THE Curriculum

Our Head of EYFS has developed a curriculum using the seven areas of learning as set out by the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. The EYFS curriculum sets out developmental areas for children aged 0 – 5 years old that should be met within that period of time.

Seven areas of development:

• Personal, social, emotional development

• Communication and language

• Physical development

• Mathematics

• Literacy

• Understanding the world

• Expressive arts and design

We build our curriculum by developing a long-term plan each year. This plan is split into themes reflecting the children’s interests such as space, animals, transport and society. These themes become the weekly subject to focus on in the classroom. At the end of the week we evaluate the children’s understanding of each theme and either continue with it into the next week or move on to the next theme.

A typical daily routine at Hallfield First:

Time Activit y

8:00 – 9:00

Break fast / free play

Nappies / toileting

9:00 – 10:00

Focussed activities / outdoor play

10:00 – 11:00

Snack / focussed activities

11:00 – 11:15

Free play / tidy up time

Nappies / toileting

11:15 – 11:30

11:30 – 12:15

Stor y / song time

Wash hands for lunch / lunch time / tidy up after lunch

12:15 – 12:45

Free play and get ready for bed

12:45 – 14:.30

Sleep time / free play or outdoor play

14:30 – 15:30

Focussed activities / outdoor play

Nappies / toileting

15:30 – 16:15

16:15 – 16:30

Tidy up / tea time

Focussed activities / free play / outdoor play

School trips

We organise trips to local places of interest such as Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Canon Hill Park to enhance the children’s learning and experiences of the world around them.

Special visitors

We organise visitors to come into our nursery and interact with the children to develop their social skills and offer a different perspective on a particular subject. In recent years, this has included an astronaut, best-selling children’s author and the Animal Man.

Class sizes

Class sizes are determined in accordance with national EYFS guidelines and are calculated by the number of children per square foot.

Below is a breakdown of the maximum capacities of each room, and adult to child ratios as set out by EYFS guidelines.

Nursery Staff

Head of EYFS – Ms Caitlin Williams

Ms Williams oversees the EYFS provision and is responsible for planning the EYFS curriculum, ensuring the highest standard of EYFS provision is delivered and maintained. Ms Williams has over 20 years’ experience of teaching in primary schools and has been an EYFS teaching specialist for over 12 years.

Head of Learning Support – Mrs Natasha Samuels

Natasha spent time working internationally in the Cayman Islands as Head of Assessment, Inclusion and CPD; and worked in Dubai as Assistant Head of Early Years and Key Stage One with responsibility for Inclusion. She is passionate about inclusion and has completed her National Award for SENDCo’s through Leeds Beckett University.

Nursery Manager – Kelly Edwards

Responsible for the overall running of Hallfield First.

Deputy Manager – Rachael O’Rourke

Room Age Ratio Month your child was born Max class size

Elms 0 – 1 1:3 – 9

Beeches 1 – 21:3 or 1:4* Sep – Feb9

Willows 1 – 21:3 or 1:4Mar – Aug 16

Maples 2 – 31:4 – 1:8**Sep – Feb 24

Oaks 2 – 31:4 – 1:8Mar - Aug 32

*when child turns 2 within their room

**when child turns 3 within their room

Supports the nursery manager and is responsible for the nursery in the absence of the nursery Manager.

Room Leaders

Ensure the planning and curriculum is ongoing.

Nursery Nurses

Support the room leaders within the room.