Learning
Learning Environments
In February 2022, our Nursery extension was complete, meaning we had lots more room for our children to play and explore in. This also meant that we could have set provisions that catered for certain age group. Whereas previously, we had all been together.
We are very proud to share with you our 3 Nursery provisions:
Seedlings, an environment which cares for Babies birth to 15 months.
Daffodils, an exciting provision that supports children 15 months to 2 and half years.
Woodpeckers, an environment that supports and encourages children age 2 and half up to reception.
Finally, we also have our Out of School Club – Ash Trees, where we have children from Reception to Year 6 come before and after school, as well as in the holidays.
Extra Curriculum
At Ash Park we acknowledge that sometimes children have to be in Nursery longer than their families wish they were, that’s why we try our hardest to make every day as fun and as exciting as it possibly can be.
We pride ourselves in the extra curriculum we offer to our little ones, we have Miss Dianne Dance come twice a week to all our children in the Nursery, offering singing and dancing for an hour. The children and staff love Miss Dianne and it certainly offers lots of learning opportunities.
We also take our Woodpecker class to Forest School in Kilburn Woods once a week, to see Sophie to Forest School Teacher. In the Woods, the children enjoy exploring and learning all about the great outdoors. Every week, they get to enjoy a great adventure and as well as a tasty snack that they get to help make and cook.
Our Curriculum
The aim of our curriculum is to support all the children at Ash Park Childcare in being equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to explore and understand the world around them.
We do this by embedding the Development Matters guidance to support both the children’s holistic development, whilst focusing the curriculum on books to support and develop their love of reading, and their communication and language skills, and their personal, social and emotional development.
Through the use of key activities and stories, the practitioners’ professional judgement and a well thought out provision, with engaging adults; whom support both adult-led and child-led learning opportunities through all activities.
Our Pedagogy
At Ash Park, we believe that ‘play is the language of childhood’ and the best way for children to be learning. We recognise play as giving all children the opportunity to gain and embed new skills, develop their understanding, language and create independent lifelong learners.
Through play, we support our children to build their confidence and independence. Through our interactions and planning we empower children to choose, to reason, to reflect, imagine and empathise.
We have a variety of elements to our pedagogy and together they underpin our philosophy and support us as a team to provide engaging and captivating learning experiences. The pedagogy is designed to strengthen our children’s educational success, throughout a variety of experiences and approaches.
Through the 3 theorists, we have ensured that our curriculum and practice, meet the requirements set in the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework, which is supported by the non-statutory guidance ‘Development Matters.’
The theorists, that are embedded throughout our Nursery are:
Elizabeth Jarmen
Jarmen’s approach encourages creating calm, homely spaces for children, that do not overstimulate children by removing ‘visual noise.’ We provide natural and neutral environments, with clear and consistent routines, encouraging children to make their own choices, in a safe and secure environment.
Friedrich Froebel
Froebel’s play theory focuses on 5 key principles;
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Learning through Play
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Respect the individual’s Developmental Pace
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Practitioner Knowledge
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Classroom Environment
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Importance of Movement
At Ash Park, children have the opportunity to access purposeful learning, tailored to the interests of individual children. We recognise that children learn differently and at different rates, and support children to set pace for themselves.
Our practitioners ensure children are encouraged to make mistakes, so that they can learn through trail and error and deepen their understanding. Our learning environment throughout the Nursery is carefully designed with resources that are optimal for each child’s age of development and place emphasises on the value of finger play, songs and dance.
Vygotsky
Vygotsky’s approach to learning, focuses primarily on imaginative play; believing play promotes cognitive, social and emotional development in children and develops independent learners.
At Ash Park our children learn through play, doing and asking questions, interacting with others and engaging with purposeful resources, all supported by highly skilled practitioners. We believe, that play leads to creative thinking and through what they are doing children can reflect on what they are wanting to achieve, to solve problems and engage with the world around them.
Our pedagogy will continue to be reviewed to best meet the needs of our children.
Our Vision
At Ash Park Childcare, we strive ourselves to provide:
A safe, caring and stimulating environment, where children learn and develop. We ensure our children are independent, curious, creative and resilient learners, developing confidence and given them the skills to communicate effectively.
We demonstrate this through appropriate, responsive, open-ended and challenging learning opportunities. Making the best of all the resources we have available to us, including the community around us.