At John Emmerson Batty Primary School, our Early Years provision includes our two-year-old provision, Nursery and Reception. We have designed one coherent and ambitious curriculum that grows with children throughout their Early Years journey.
Building strong foundations
We recognise that every child joins us with different strengths, experiences and starting points. Communication and language are at the heart of our curriculum because they provide essential foundations for children’s learning, relationships and emotional development.
Through high-quality conversations, stories, songs, rhymes, play and carefully planned teaching, children develop a rich vocabulary and the confidence to express their needs, share their ideas, listen to others and access all seven areas of learning.
A curriculum that grows with our children
Our curriculum is carefully sequenced so that important knowledge, vocabulary and skills are introduced, revisited and strengthened over time. As children move through the provision, their learning increases in:
- depth and complexity;
- richness and precision of vocabulary;
- independence and confidence;
- challenge and expectation;
- opportunities to remember and connect learning;
- application in different situations.
In our two-year-old provision, we focus particularly on secure relationships, communication, emotional regulation, physical development, curiosity and sensory exploration.
In Nursery, children build upon these foundations through a wider range of experiences, sustained play and carefully planned adult interactions and teaching.
In Reception, purposeful play and high-quality interaction continue alongside carefully sequenced direct teaching. Children develop greater independence, stamina, precision and control and are encouraged to explain their thinking, solve problems and apply their learning.
Learning through purposeful provision
Our indoor and outdoor environments are carefully planned to encourage children to explore, investigate, communicate, create and make choices. Familiar areas, routines and resources become increasingly challenging as children progress.
Adults introduce and model important knowledge, language and skills before giving children opportunities to practise and apply their learning independently through purposeful play. Activities and enhancements are selected because they contribute meaningfully to children’s learning and development.
Ambitious for every child
We are ambitious for every child, whatever their starting point. Our practitioners get to know children well and use observation, interaction and assessment to identify what each child already knows and what they need to learn next.
Modelling, scaffolding, adaptation and timely support enable all children, including those with SEND and those who are disadvantaged, to access the same broad and ambitious curriculum.
Ready for the next stage
Progress in Early Years is about more than completing activities. We look for children to know and remember more, use increasingly precise language, make connections, sustain their concentration, solve problems and apply their learning in new situations.
By the end of Reception, our aim is for children to be confident, curious, articulate and increasingly independent learners, with secure foundations for a successful transition into Year 1 and beyond.