Article 28: Every child has the right to an education. 

A wide variety of structured and unstructured learning activities are provided indoors and outdoors to cater for all areas of learning and development.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework sets the standards for Learning, Development and Care for children from birth to five. It includes detailed information on the 7 areas of learning and development and supporting children from birth through various stages of maturity and development.

EYFS statutory framework for group and school based providers (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Three prime areas underpin children’s learning:

• Communication and language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional development

As children grow, they will be supported to develop skills in 4 specific areas.

• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design.

Alongside the EYFS we use the non-statutory framework, Developmental Matters and Birth to 5 matters to provide a framework for planning the curriculum and for setting an appropriate sequenced curriculum to impact on the development and learning for every child throughout the year. This means that we put the child at the centre of our practice, with their connections within family, communities, culture and the natural world.

Much of the teaching and learning is planned around children’s interests and staff meet frequently to evaluate learning and to share their observations of children’s progress, interests and needs in order to develop the quality of provision. Themed or topic planning is based around children’s needs and interests.

The development of personal, social and emotional skills is particularly important and the children are generally well-behaved and demonstrate a caring attitude towards others. They know how to keep themselves safe and are able to follow rules.

The Nursery fully endorses and supports Birmingham City Council’s Education Service Equal Opportunities Statement and its policy on Inclusion.

The school is well resourced and has good facilities both indoors and outside and the curriculum includes activities in all areas of the school site.. The children have additional opportunities in the form of artists in residence; musical workshops; football coaches, visitors in school and external visits.

The school had a successful Ofsted inspection in January 2019 where our school was rated ‘Outstanding’. The Report states:

‘The nursery provides an outstanding education in all aspects of learning for each and every child.”

” Children’s interests and individual needs are very skillfully planned for and met. The curriculum is filled with imaginative and exciting activities that engage the children.”

” Teaching is excellent. Exemplary teamwork underpins the school’s success in ensuring the best outcomes for all children.”

Click on the links below to access an overview of WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE EYFS :

The non statutory guidance that we used to develop our curriculum:

Click on the links below to see Garretts Green Nursery School Curriculum:

The development of personal, social and emotional skills is particularly important, and the children are generally well-behaved and demonstrate a caring attitude towards others. They know how to keep themselves safe and are able to follow rules.

Click on the link below to access Garretts Green Nursery School curriculum Intent:

Rhymes and Songs.
Rhymes and finger plays are an important part of early childhood education. They are fun and support children’s learning and development in many areas including:

Communication and language: You will be supporting them to learn to talk as they become familiar with the words and rhythm, and begin to imitate the sounds you make, or join in with the words. They will learn new words in a meaningful and fun context.

Physical development: You will be supporting them to develop muscle control and coordination as you help them to follow the actions in rhymes.

Literacy: You will be supporting early reading and writing skills as they develop phonological awareness by hearing sounds in the rhymes.

Mathematics: You will be supporting them to learn to count, add and subtract numbers when you sing number rhymes.

Personal, social and emotional development: You will be building strong positive relationships through daily singing games and rhymes with individuals and small groups. They promote connectedness and support the well-being of both children and practitioners.

Research has shown that babies respond to the beat and rhythm of language even before they are born. They are in tune with their mother’s heartbeat from an early stage, so a steady beat and the rhythm of songs and rhymes can be very soothing for them. Songs and rhymes generally have a higher pitch that catches a baby’s attention better than regular speech.

We also tend to use a slower pace and lots of repetition which makes it easier for children to hear the individual sounds that make up words. Even while having fun, children’s brains are working hard.

When you share a song or rhyme with a child, they are learning lots of the building blocks for communication. You will be making eye contact, creating opportunities for turn-taking, helping them to listen and pay attention, and of course, understand language too.

Rhyming helps children start to work out how sounds are put together to create words, which helps with speech development and with reading as a child gets older.

Rhythm can help children hear the syllable structure of words as well as separating words in sentences. Lots of the best rhymes have actions too. These are useful for us all when trying to remember the words, but also encourage children’s motor skills and coordination.

SEIC-Pedagogy-in-Practice-Issue-4-Sound-Rhythm-and-Rhymes.pdf (glowscotland.org.uk)

Choosing rhymes and finger plays Rhymes can be said, sung or chanted at anytime throughout the day so are easy to add them into your daily routine. You can plan specific rhymes that are linked to a particular routine, activity or theme. There are many rhymes that we might think of as traditional nursery rhymes or you may have others that you use regularly. Although it can be tempting to stick with rhymes and finger plays that you know, it is important to think carefully about why you are choosing a particular rhyme.

Please find below the songs and rhymes you child will be learning at nursery over the academic year. We hope you find them useful.