Curriculum

"Staff provide very high-quality teaching and they ensure each child receives the support they need to reach their full potential" Ofsted report May 2019.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework which sets the standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. We gradually introduce phonetic and number work with games, rhymes and structured play, meanwhile developing motor skills and social interaction with both adults and other children. Our activities are linked to the 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum:

* Personal, Social and Emotional development

* Communication and Language development

* Physical Development

* Literacy development

* Mathematics

* Understanding of the world

* Expressive arts and designs

The children can flow freely between the main hall and the garden encouraging children to decide for themselves which activities they want to explore and allowing them to learn at their own pace. Activity areas set out for children each day include: arts and crafts, reading, dressing up, role play, music, maths, writing, water trays. Some activities provide structure and are "adult led" such as cooking, gardening and card making.

Each child is assigned a member of staff as their key worker who will help your child settle into preschool, observe and record their achievements as well as identify areas for their development.

Special Educational Needs

"The manager carries out very detailed data analysis to continually check children's progress and maintain the highest levels of achievement.....The early intervention to close gaps in learning helps staff to ensure that children make significant progress from their starting points." Ofsted May 2019

When a child is identified as needing extra support, we speak to the parents and discuss appropriate measures we can take to provide support. Our SENCo and her assistant run 2 groups twice weekly to provide support within a small group for those identified needing support in speech and language and social skills. These groups work towards the individual children's targets and are known as "Bubbles Groups". We also work with parents to refer children to outside agencies such as portage and occupational therapists.

Working with Parents

"Staff work extremely well with parents to ensure that each child has continuity of care and their development needs are well known. They provide parents with all the information and advice that they need in order to continue each child's learning at home." Ofsted report May 2019.

At Little Fishes we are committed to partnership with parents, as we believe that where there is such partnership, the conditions are in place for the development of each unique child into a happy and flourishing individual.

Bubbles can be taken home by children for any occasion e.g. a weekend away, a day trip or a holiday. He comes with a diary in which parents can write a small extract about what Bubbles has done during his time with their child. Bubbles as a booking diary so please speak to a staff member to book him out.

Each child has a home link book which parents can regularly use to communicate with their child's key worker and staff are available to talk to before and after sessions.

We welcome and value the work of parent/family helpers within our setting once the childrenhave settled at the start of term.