Educational Curriculum

The activities carried out at Busy Bees are based on the Early Learning Goals that make up the curriculum for the Foundation Stage set by OFSTED. The six main areas of the goals are as follows:

Personal, Social & Emotional Development

Children are encouraged to appreciate the importance and benefits of playing, working and co-operating with each other and adults. We also encourage children to become more independent and develop their confidence, as well as teaching them about establishing relationships and showing sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others.

Communication, Language & Literacy

These skills are developed through a daily routine involving the alphabet, stories and rhymes, as well as various other structured activities that are planned to air letter and word recognition for reading and phonics. During circle time the children are able to bring in an item of their choice from home to discuss it with the rest of the group. The children are encouraged to read their selection of books, and writing skills are developed through both structured writing sessions and various informal activities.

Mathematical Development

Through counting, games, songs, matching and sorting, imaginative play and investigative activities, the children are taught to recognise the names of numbers and numerals, as well as measurements and shape recognition. These activities help familiarise the children with mathematical language and skills through everyday play, which in turn leads to the use of numbers and the expression of expression of mathematical ideas in active problem solving.

Knowledge & Understanding of the World

The children are helped to understand and make sense of the world around them. Children are encouraged to recount past experiences and compare them with their current lives. The nursery’s environment and activities are designed to stimulate a typical child’s inquisitiveness and encourage investigation and comparison of the man-made and natural worlds. Activities, stories and role-play are used to teach cultural awareness about festivals and countries around the world.

Plenty of time is given for design and construction with a variety of different materials, and the children are encouraged to think about how things work and how to tackle challenging problems.

Physical Development

Children are able to increase their confidence in mobility and physical control by participating in activities such as jumping and balancing, and the use of outdoor play equipment. The children are encouraged to develop an awareness of space and movement through expressing themselves physically. The finer motor skills are developed through threading, cutting, drawing and using construction toys. Physical activities take place both inside the nursery and outside.

Creative Development

A wide range of activities explore a range of concepts including sound, colour, texture, shape, form, and two- and three-dimensional space. These activities, which involve are, stories, sounds, shakers and imaginative role-play. Are supported by an array of materials, as well as costumes, instruments and tools, all of which are available in different sizes to allow the children to express their ideas and responses to what they her, see, touch, feel and smell in their own various ways.