We believe that children learn most effectively through an exciting and developmentally appropriate play-based curriculum, which allows them to develop through their interests, curiosities and fascinations, supports their individual learning style and is sensitive to their needs and experiences. Our Haven curriculum is unique to us and embodies our vision and values alongside the characteristics of effective learning to ensure we are foster a lifelong love of learning.  Children are excited on their adventure of learning!

Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework that sets the standards that all Early Years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children are ready for school and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life.

The revised framework for the EYFS has been mandatory since January 2024. The framework explains how your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 area of learning and development. The framework includes children from birth to five years old and therefore is in place for children in all areas of our provision.

The framework consists of three Prime areas which underpin all other areas of development. These are:

• communication and language

• physical development

• personal, social and emotional development

These prime areas form the basis for our curriculum throughout our nursery and underpin all that we do and offer for children.

There are also four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied. The specific areas are:

• literacy

• mathematics

• understanding the world

• expressive arts and design

The framework outlines Education Programmes, which are high level summaries which set out what children should learn in each area of the curriculum. At Haven, we have developed our own curriculum progression model that outlines how we will thread these educational programmes throughout are provision and teaching and learning for children. We are aspiration and hold high expectations for all children, whilst ensuring each child is catered for as a unique individual. 

The framework also consists of the Characteristics of Effective Learning. Children are supported with opportunities to develop and enhance their characteristics of effective learning through our provision and curriculum offer.

The framework is used to form part of our Nursery school curriculum, alongside the guidance from Development Matters.

Our Haven Nursery School Curriculum Intent, Implementation and Impact Statement

Intent

Our curriculum intent places curious, creative, engaging and individualised learning at the heart of everything we do. It values play as the main tool for learning and nurtures children’s natural curiosity. Our curriculum engages and motivates children, facilitating thinking and learning, investigating, discovering and inquiring through high-level involvement and engagement. It builds on prior learning and leads to future learning. Our curriculum encourages children to ask questions, problem solve and take risks. It helps children to become ‘a Haven learner’. All this allows children to develop the skills, knowledge, understanding and personal qualities that will enable them to be confident and successful lifelong learners and confident and successful members of society.

Our curriculum intent enables all children to thrive by responding to their individual needs. We support children to develop effective learning habits and promote positive learning behaviours through the Characteristics of Effective Learning – Play and Exploration, Active Learning and Creative and Critical Thinking. Our approach encourages and supports individuality and inspires children to be intrinsically motivated learners who embrace challenge.

We aim to develop confident communicators who know that their ideas matter and are able to communicate effectively in their own way, making a positive contribution to society.

We intend for children to be secure in their unique self as they understand and appreciate their own emotional needs and are increasingly able to regulate themselves effectively through a range of different strategies. 

Implementation 

Every child’s journey at Haven begins with us building strong relationships with children and families. Our key person approach is instrumental in this and we firmly believe children need a positive experience of dependency in order to develop independence. Our curriculum implementation is dependent on adults who are emotionally available and in tune with our children. We continue to work with families throughout their time with Haven and they become part of our school family. Positive parental relationships and engagement is a powerful tool to a child’s success and progress. Ensuring positive relationships exist between all members of the nursery school community is vital to our curriculum implementation.

Our curriculum is delivered through responsive, child-led and ‘in the moment’ planning that is tailored to the curiosities, fascinations and interests of each child. We provide a rich, balanced and creative curriculum where children actively learn through play experiences. Our children learn through their engagement with a range of learning opportunities, which include a balance of child-initiated and adult-directed activities. We provide learning opportunities that build on the previous learning of each unique child.  The strong emphasis on relationships ensures staff know the children well, which enables us to provide experiences for the children to build on their existing skills, knowledge and understanding. Practitioners know the progression of learning; what children have learned before and what they need to learn next. We plan opportunities to revisit and deepen their learning through well-planned continuous provision. Highly skilled practitioners use careful observations to follow the child’s lead. By implementing our observation, assessment and planning cycle in this way, we are able to ensure that the children have ownership over their environment and learning.

Our implementation focuses on nurturing children and supporting and celebrating individuality. We provide an inclusive environment where everyone is valued and has learning opportunities suited to their unique needs. The provision within the setting delivers challenging experiences that support the development of the children. The curriculum and learning is accessible both indoors and outdoors and is accessible in a free flow way to all. The provision is designed in a cross-curricular way that supports holistic learning and development as well as promoting sustained thinking and active learning.

Throughout a child’s journey at Haven we focus on providing a language rich and communication friendly environment. Learning is supported through language and communication which is rich in extending the vocabulary appropriate to the individual child. Makaton signs and suitable visual aids are used as an integral part of our communication approach.

We have written detailed curriculum progression documents to support and enable learning and progression and for the aspects of learning our children may need additional support with. Staff draw on these when children are not on track to achieve their age related goal.  We use the prime areas of learning as a vehicle to deliver the specific areas.

Impact

Our curriculum design aims to ensure all children will be ‘A Haven Learner’ who is kind, unique, inquisitive, adventurous and empowered. All members of the nursery school community will feel valued, safe and listened to. All children will have the opportunity to succeed – they will thrive! Children will understand they are important and accept difference in themselves and others. They will show kindness and respect to others and the world around us. Our curriculum aims to ensure children take risks in their play and learning and bounce back from mistakes. Our curriculum intent and implementation will ensure children all make good progress and achieve strong outcomes. Our high standards of progress and achievement are driven by an enriched curriculum, an enabling environment, and  a rigorous assessment processes. We use ‘Development Matters in the E.Y.F.S.’ alongside our curriculum progression documents as guidance on what to look for and when. These documents help staff identify children’s developing knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes as they make progress towards the early learning goals, throughout the foundation stage. We are working towards all children achieving a good level of development in the early learning goals by the end of the reception year. We aim for the majority of our children to be on track to achieving this when they leave Haven to start primary school. However, our focus on each child’s progress will always take into account the child’s starting points.

We aim to create a curriculum which ensure children will leave Haven excited to continue their individual adventure of learning.