vulnerable groups, make

good progress in relation to their starting points?

• Show whether children are working within their ‘typical’ stage of development?

• Keep parents informed about their child’s achievements and progress?

• As leaders and managers, know that assessment is precise, accurate and sharply

focussed?

• As leaders and managers, demonstrate assessment is monitored and used to secure

interventions?

• As leaders and managers, demonstrate that you have rigorous and effective systems

for self-evaluation that inform the setting’s priorities and are used to set targets for

improvement?

• As leaders and managers, evidence that you monitor the educational programme and

quality of teaching?

• As leaders and managers, highlight patterns and trends of groups of children’s

learning and development?

• As leaders and managers, identify staff professional development required

to support children to make effective progress?

• As leaders and managers, measure the impact of interventions and monitor progress to

ensure gaps are closing