South Lee Prep School & Nursery
Bury St Edmunds
Curriculum
Meticulous consideration goes into crafting plans following the guidelines of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum. Each day brings a spectrum of activities, both directed by adults and initiated by children (source: www.early-education.org.uk). cross the Early Years span, our children have the opportunity to delve into a comprehensive and diverse curriculum, encompassing three primary areas of development and four specific areas of focused learning as outlined below.
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Our planning revolves around these domains, and we curate activities and experiences aimed at empowering children to achieve their utmost potential, all while immersing themselves in a time of joy and excitement.
The three prime areas focus on Personal, Social & Emotional Development, Communication & Language, and Physical Development.
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Personal, Social & Emotional Development
This prime area focuses on self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings, managing behaviour and making relationships.
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Communication & Language
The second prime area focuses on listening and attention, understanding and speaking.
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Physical Development
The third prime area involves moving, handling, health and self-care
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Curriculum Focus
The four specific focuses of learning are:
Literacy: Reading and writing
Mathematics: Numbers, shapes space and measurements
Understanding the World: People and communities, the world and technology
Expressive Arts & Design: Exploring and using media, materials and being imaginative
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Every Child is Unique
In order to access earning, our children need to feel safe, secure and happy. The nursery sets out themes which express important principles to underpin effective practice4 in the care, development and learning of young children.
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These focus on the uniqueness of each child, his or her ability to learn, ensuring secure relationships both at home and at school, an environment which is conducive to their learning, and the recognition that they will develop in a different way and at a different rate from other children. We consider these principles at all times when we are planning for and working with the children.
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Particular importance is placed on the individual needs and interests of each child and staff use their expertise to adapt activities accordingly to suit the children in their classes. Selected mornings also consists of Tennis Coaching, French, ICT, Forest School, Stave House, and a visit to the School Library.
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PE
The children thoroughly enjoy their PE lessons! They start the lesson with balloon tennis which teaches the children about balance and hand-eye co-ordination. The children follow instructions to try to keep the balloon in the air using their hands, rackets and foam balls.
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Stave House
The Stave House method teaches children to read, play and write music. It uses a series of creative characters to engage children, through storytelling and nursery rhymes. The children learn about Furdy the Fox, Celia the Centipede and where they live in the Stave House. This style of teaching is progressive, suitable for children with little or no music exposure and with lots of fun along the way.
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STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
STEM is an exciting opportunity for children to investigate and explore the world around them. Following instructions by the STEM leader, they learn how to balance, measure, weigh, create volcanoes that explode, build bridges and tunnels; and much more!
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Drama
Our drama leader joins us weekly to deliver fun packed drama sessions. Children have the opportunity to act out their favourite stories, becoming superheroes to rescue vegetables from 'Supertato', following the Wonkey Donkey story and learning songs for the annual Nativity performance.
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Art
This is led by the school's Head of Art, Mrs Thistlethwaite; making and sculpting beautiful artwork that is displayed around the school and to be presented to their parents.
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French
The school's specialist French teacher, Madame Barker joins the Nursery to teach the children the foundations of the language. They learn numbers, colours, clothing, names and much more with the help of a monkey puppet, songs and games.
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Make and Bake
The children are led by the Make and Bake leaders to create delicious culinary treats, following a picture reference recipe; weighing and measuring their own ingredients themselves, mixing, stirring, kneading the ingredients, and then baked on sit by the school chef and will be sent home for all their family to try.
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Physical Fun
The children are led by the Sport Director who sets out fun and challenging obstacle courses for the children to manoeuvre, explore, balance and climb
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Yoga
Our Yoga leader transports them into a mindful and tranquil place, where there are taken through the movements, engaging their core muscles, balancing and gross motor coordination, to go through each individual Yoga pose. The end the session with each child sharing a moment from the previous week at home that is important to them.
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Creative Craft
The school's Head of Art, Mrs Thistlethwaite joins the Nursery children and pre-schoolers every Friday, working on a focussed piece that will be used for Special events, i.e. Mothers Day, Easter, Fathers Day, Christmas, etc.
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Community Links
We aim to forge positive relationships with our local community and regularly have visits from the Police Force, the Fire Service, the Medical Profession, Dentists and Vets to join us and share their expertise. As well as being an enjoyable experience for the children, these visits often help to allay any fears the children may have through role play opportunities. These include trying on uniforms, using equipment, sitting in police cars and so on.
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Learning About Cultures & Religions
Our Early Years is inclusive and throughout the year, we celebrate a number of festivals. In recent years we have been lucky to have had parents who have come into our Early Years on festival days to share their cultural history with all the children. We fully embrace these exciting days and have displays around the Early Years to reflect this.
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Special Events
Every year we hold a themed 'Family Fun Day'. This is a very special day where staff, children and parents join together to have a fun-filled morning. The staff provide a range of activities for the children to participate in if they wish. We also hold an annual Sports Day which is held on the Victory Grounds, a Nativity (which we perform to families, in our school hall) and a Christmas Party.
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We have many 'Interactive Weeks' which include: Science, Music, Maths, Outdoor Activities, Woodland Animal Homes and many more. We also have our own Graduation when completing our final year in Nursery.
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