Millfields Nursery School
'We play, learn and achieve together'
Curriculum Intent
Millfields is not only a nursery school but a community for all. Children, parents/carers, staff, governors and visitors are all treated with respect. We work tirelessly to create an environment which is open and supportive.
At Millfields Nursery School our curriculum is underpinned by the EYFS Statutory Framework. We use Development Matters statements to guide our planning. Our approach is holistic and based on each child’s developmental needs, their interests and motivations and the context of our community. Our delivery takes account of the Characteristics of Early Learning and offers both adult led and child-initiated activities. There is a clear balance between children learning alongside adults, and children playing independently or with peers, ensuring consolidation of key skills and concepts.
The environment supports independence and creativity. It is divided to ensure that children’s individual needs are met through differentiated activities and opportunities for learning. Children move freely around the well-resourced environment and have access to an excellent variety of open-ended materials and resources.
A key person approach ensures that children make very firm and secure attachments from the moment they join the school community. This supports their learning and allows all children to make very good progress from their starting points.
The ever-changing community which we serve has impacted on how we deliver our curriculum. Staff gain a secure knowledge of the needs of the children because parents share this information with them before the children start school. Our assessment procedures are robust and ensure that each practitioner knows what children know already and what they need to do next.
The school focus is on the prime areas of learning so as to support children with their early language development. Practitioners provide excellent role models for the correct use of language and children develop quickly in a language rich environment. A number of language-based initiatives are delivered by the school. These are enhanced by the excellent relationships between staff and parents. Parents feel supported by the team who encourage them to engage with the learning process at home.
Staff are knowledgeable and are well supported in their own development through a robust training and personal development programme. This allows them to continually reflect on practice and improve outcomes.
All children are treated as unique individuals and staff encourage all children to embrace diversity and to develop respect for their friends, families and the wider community. Staff have high aspirations for all children. The school offers many and varied opportunities to ensure that children succeed in later life. The curriculum is challenging and engaging because staff understand how young children learn best.
Our school is predominantly white British, with an increasing cultural diversity. We provide all children with opportunities to increase their knowledge of the wider world through celebrations of other cultures and beliefs, church visits, external visitors. We encourage children to be good citizens by contributing to their local community and beyond. The school community supports local charities, visits care homes, and donates to those less fortunate both locally and beyond.