British National Curriculum

The English Nursery School (ENS) was founded in the spring of 2004. Our educational program is based upon the British National Curriculum for Early Years. Children are totally immersed in the English language. The Nursery group is for children from 3 to 4 years of age, and the Reception class is for 4 to 6 year olds.

British Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

The Foundation Stage, introduced from September 2000, is a new stage of education for children aged from three to the end of the Reception year. It is a distinct stage and important both in its own right and in preparing children for later schooling.

Early childhood is crucial in terms of children’s development and well-being. Growth is rapid and differential and a significantly high proportion of learning takes place from birth to age six. It is therefore a time when children particularly need high quality care and learning experiences.

The introduction of the Foundation Stage does not change the point at which attendance at school is compulsory, which is the beginning of the term after a child’s fifth birthday. British National Curriculum programme of study for Key Stage 1 have been written to be taught in Years 1 and 2. The Foundation Stage prepares children for learning in Key Stage 1 and is consistent with the National Curriculum.

Areas and aspects of learning for the Foundation Stage
There are six areas of learning in the curriculum for the Foundation Stage. Each area includes several aspects of learning. These are listed below.

Personal, social and emotional development (PSED)
1. Dispositions and attitudes
2. Self-confidence and self-esteem
3. Making relationships
4. Behaviour and self-control
5. Self-care
6. Sense of community

Communication, language and literacy (CLL)
1. Language for communications
2. Language for thinking
3. Linking sounds and letters
4. Reading
5. Writing
6. Handwriting

Mathematical development (MD)
1. Numbers as labels and for counting
2. Calculating
3. Shape, space and measures

Knowledge and understanding of the world (KUW)
1. Exploration and investigation
2. Designing and making skills
3. Information and communication technology
4. A sense of time
5. A sense of place
6. Cultures and beliefs

Physical development (PD)
1. Movement
2. A sense of space
3. Health and bodily awareness
4. Using equipment
5. Using tools and materials

Creative development (CD)
1. Exploring media and materials
2. Music
3. Imagination
4. Responding to experiences and expressing and communicating ideas

 
Aims for the Foundation Stage

All settings and schools for the education of children aged three to five include planning activities and experiences that help children make progress in their development and learning. Young children will have had a wide range of different experiences and will have a wide range of skills and interests when they join a setting or school at the age of three, four or five. They will then have a well-planned and resourced curriculum to take their learning forward and to provide opportunities for all children to succeed in an atmosphere of care and of feeling valued.
Monitoring of each child's progress throughout the Foundation Stage is essential to ensure that they are making progress and that particular difficulties in any of the areas of learning, whatever the cause, are identified and addressed. This process needs to start before the child joins the setting, with practitioners listening to parents' accounts of their child's development and noting any concerns.
The curriculum for the Foundation Stage underpins all future learning by supporting, fostering, promoting and developing children's:
personal, social and emotional well-being: in particular by supporting the transition to and between settings, promoting and inclusive ethos and providing opportunities for each child to become a valued member of that group and community so that a strong self-image and self-esteem are promoted;
positive attitudes and dispositions towards their learning: in particular and enthusiasm for knowledge and learning and a confidence in their ability to be successful learners;
social skills: in particular by providing opportunities that enable them to learn how to cooperate and work harmoniously alongside and with each other and to listen to each other;
attention skills and persistence: in particular the capacity to concentrate on their own play or on group tasks:
language and communication: with opportunities for all children to talk and communicate in a widening range of situations, to respond to adults and to each other, to practise and extend the range of vocabulary and communication skills they use and to listen carefully;
reading and writing: with opportunities for all children to explore, enjoy, learn about and use words and text in a broad range of contexts and to experience a rich variety of books;
mathematics: with opportunities for all children to develop their understanding of number, measurement, pattern, shape and space by providing a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about them;
knowledge and understanding of the world: with opportunities for all children to solve problems, make decisions, experiment, predict, plan and question in a variety of contexts, and to explore and find out about their environment and people and places that have significance in their lives;
physical development: with opportunities for all children to develop and practise their fine and gross motor skills and to increase their understanding of how their bodies work and what they need to do to be healthy and safe;
creative development: with opportunities for all children to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of art, design and technology, music, movement, dance and imaginative and role play activities.