In planning and guiding children’s learning, staff must reflect on the different ways that children learn and reflect these in their practice. Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:-

Playing and Exploring – children investigate and experience things and ‘have a go’; Active Learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements;

Creating and Thinking Critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of seven areas of learning and development. Each area is linked to the standards as set out in Early Years Framework 2021.

Communication and Language Development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.

Physical Development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.

Literacy Development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.

Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces and measures.

Expressive Arts and Design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, role-play, and design and technology.

Understanding the World involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.

Our Curriculum at Acacia

Our curriculum is broken up into composites and components of learning which means that all concepts are broken up into blocks of knowledge which we teach through retrieval strategies. Our wider curriculum involves woodwork, rigorous climbing and digging, clay work and cooking. We have a fire pit in our natural area where children prepare and cook their own produce that they have grown. It is through these real-life memorable experiences that children begin to use purposeful and exciting language and develop a desire and thirst for knowledge.

Outdoor Learning 

We have a large outdoor area which the children can access throughout the day. The outdoor area allows children to continue to access the curriculum with carefully planned and sequenced activities and experiences which expose children to purposeful language and real-life knowledge. 

Vegetable Garden 

The children have their own vegetable garden where they grow their own produce whilst learning about sustainable practises and seasonality. The children learn to take responsibility and ownership; allowing them to feel proud of what they have produced. This helps to foster a love for learning and encourage a desire, commitment and thirst for knowledge. 

Fire Pit 

We have our own fire pit where we cook healthy creations using our own vegetables and local produce. We learn to chop and prepare the vegetables and ingredients and the importance of healthy eating. We invite parents to share this experience with the children and plan events throughout the year that give parents the opportunity to taste the children’s camp fire food! 

Woodwork Area 

We have a beautiful woodwork area where the children learn key skills such as drilling a hole and hammering a nail. The tools and tasks also help the children build muscles in the arms and hands, aiding their physical development. We discuss how to use the tools safely and correctly and the properties and suitability of different materials. 

Digging Area 

We have a digging area where the children enjoy digging holes and exploring the mud! This helps to build muscles and strength in the children’s arms and also provides them with the simple joy of mud and getting dirty! 

Sand Kitchen and Water Area

We have a large sand kitchen and water area where the children explore different materials and play imaginatively with one another. The water and sand also provide opportunities to explore capacity and volume through emptying and pouring.