All our children have many opportunities from free-flow play, child-led and adult-led activities to learn through their play.
Their ongoing development is further enhanced as we follow the guidelines set down by the governments Early Years Foundation Stage commonly referred to as the EYFS. These guidelines are mandatory and were updated in January 2024.
Busikids Nursery Manager, Charlotte Angel, ensures that all updates are understood and implemented by our professional team of nursery practitioners and that they also attend regular training sessions and staff meetings. This then ensures continuous provision for all the children.
Each room has its own way of planning, incorporating observations for all the children to help understand the progress each child is making, enabling the team to plan for their future learning experiences. Working this way ensures that all children are given tailored opportunities to aid their further development in all areas of learning.
The children's interests and home life are incorporated into the curriculum wherever possible. We teach this through the materials and resources we use and also invite a variety of professionals to come in and talk to the children, as well as going out and about on walks, ensuring our activites reflect a variety of religions and cultures, local communities and the much wider world.
We use a system called EYMan, and EY App for parents, to keep parents informed of their child's daily activities and progress, with 'moments' and photographs, sent throughout the day, this can be a record of achievements showing a child's progress through the various areas of development.
Regular Parent's evenings are also held for one to one time with your child's key worker to allow a relaxed time to be able to discuss your child without the pressures of drop off and pick up time.
Every child attending Busikids is allocated a key worker. While all staff will participate in the care of your child, the named key worker has a special bond and responsibility towards your child.
The key person works alongside parents and carers to ensure that there is continuity of care for the child thus supporting the child’s emotional well-being. The key person will want you to share information about your child - the more you can tell them the better the relationship they will be able to form with your child and plan how to meet their needs.
The key person role is important. Research and evidence show that children thrive when their needs are met by special people that they know, trust and respect. Familiarity, pattern and predictability support children’s personal development and helps them understand who they are and what they can do. Children can concentrate and learn more effectively if they're not under stress or pressure, so having a key person who is attentive and knows the child well will support children in their personal, social and emotional development.
The key person is someone you can talk to about any concerns, they will know your child well and will be able to provide advice and support with all aspects of learning and development. You will be offered regular times to talk to your child’s key person and discuss your child’s learning and progress.
In addition to sharing daily information with you, key workers are also responsible for maintaining a confidential record of your child’s development this is called their Learning Journal.
We also operate a ‘buddy’ system, so if your key worker is away you still have a ‘go to’ person
The Busikids Curriculum
As you may be aware, in September 2021, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework was revised, for all early year’s settings. The Government’s two main aims for changing the EYFS were:
The EYFS has also been updated since, in January 2024, to reflect recent operational changes mostly.
Please click on the link below:
Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (publishing.service.gov.uk)
At Busikids, we offer an inclusive environment which supports all children to feel welcome and excited to be with their friends. Where the provision is creative, constructive and imaginative, and reflects their home life and community as well as nursery life, and also the world they may not have experienced.
To do this, we have made some changes in our playrooms, as we alter our environment to enable the children to feel more comfortable, and inquisitive at the same time. We have chosen to follow aspects from The Curiosity Approach, Parents (thecuriosityapproach.com) , which –
We have also looked at how and what the children are learning. We took into account our children’s individual needs, our families and wider community, and what the children could learn from us. The result was the table below of Busikids Common Learning Goals. This is a table of 11 learning goals for each room, and we hope to help the children to achieve these goals by the end of their time in each room.
We will still be using Birth To 5 Matters, Information for parents – Birth To 5 Matters , as a reference. (Please remember, when looking at any reports referencing Birth To 5 Matters, this is only a guide and children also do not learn in a linear fashion, i.e. climbing a ladder of progression. A child may progress more in one area than another, and/or more in one part of an area than another part of an area, meaning they have probably started to achieve beyond the point of the assessment.
We will also be looking at the underpinning behaviours children use in order to learn, called Characteristics of Effective Learning, and using these to help us to provide better experiences for the children too. These are divided into three groups
Creating and thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
Playing and exploring - finding out and exploring, playing with what they know, being willing to ‘have a go.’
Active learning - being involved and concentrating, keeping trying, enjoying achieving what they set out to do. Effective learning must be meaningful to a child, so that they are able to use what they have learned and apply it in new situations3.
Every child is unique and therefore, not all children may achieve all goals. It is ok, we will do our best to help them reach for the stars…
| Area of Learning Covered | Penguin Room | Monkey Room | Pre-School Room |
| PD; PSED | Self-Help Skills- will make it known when they have soiled their nappy; can use a spoon; holds arm/leg out when an adult is getting them dressed. | Self-Help Skills – learn the importance of washing hands; attempt to put coat and shoes on, achieving it sometimes; toilet training if ready. | Self-Help Skills – Wash hands, understand the need for hygiene; Attempt dressing; Achieve toileting. |
| PSED; CL | Happy & Confident – will giggle and begin to talk and repeat; confident to leave an adult’s side; will seek an adult out for support. | Happy & confident – Can approach adults/peers to make a comment/ask a question (either verbally or using actions/signs); can select own activities. | Happy and Confident – Can approach both adults and peers to talk to/ask questions; can select own activities. |
| PD | Learn to walk, crawl, move to music | Kick and throw a ball, move to music, jump, roll and run, and use steps. | Kick, catch, throw a ball, move to music in different ways, jump, roll, run and hop, balance and pedal. |
| KUW | Cuddle animals (the pretend ones!); talk to the children about being kind to animals, and the world around them. | Be kind to animals, and start to learn about caring for the environment. | Be kind to animals; know it is important to care for the environment; begin to know how to do both of these. |
| PSED; EAD | Are willing to investigate a variety of sensory materials and explore fully. | Mimic parts of everyday life, pretend and make-believe, having moments in their own world. | Play alongside/with peers, to be who they want to be, using their imagination and props if they wish. |
| CL; L | Enjoy listening to songs/nursery rhymes, and try to join in; listen with intent as books are read; looks at books too. | Sing their favourite song, even if in their own words; have their favourite book. | Sing their favourite song; be able to listen to a story; be able to tell a story; be able to handle a book. |
| M | Can complete a simple tray puzzle/stacking toy | Simple maths, e.g. size language – big, small; using the odd number names sometimes. | Have some number/mathematical vocabulary; recognise & count numerals 1-10. |
| CL | Can understand two-word instructions/questions; show an interest in signing (Makaton); Babble, perhaps say the odd word | Understand and follow simple instructions; Can sign using Makaton; Begin to make sentences using a few words | Understand and follow more than one instruction; Can hold a two-way conversation; Can use intonation and expression |
| PSED; KUW | Will look at photos of family, friends and staff, and pictures of everyday activities and celebrations, with interest, while staff talk about them | Investigate celebrations and experiences with their peers; begin to show an interest in family; be aware of their peers; begin to understand the concept of sharing and turn-taking. | Share experiences with others; Turn taking; celebrate with others, showing an interest; talk about an important day; discuss family. |
| L | Achieve hand/eye co-ordination by practising activities such as busy boards. | Enjoy making marks, sometimes applying meaning to them. | Own name recognition; make marks, ascribing meaning to them. |
| PSED | Self regulation – will mimic what they have seen an adult doing; be aware of, and give cuddles to their peers. | Self regulation – Have a way to express their feelings; begin to know when others have different feelings. | Self regulation – know how to acknowledge/express their own feelings, acknowledge other’s feelings, and attempt to resolve conflict |