The Nursery Curriculum at Brunswick

All children’s learning is based on the Revised Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum which underpins all future learning by supporting, fostering, promoting and developing children’s development in all areas.

We aim to continue the extremely valuable work you have already put into your child’s early education and look forward to working with you to help each child, at their own pace, make maximum progress during their time at Brunswick. The nursery day is carefully planned to give the children the opportunity to experience a wide variety of stimulating activities through play situations so that learning will be fun.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

  • Self-confidence and self-awareness
  • Managing feelings and behaviour
  • Making relationships

We learn to play together co-operatively and constructively
We learn to respect and take care of each other
We learn to do things for ourselves
We learn how to behave in a range of settings
We dress up and pretend to be other people
We learn to express our thoughts, ideas and feelings in circle time
We learn to share and take turns

Communication and Language

  • Listening and attention
  • Understanding
  • Speaking

We learn to communicate with others in a range of ways
We develop a wider vocabulary and descriptive language
We learn to listen to others and take turns to speak
We learn to listen attentively to stories, songs, rhymes and poems and respond to what we hear
We learn to follow instructions and answer questions
We learn to communicate our own ideas and stories

Physical Development

  • Moving and handling
  • Health and self-care

We enjoy climbing outside on the apparatus and during our weekly movement session
We use PE equipment like hoops, balls and beanbags to play games
We develop our fine motor skills by learning to tear, cut, sew, and manipulate different materials
We handle tools and equipment effectively, including pencils and pens
We learn to ride lots of different kinds of wheeled vehicles
We learn the importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe
We learn to manage our own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently
Young children’s physical development is inseparable from all other aspects of development because they learn through being active and interactive

Mathematics

  • Numbers
  • Shape, space and measures

We learn to sort, match, order, sequence and count lots of things
We solve problems
We play with the water and learn about capacity
We use scales to measure our ingredients during cooking sessions
We begin to understand the language of position and size
We use appropriate language to talk about size, weight, position, time and money
We recognise, create and describe patterns

Literacy

  • Reading
  • Writing

We learn about letters and sounds in our weekly sessions
We share books with each other and choose books to share at home
We talk about books and stories and recognise the difference between pictures and print
We use a variety of tools including pencils to make marks
We begin to use our phonic knowledge and understanding to give meaning to marks
We learn about writing our name

Expressive arts and design

  • Exploring and using media and materials
  • Being imaginative

We sing songs, make and explore music and dance
We love to explore and develop our creativity using a full range of materials
We explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function
We work alongside each other and with creative people
We build pretend homes, space ships, boats, and trains and let our imagination take us on all sorts of adventures

Understanding of the World

  • People and communities
  • The World
  • Technology

We enjoy exploring and becoming familiar with our local environment
We love to examine the insects in our garden
We plant seeds and plants in our garden and learn how to care for them.
Our outside classroom is very important to us; we learn so much and have lots of fun
We like to use the computer to play games and to draw
We recognise a range of technology and select and use it for a particular purpose
We share stories about our friends and families
We investigate why and how things work, using lots of construction kits and materials
Cooking is one of our favourite activities and we enjoy eating what we have made
Visitors come and tell us about their jobs
Young children use all their senses to learn about the world around them and make connections between new information and what they already know

For more information please follow this link ‘What to expect in the Early Years’