Curriculum: What we want children to know, understand and be able to do
Put simply, a ‘curriculum’ is the content of what we want children to know, understand and be able to do. Read on to find out more about how we will work with your child according to the Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework.
| EYFS Areas | Babies | Toddlers | Tweenies | Roles of the Adult | Characteristics of effective learning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication and Language | We hope that you will use a range of noises such as babbling, single words, familiar phrases and gestures to communicate your thoughts and feelings We hope you can respond appropriately to familiar words, gestures, sounds, choices, instructions and simple sentences. We will support you with this using songs, rhymes, puppets, books and quality interaction with staff and your peers As you leave our room we hope that you will listen and respond to simple instructions such as ‘put your shoes on’ As you leave our room we hope that you are using between 10-20 words | We hope that you can begin to put two to three words together and be inquisitive with your questions such as who, what, where? We hope that you will start to develop conversation and use your words in pretend play, however we know that you may not be able to concentrate for too long We will support this through circle time, small group games, picture books and new vocabulary As you leave our room we hope that you can use 50-100 words and be competent in your communication We hope that you can understand a variety of words, questions and more complex dual instructions, as well as listen and understand your peers As you leave our room we hope that you are able to pay attention to a short story and identify familiar objects | We will support this through pretend play, extending your language and discussing everyday experiences and real life events. We will closely monitor your pronunciation and ability to talk to unfamiliar adults We hope that you would be using pronouns (he, she), plurals (man, men) and prepositions (in, out, under) As you leave our room we hope that you can use around 300 words, including descriptive and imaginative language as well as words for time, space and function, also linking up to 5 words together We hope that you are able to shift from one task to another when needed, following instructions with three key words (can you wash dolly’s face?) and show your understanding of action words | Staff to show a genuine interest in the children, join in and respond warmly. Staff to sing a wide range of songs to children. Take time and tune into to children’s vocalisations, body language and gestures. Provide language rich environment with book, text and letters. Extending language. Staff always adding new words. For example child says – ‘A red car, staff repeat ‘A big red car’. Provide lots of stories, role play, conversation, and modelling to extend language. Reply correctly to mispronounced words, do not correct the child. Provide different and challenging experiences for children | Playing and exploring Children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go Realise that their actions influence the world. Plan and think ahead about how they will explore or play with objects. Children guiding their thoughts and inner voice Making independent choices. Allow children to bring in their own interests and experiences into play. |
| Physical development | We hope that you are able to move around your environment freely, both indoors and outdoors with ease and enjoyment (waving, kicking, crawling and walking) We will support your gross motor skills by providing opportunities for music and movement, climbing, pushing, pulling and different sized space We hope that you are able to use your fine motor skills to pass things from one hand to another, hold mark making tools with whole hand grasp and pick small items up with your thumb and first finger We will support your fine motor abilities by providing you with opportunities for hand-eye coordination (throwing, posting, dropping, rolling) We hope that you will develop your core physical strength and body muscles by encouraging you to become creative and adaptive movers (reaching object in small space) As you leave our room we hope that you are able to feed yourself with some help and have attempted to take their first steps | We hope that you are beginning to feel confident on your feet and are learning new gross motor movements as you develop We hope that you are learning to, run, jump, kick a ball, climb nursery equipment and have shown interest in tunnels, dens and small boxes We hope that you are beginning to show some more controlled fine motor movements when mark making and building We hope that you will develop your core physical strength and body muscles by encouraging you to become creative and adaptive movers (reaching objects in small space) As you leave our room we hope that you are able to hold your own cup well, use your own cutlery, try new foods and become an independent eater | We hope that you will be able to use your fine motor skills to develop your independence (doing up buttons/zips, pouring drinks, dressing/undressing) We will provide you with opportunities to climb confidently, catch a large ball, pedal a tricycle and explore your gross motor movements freely We hope that you are able to show more control with your hand-eye coordination when throwing, posting, spinning and pinching We hope that you are able to show more control and manipulation with your fine motor skills We will provide you experiences to grasp, hold and explore such as clay, paints, spoons, brushes, drawing equipment and threading We hope that you will develop your core physical strength and body muscles by encouraging you to become creative and adaptive movers (balancing activities with planks) As you leave this room we hope that you are able to have a go at putting your own coat and other items of clothing | Encourage babies to sit on you, climb over you, rock, bounce or sway with you. Provide a wide range of opportunities for children to move both indoors and outdoors. Including risky play and rough and