In line with the guidelines set out by the Early Years Foundation Stage, the current interests and stage of development of each individual child is their own foundation for learning.
Through practice and regularly training the staff are highly skilled in providing stimulating activities for each child that best suits their developing needs. The staff use an “observation planning-assessment‟ cycle to aid them in this.
Each child’s key person will record wow ob's, planned ob's & extended observations on your child This will include things such as what their preferences are for play, things they say during play and new developments they display. We also ask that parents share their observations with us. These are kept in the learning journey of each individual child.
Each child’s key person will use the observations they've made & the ob's you have shared with them, to plan appropriate activities for your child in order to extend their learning. This will be done on a weekly basis. The activity planned will be focused around the individual child’s interests and their current development stage. It will be designed to challenge the child whilst being interesting to them.
The information retrieved from observations will be used to form assessments for each child, to be shared with parents. Informal assessments could occur daily through discussions upon collection. A formal assessment, however, will be recording and shared with parents every 3- 4 months. There is opportunity for discussion and response from parents which can then be used to inform future planning.
The information recorded, including observations and assessments, are kept in a personal development file belonging to the child. This will be updated regularly by the key person and is accessible to the child‟s parents at all times. When the child leaves for school, the development file will be passed on to the next part of the child‟s journey. All files are confidential.
Outdoor environment
Staplands has a good sized outdoor area and children are encouraged to play out in all weathers. We provide waterproof clothing for wet & messy play. Everything we have inside is continued in the outdoor environment. We have a digging area and a planting area where children are encouraged to plant, grow & then eat their own produce. This has proved very beneficial in helping children try new vegetables & salad.
Staplands operate a key person approach in order to provide the best possible working relationship for each child and their family and to ensure that individual needs are recognised and supported.
When initially settling a new child into the nursery, we work together with the parents to devise the best induction programme that will help both the child and their parents become confident with the nursery routines and familiar with the staff.
Before a child is due to move room, their key person will take them on visits, slowly building up the amount of time they spend in the room.
We also prepare the older children for starting school by planning school visits and inviting their teacher to visit them in the nursery.