Our Ethos:
The staff and Governors of Beechdale Nursery provide an inclusive school which welcomes all children. We intend that every child will have equal opportunity to develop their full potential through the continuity of indoor and outdoor learning. This is achieved through:
- a broad and balanced Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, which enables each child to develop holistically.
- quality learning experiences through appropriate active learning based on play and communication.
- ensuring every child has an equal opportunity to develop their full potential.
- following children’s passions and interests to identify individual children’s paths of learning and their achievements.
- celebrating the joy and wonder of life-long learning in the outdoor environment.
The school promotes:
- respect and tolerance for each other through co-operation and partnership;
- well-being, self-esteem and develop confidence to enable children to become interactive learners through the support of their key carer and other staff;
- happiness and an enthusiasm for lifelong learning to allow all individuals the opportunity for self-expression;
- well-being, through respecting and valuing all children for their own qualities, individualities and achievements
Our Curriculum Intent
For many children, Beechdale Nursery is the first experience of school education. With this in mind, our overarching intent is to foster a love of learning through investigating first-hand magic, awe and wonder of our world. We aim to offer them opportunities to explore a wide range of interesting and exciting experiences that ignite curiosity and begin a lifelong love of learning.
Our curriculum coverage is very much based on the children’s interests making each year bespoke and unique to the children attending our Nursery. By following the children’s interests we find children are more engaged and inspired, allowing us to meet children’s learning needs and enabling all children to achieve their full potential. At this age children need a great deal of adult time and attention and our experienced staff give sensitive, appropriate and well timed support.
We offer a play based curriculum as it is through play children make sense of their world and engage in deep level learning. Young children have an enormous capacity for intellectual development, they learn by exploring and investigating, watching and listening, talking and discussing, creating and communicating. It is key for children to ‘have a go’, to be able to learn from their mistakes and try again. Our Nursery School lays firm foundations for future learning and provides a rich variety of learning situations to enable the all-round development of each child. We are flexible and adapt our interactions for individual children’s maturities.
Implementation:
When following the children’s interests it is inevitable that some interests take off and could lead the children’s learning for a longer period where some lose momentum and may last for only a short spell. Every year we deliver some predicted interests and content appropriate to the seasons or time of year; for instance, Autumn or religious festivals and British traditions. Though the majority of content (what we teach) may change each year depending on the children’s interests how we deliver the curriculum is consistent. The areas of effective learning are embedded into everything we do and staff are skilled in teaching and modelling these characteristics to the children.
Impact:
Our continuous use of assessment ensures that teaching matches the ability of the children and offers real challenge. Children are assessed on entry and records of progress are regularly updated through observation or planned assessment activities. They are also used to group children, according to ability for certain activities and to identify any very able children or children with S.E.N. Information is used regularly to track the children’s progress and evaluate next steps for individual and groups of children.
Our Values
- Respect for ourselves, others and the world
- Determination
- Kindness
- Self confidence
- Honesty
- Good Manners
- Resilience
These values are in partnership with Consett Infant School.
British Values
At Beechdale Nursery School, teaching British values means providing a curriculum which actively promote(s) the fundamental British values;
Promoting democracy
We ensure that all children and families within the school have a voice that is listened to, and demonstrate how democracy works by actively promoting democratic processes (such as involving children in choosing where to play).
Promoting the rule of law
- Teaching children right from wrong
- Teaching mutual respect and tolerance
- Encouraging the children to take safe risks
- Ensuring children have the right to say ‘no’ and be respected for their choices.
- Encouraging children with the support of adults to solve problems for themselves and to work together as a group. To learn that their needs and everyone’s needs matter.
- Including world religions, cultures and festivals, families and communities in our planning to teach children about the world in which they live e.g. links with Nepal.
- Linking children’s learning so they understand they are part of a much wider world displaying posters and reading books which show world religions and cultures, blended families, disability, equality of opportunity etc
