Curriculum

At Sunshine we believe that the most effective and natural form of learning is through what we call their ‘life skills’. Children under the age of 7/8 are defaulted to naturally learn through ‘the experience of’, therefore, this underpins all learning and development at Sunshine.

This includes;

● Staff role modelling e.g. manners and respect.

● Respecting each child’s natural ‘window of learning’ by allowing them to follow a learning path/train of thought uninterrupted and/or with support.

● Staff to use natural techniques to extend and develop a child’s learning window

● An environment which enables and encourages independence

● Free flow play

● Children can choose what they would like to engage in, when and for how long by exploring their nursery space either on their own or with their friends.

Our aim is that through books, music, role modelling, dressing up, displays and our attitude, that the children understand, have a sense of and a positive attitude towards the benefits of a multi-cultural and multi-faith society. We maintain a strong cultural policy which engages our children in many festivals and celebrations from their local environment, their country and around the world

The EYFS is the national standards/curriculum that is set by the government for all registered childcare providers to work to. When Ofsted inspect settings/providers it is on how well they deliver this framework.

The EYFS is then divided into 7 areas of learning; 3 prime areas which are ‘personal, social and emotional’, ‘physical’ and ‘communication and language’ and 4 specific areas which are; ‘literacy’, ‘mathematics’, ‘understanding the world’ and ‘being creative’.

The prime areas are our framework of development for 0 to 3 year olds and then the specific areas are added in from age 3 to 5.

At Sunshine we choose to use child related themes such as ‘All about me’ ‘Occupations’ ‘Nursery rhymes and short stories’ to deliver this framework which are designed to engage with each child at their level.

The children know which theme we are working towards and are encouraged to bring things in from home to support this. Our aim is that the children see each theme as pure fun and games whilst we as staff use the planning to develop each child’s specific individual learning.

All our activities and recourses are adapted to each child’s individual needs. We are a fully inclusive nursery and practice makaton signing along side verbal communications as well as using visual timetables and communication boards. We provide 1:1 support where necessary, speech and language sessions and specialist learning plans and support.

Alongside our activities and all our continuous resources the children are taken on various trips whilst at Sunshine, from a weekly walk to the local library in small groups, to the much loved 'Leavers Trip' for our school leavers, which might include a farm or a train journey to a museum in Manchester.

We also plan a yearly ‘Christmas Sing Song’ and a ‘School Leavers Show’ at The Uniting Church to ensure our children have experienced a ‘show’ before transitioning to school