In September 2008, all nurseries will have to follow the governments new Early Years Foundation Stage(EYFS) which covers the learning and well being of all nursery aged children from birth to 5 years. From September 2007, Fordwych nursery will be adopting this framework for all our children.

The Early Learning Goals are:

• Personal, social and emotional development
• Language, literacy and communication
• Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development

The EYFS guiding principles are:

• A unique child
• Positive relationships
• Enabling Environments
• Learning & development

Weekly plans are available in each classroom for you to look at and on the notice board in the hall.  We provide a range of activities for each age group.

Since children learn through play, we encourage the children to use a variety of materials and provide them with a wide range of experiences.  For example, Jackie works with them on the computer; we have puzzles, games, creative work, construction toys, clay, sand, water, musical instruments, fantasy plan, nature experiences and physical play.  We also use materials that reflect the multi-cultural and linguistic background of the children in the Nursery and encourage our children to understand the diversity of experiences and materials in use in multi-racial Britain.  Parents work with us to celebrate festivals such as Christmas, Diwali, Chanukah, Eid and the Chinese New Year.

Fordwych is an equal opportunities Nursery.  Boys and girls are positively encouraged to try out all experiences in the Nursery, irrespective of what might be considered ‘boys’ or ‘girls’ activities.  At Fordwych, we also aim to be sensitive to the cultural and religious backgrounds of the children.

Small children sometimes ask questions about human reproduction.  These are answered simply, clearly and at a level the child can understand.  Accurate words are used about parts of the body.  If you have any concerns about this, please speak to Lynne.

Weather permitting; we make sure that the children spend some time every day outside in both or one our gardens.

Our ‘playground’ has a specially laid safety surface and a wide variety of wheeled toys, climbing frames, balls and playhouses. In this space the children are encouraged to try new equipment and learn how to ride bikes, play ball games and be energetic.   It is also home to our rabbits, Lollipop and Lenny.  The children are encouraged to feed and look after them.  Let us know if your child has an allergy to rabbits.

In our ‘sensory garden’ the children are encouraged to help look after the plants and plant bulbs and flowers in spring and autumn. It is also where we have our ‘mud pit’ in which the children can dig and explore the world of the minibeasts. It is a quieter garden in which the children can read books, play with water, paint and have pretend picnics with their friends.

Records of Achievement and Portfolios

We keep a record of each child’s progress in all the Early Learning Goal areas, using the Camden Foundation Stage Record. These records enable us to create activities that are appropriate to the children’s needs.  They are open to parents and are sent onto your child’s next place of education.  At the end of a child’s time at Fordwych, parents are given a brief written report. In addition to this we keep a portfolio for each child containing pictures, writing and photographs, which show their achievements at Nursery. These are added to the whole time your child is at Fordwych. The work will be given to the children when they leave or there is the opportunity to purchase the entire portfolio for £10