Douglas Valley – Early Years Curriculum
The school’s curriculum is founded on the premise that every child (particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with SEND) has a right to receive an education that develops the attitudes, knowledge, skills and cultural capital they need to become confident, capable, independent and self-motivated learners which in turn enable them to fulfil their potential and achieve the best possible outcomes. The foundations of our curriculum are:
- The school’s vision:
- Each child is valued as an individual,
- Every child is entitled to a positive nurturing environment where they feel happy and secure.
- Children’s skills and attitudes are developed to enable them to become successful lifelong learners
- The school’s values:
- Children at the heart of practice – children’s safety and wellbeing is the cornerstone of practice; children are valued as individuals and competent learners
- Respect – for everyone in the school community
- Working professionally – to uphold our vision and values and promote the ethos of the school
- The guiding principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage
- Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
- Children embrace learning and development in different ways and at different rates.
- Lev Vygotsky’s thinking that ‘what the child can do with support today, they can do themselves tomorrow’.
- Deci & Ryan’s (1985) premise that an individual’s wellbeing is created from three components; competence, relating to cognitive aspects; relatedness, relating to social aspects and relationships and autonomy, relating to self regulation and motivation.
The curriculum has been designed to:
- Start with the child, recognising their uniqueness and individuality;
- Be underpinned by the characteristics of effective learning, to enable children to develop the skills and attitudes to become confident, capable and self-motivated lifelong learners
- Develop and enhance curiosity, critical thinking skills and metacognition
- Prioritise children’s physical and emotional wellbeing, including recognising and celebrating their achievements, their dispositions to learn, their social development and relationships
- Provide balance and depth across the seven areas of learning working towards the Early Learning Goals
What is curriculum?
Intent – What we want the children to be able to do
Implementation – What we do as educators to support this
Impact – SO WHAT! What benefits does our curriculum provide for children