tumble play as appropriate. Help young children to learn physical risk. Let them take the risk and be there as a support. Encourage independence with small and large motor skills including coats, zips, pouring, and feeding themselves. Provide children with lots of different objects to grasp hold and explore. For staff to be aware to support core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination, and agility. Physical development needs practice allow children lots of time to develop and secure their physical skills. | Active learning Children concentrate and keep trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements. Children will know routines. Begin to predict sequences. Show goal directed behaviour- children do things with an end goal in aim. Begin to correct their mistakes themselves. Keep trying when things are difficult. – allow children to attempt activities independently knowing that help is at help. |
| Personal, Emotional and Social Development | We hope that you will form strong relationships with your key person and familiar adults around you, seeking out an adult for comfort and interaction We hope that you establish a sense of self, express your preferences and decisions appropriately and feel confident to explore your environment independently both indoors and outdoors We hope that you are able to recognise and respond to different emotions and tones from your familiar adult We hope that you are able to show interest in your peers and begin to interact by playing alongside, using your facial expressions, touch or eye contact As you leave our room, we hope that you are beginning to show the desire to care for some of your own needs such as wiping your face and helping with dressing/undressing | We hope that you will form strong relationships with your key person and familiar adults around you and seek out an adult for comfort and interaction, whilst feeling reassured and confident to explore your environment further with your key person nearby We hope that you establish a sense of self, express your preferences and decisions appropriately and become an independent learner We hope that you are able to recognise and respond to different emotions and tones in your familiar adult. We know that you may feel a new range of emotions at this time and we will provide you with safe spaces and conversation around your expressions of emotions We hope that continue to show interest in your peers and interact by playing alongside, using facial expressions, touch or eye contact We hope that you are showing the desire to care for your own needs such as wiping your face and dressing/undressing yourself, as well as showing awareness of wet/dirty nappies We will support you through discussion, imaginative play with babies, providing potties and discussion with parents As you leave our room we hope that you have begun to create special friendships and enjoy involving others in your play, sharing your emotions | We hope that you will form strong relationships with your key person and familiar adults around you and seek out an adult for comfort and interaction, whilst feeling reassured and confident to explore your environment further with your key person nearby We hope that you establish a sense of self, express your preferences and decisions appropriately and become an independent learner We hope that you are able to recognise and respond the boundaries set by adults and feel confident and able to communicate your own feelings, preferences and emotions We hope that you are open to discussing your emotions and we will provide you with safe spaces, conversation and play to explore these We hope that you are able to take turns and hold in mind others and your own emotions and actions when interacting with each other, therefore creating a positive play experience for all We hope that you are caring for your own needs such as wiping your face, washing your hands, dressing/undressing yourself, as well as showing an interest in toileting We hope that you are able to begin to notice differences within your community and discuss these respectfully (skin colour, gender, disability) As you leave our room we hope that you have formed a small friendship group and enjoy the company and play of others | Help support and mange children’s emotions, it’s really important to form strong, warm and supportive relationships with our staff. For staff to know the holistic family and have a clear insight into home life. Ensure staff show warmest and affection with clear and appropriate boundaries and routines. To support young children to deal with difficult emotions, and separation from parents. To provide consistent routines with flexibility if needed. To encourage children to express feeling through words, such as sad, upset or angry. | Creating and Thinking Critically Take part in pretend play To sort materials, know everything has a place. Encourage children to self-reflect – for example if a puzzle is not working explores the reasons why. Feel confident with coming up with their own ideas. Concentrate on achieving something’s that’s important. Be able to control their attention and ignore distractions. |
| Literacy | We hope that you have some favourite stories that you like to share with an adult and ask questions about the book, sharing and elaborating on ideas We hope that you enjoy drawing freely with various tools and begin to add meaning to your drawings | To provide lots of stories. To use lots of songs and rhymes. Help children explore their favourite book through linked activities. | |||
| Mathematics | We hope that you are able to compare amounts, sizes and weights (lots, more, same, bigger, smaller, heavy, tall), began to use counting in everyday context and notice patterns and features in your environment As you leave our room we hope that you are able to complete some inset puzzles and enjoy jigsaw puzzles | For staff to provide a number rich environment. To provide mathematical language, more, same less etc. To use counting within play situations, and number songs to stimulate an enjoyment of numbers. | |||
