Preschool Curriculum

The forefront of our curriculum is for children to feel secure and safe within the preschool. Starting with home visits and induction sessions, the staff team use warm and positive interactions with children and their families to help them settle into the new preschool environment. Each child has a designated key person who supports them as they become familiar with the preschool activities and routines.

Building on this foundation we intend for all our children to develop strong communication and language skills. In 2023 we renewed our Quality Assurance Accreditation from Bucks Early Years in Communication and Language support, and have developed our pedagogical style to be ‘chatty’ and ‘friendly’ which we know helps our children gain and progress their social and emotional skills; recognising their own emotions and those of others, to help them feel ‘Safe, Supported and Successful’. These skills are essential for children to become happy, confident, independent and inquisitive little learners.

We have used the ‘Development Matters’ and ‘Birth to Five’ guidance documents alongside this to shape our rich curriculum, which includes a balance of both adult-led and child-led learning opportunities, and a progression document starting at each individual child’s baseline of entry, following opportunities for skill progression right through to goals for the end of Reception year. We have a long-term annual plan, which includes looking at seasonal changes, festivals and celebrations, a medium term ‘themed’ plan (both available to view on our website), and a weekly in-depth plan which includes ‘in the moment’ and spontaneous additions according to the current interests and fascinations of the children.

We have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books available throughout our provision, and designated Key Text, poems, songs and rhymes are read and sung with the children across the year to expose them to a rich vocabulary over a wide range of subjects.

Parents are encouraged to participate in building our curriculum by sharing with us their child’s play preferences and interests at home, visiting the classroom to share their own occupations or interests, and attending termly Stay and Play sessions. We also use an online Tapestry Learning Journal system to encourage a 2-way process of supporting each child’s progression.

Medium Term Planning 2023/2024