| Understanding the World | We hope that you enjoy exploring the natural world around you by using your senses, investigating properties and materials (splashing in puddles, pebbles, leaves) and are curious and respectful about living things (watering plants, caring for a worm) We hope that you are open to talking about differences and similarities within families and your peers (how come your hair feels different to mine), respecting and showing a positive attitude in your actions and words (race, religion), as well as making sense of your own life story and family history We hope that you have begun to show an interest in how things work (cogs, pulleys, windup toys) and notice change (melting, floating) | Provide the children with lots of natural materials. For staff to discuss similarities and differences in people, for example hair and skin colour. To provide a diverse environment- making sure children have access to different relations, disability and materials which confront gender stereotypes. To spend time with children talking about photos and memories, encourage children to retell. | |||
| Expressive Art and Design | We hope that you enjoy moving to music and explore sound with you voice (loud, quiet, high, low, fast, slow) We hope that you are beginning to enjoy rhythmical and repetitive sounds and use a range of instruments in different way We hope that you have begun to pretend play using your imagination, with various objects to pretend that one object represents another (using a wooden block as a telephone) As you leave our room we hope that you have begun to really incorporate small world into your play, showing imagination with construction and sets As you leave our room we hope that you are confident in using different materials and textures freely, developing your ideas on how to use them and what to make (wallpaper, boxes, tabletops) | To provide young children with music rich activities such as singing, dancing, music and movement, musical instruments etc. For staff to engage in a range of messy play activities. Allowing young children to enjoy getting messy whilst exploring their senses Staff to engage and model in role play, developing imagination. To introduce action songs. |
| EYFS Areas | Pre School (Age 3-4) | School Age | Roles of the Adult | Characteristics of effective learning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication and Language | We hope that you will feel confident to sing a large variety of songs and rhymes, as well as enjoy talking about familiar books, events and go into some detail about these We hope that you are able to understand questions and instructions that have two parts to them, as well as answer ‘why’ questions We hope that you are able to use tenses and plurals correctly (runned, ran) We hope that you are able to use your vocabulary to organise your own and others play and use 4-6 words in your sentence or instruction We hope that you can pay attention to more than one thing at a time, switch your attention when needed and listen/ retell longer stories when communicating As you leave our room, we hope that you have a strong and varied vocabulary, you feel confident to start a conversation with an adult or peer and you are able to express your point of view and vocalise your needs As you leave our room we hope that you are inquisitive, understand a wide variety of questions and have the ability to listen and engage appropriately | Understand how to listen carefully and why listening is important We hope that you are keen to learn new vocabulary and explore this in everyday play. Be inquisitive and ask questions about the how and why. We hope that you can articulate your thoughts in well-formed sentences. Begin to use problem solving language, such as ‘so that; ‘because’ and ‘you could’ Start to use social phrases. Show an interest in your classmates. Show engagement and interest in story time. Start to be able to retell familiar stories. Listen carefully to rhymes and songs, paying attention to how they sound. Can play with others and consistently take turns. | To promote active listening skills, make children aware that they must look at the adult to listen. Provide listening activities such as sound tapes. To always extend language, consistently adding new words while modelling back language. To provide a running commentary of children actions. To provide lots of stories. For staff to model back mistakes, for example ‘I swimmed’ model back ‘I swam’. To ensure lots of activities are provided for children to play and problem solve together. Know the individual child, including their holistic family and experiences. | Playing and exploring Children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go Realise that their actions influence the world. Plan and think ahead about how they will explore or play with objects. Children guiding their thoughts and inner voice. Make independent choices. Allow children to bring in their own interests and experiences into play. Provide different and challenging experiences for children |
| Physical development | We hope that you will have confident gross motor skills, including the ability to climb stairs, ride a bike or scooter, skip, hop and stand on one leg We hope that you will enjoy and participate in music and movement activities, showing an understanding of sequence and rhythm, either by yourself or in teams We hope that you become confident with your fine motor skills and you are independently able to use one handed tools and equipment, showing a comfortable grip and a preference for a dominant hand We hope that you have shown special awareness in your environment, as well as an awareness of others around you and you are able to be mindful of the safety of your peers whilst using large equipment (planks, hammers, spades) We hope that you have become increasingly independent as you get dressed, undressed, use the toilet, wash yourself and with table manners As you leave the room we hope that you are confident, competent, creative and adaptive movers | Revise and refine the fundamental movement skills such as rolling, jumping, and running, hopping, skipping, and climbing. To have good overall body strength and co-ordination while engaging in physical activities. Use tools safely and competently including tools, pencils, knives, forks and spoons. Develop good posture while sitting on the floor or at a table. Have confidence and control with ball skills. Development skills needed to manage the school day including queuing and meal times. | To provide children with a wide range of physical experiences including riding bikes, balls, assault courses etc. To develop fine motor skills with plenty of opportunities for scissors, hammers, threading etc. To encourage and support children to take risks. To encourage independence with dressing, undressing and zips. Allow children’s lots of experiences to mark make using a variety of large and small media | Active learning Children concentrate and keep trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements. Children will know routines. Begin to predict sequences. Show goal directed behaviour- children do things with an end goal in aim. Begin to correct their mistakes themselves. Keep trying when things are difficult. Allow children to attempt activities independently knowing that help is at help. |
| Personal, Emotional and Social Development | We hope that you will form strong relationships with your key person and seek out, whilst feeling reassured and confident to explore your environment further We hope that you will become more outgoing with unfamiliar people and able to show more confidence in new social situations We hope that you see yourself as a valuable individual We hope that you understand other people’s feelings and you are able to talk about them Within your friendship circle we hope that you are able to feel like a valued member of your community and develop a sense of responsibility, regarding resolving conflict and knowing your actions have an impact on others We hope that you are able to accept that sometimes things may not go your way and suggest solutions for your problems We hope that you know your expectations and boundaries without adult guidance We hope that you are caring for your own needs with increasing independence such as brushing your teeth, using the toilet, washing hands and you are able to make healthy choices regarding your food and drink We hope that you are able to notice differences within your community and discuss these respectfully (skin colour, gender, disability) As you leave our room we hope that you have secure friendship groups and you are able to extend and elaborate play ideas, building respectful relationships | Children to see themselves as a valuable individual To be able to express their own feelings and consider the feelings of others. To build relationships with their peers. To show resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge. To manage their own personal hygiene. Identity and moderate their own feeling socially and emotionally. To know and talk about the different factors that support their overall physical health and wellbeing. | To ensure staff form strong relationships with the children. Staffs know the children holistic family and understand their home life experiences. To provide children with activities exploring emotions, example the colour monster, To model positive behaviour and the use of good manners, kindness etc. To encourage and support friendships. To be calm and consistent with behaviour expectations. Provide children with lots of praise and encouragement during all activities. To ensure both children and parents are aware of the child’s key worker. | Creating and Thinking Critically Take part in pretend play To sort materials, know everything has a place. Encourage children to self-reflect – for example if a puzzle is not working explores the reasons why. Feel confident with coming up with their own ideas. Concentrate on achieving something’s that’s important. Be able to control their attention and ignore distractions. |
| Literacy | We hope that you can recognise familiar books and print, understanding that print can have meaning and purpose, noticing this within the world around you We hope that are able to spot and suggest rhymes and recognise words with the same initial sound (money, mother) We hope that you are able to engage in extended conversation and your vocabulary is growing rapidly each day when sharing stories with your peers As you leave our room we hope that you have begun to write some letters accurately, including some of your name, using some of your print knowledge in your play (writing ‘M’ for mummy) As you leave our room we hope that you are becoming aware of your favourite authors, knowing that books have a beginning, a middle and an end | Reading the individual letters by saying the sounds. Blend sounds into words, able to read short words. Form lower case and capital letters correctly. Read a few common exception words from the school’s phonic program. Spell words by identifying the sounds and then writing the sound with letters. Write short sentences with words with known sound- letter correspondence using capital letter and full stops. Re read what they have written to make sure it makes sense. | Provide children with a wealth of story time activities. A rich supply of diverse stories within the setting. Install a love of all literature including stories, poems and songs. Provide a wide range of mark making experiences. Allow children to regular explore and see the letters in their name. Ensure staffs provide children with a wide range of physical stimulation to develop core strength. Provide experiences to developing listen skills in a fun and engaging manner. Ensure staffs provide a language rich environment. | |
| Mathematics | We hope that you are able to recite numbers past 5, use your fingers to help you to count and make a link between numerals and amounts (finding two pencils and matching it to the number 2) We hope that you have begun to experiment with symbols and marks as well as numerals in your play We hope that you start to discuss mathematical idea throughout your play inside or outdoors (there are four of you but there aren’t enough chairs) We hope that you are able to compare amounts, sizes and weights (lots, more, same, bigger, smaller, heavy, tall) and talk about 2D and 3D shapes (circle, sphere) We hope that you understand positional words alone (the bag is under the table) and discuss familiar routes in your play (in front, behind) We hope that in your play you can use a variety of materials and select shapes appropriately, combining them to create and build (roof for a house) We hope that you are identifying patterns around you (spotty, stripy), extend and create ABAB patterns (stick, leaf, stick, leaf) and you are able to correct errors in patterns As you leave our room we hope that you are discussing patterns and sequence of events such as the process of cooking/gardening (first, then, after, before, yesterday, tomorrow) As you leave our room we hope that you have developed a faster recognition of objects (recognising three objects without having to count them individually) | Count objects, actions and sounds. Link the number symbol (numeral) with it carinal value. Count beyond tea Compare numbers Understand one more or one less. Explore the compositions of numbers to 10 Automatically recall number bonds for number 0-5 and dome to 10 Select, rotate and manipulate shapes to develop spatial reasoning skills. Compose and decompose shapes so that children recognise a shape. Continue copy and create repeating patterns. Compare length, weight and capacity. | Provide a number rich environment with plenty of opportunities to explore number, pattern and shape. Use mathematical language in everyday play including numbers, size, and shape. Staff to use positional language during play with children. Provide lots of problem-solving including puzzles, construction junk modelling etc. Allow children to explore patterns both physically and within the events of the day. Develop memory with memory games, such as hiding under the cloth game. Provide number songs to developing counting skills in a fun way. | |
| Understanding the World | We hope that you enjoy exploring the natural world around you by using your senses, investigating properties and materials (splashing in puddles, pebbles, leaves) and are curious and respectful about living things (watering plants, caring for a worm) We hope that you are open to talking about differences and similarities within families and your peers (how come your hair feels different to mine), respecting and showing a positive attitude in your actions and words (race, religion), as well as making sense of your own life story and family history We hope that you have begun to show an interest in how things work (cogs, pulleys, windup toys) and notice change when playing and exploring (melting, sinking, floating, shadows, combining, cooling, heating) We hope that you have begun to show an interest in different occupations, using role play and new vocabulary around occupation As you leave our room we hope that you have begun to understand some key features of a life cycle of plants and animals As you leave our room we hope that you are exploring and discussing forces you can feel (how you can stretch elastic, snap a twig but cannot bend a metal rod, magnets) As you leave our room we hope that you are aware of the different countries in the world, discussing and celebrating the different cultures and religions and you are happy to play and explore with different props surrounding this | Children to feel confident to talk about members of their family and community Name and describe people who are familiar Comment and contrast characters from stories, including figures from past. Draw information from simple map Understand that some places are special to members of their community. Recognise that people have different beliefs and celebrate special times in different ways. Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries. Explore the natural world around them. Describe what that see, hear feel whist outside. Recognise some environments that are different from the one in which they live. | To install a love of the outdoors a wider environment. To allow lots of experiences to learn about the seasons. Providing children experiences to grow fruit, plants etc. Provide cooking experiences. Provide diverse rich environments. Dedicate time to talk and listen about their family and home life. Provide children with role-play. Learn about different jobs and roles within their community. Show interest in children voice, extend the child’s thinking. Develop the child’s inquisitive mind with basic science activities. | |
| Expressive Art and Design | We hope that you enjoy pretend and small world play, using your imagination, developing complexed stories, negotiating rules and sorting out conflicts in a small group We hope that you remember your favourite songs and enjoy singing them, respond and listen to a variety of sounds from your environment, expressing your thoughts and feelings appropriately We hope that you explore pitch, melodies and improvise with creating songs, using instruments with control to express your ideas We hope that you continue develop your own creative ideas incorporating emotions when modelling and drawing, giving your artwork detail and purpose with colour mixing We hope that you are confident in using different materials and textures freely, developing your ideas on how to use them and what to make | Explore, use, and refine a variety of artistic effects to express their ideas and feelings. Create collaboratively Listen intently move to and talk about music Sing in a group or on their own. Develop story lines in their pretend play. Explore and engage in music making and dance Watch and talk about dance and performance arts. Return to and build on their previous learning, reefing ideas and developing their ability to represent themselves. | To encourage children to express their emotions through media including art, dance, and song. Provide lots of mark making experiences. Provide a variety of material to explore fabrics. Insure children always have access to role play and imaginative play. Provide lot of flexible and open-ended resources. Insure all children are joining in with pretend play, support those children who may be hesitate Provide lots of time for creative activities without an end product. |
Useful resources to better understand child development and milestones from 0 to 5 years: