Our Day

 

What will my child do whilst at Rainbows?

 

The curriculum framework that we follow is part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This is what the government describes the time in the child’s life between birth and age 5. The framework sets out the standards for learning, development and care for children during this period.

Parents guide to the Foundation Stage Framework can be found here.

The Government EYFS document can be accessed here

 

Ideas of what you can be doing at home with your child to help with their progression can be found at:

Hungry Little Minds

 

Assessment

 

We keep records by regularly assessing your child. The information we obtain from observing your child enables us to plan the next steps in their learning. The observations can be written notes or photographs. If at any time you have any worries, concerns or questions please ask to speak to your child’s key person or to the nursery manager. Please do not worry in silence, most of the staff have had children in school and have probably had similar worries at some time.

 

The role of the Key Worker

 

Every child that attends Rainbows Nursery has a Key Person designated to them. Each key person will introduce themselves to you at the beginning of your child’s time with us. Although all of the staff work as a team and are there for each and every child, your child’s Key Person will be spending time with your child and yourselves to develop a strong and positive relationship. Your Key Person will be able to settle your child into the routines of Rainbows, to make sure that there are opportunities to learn and play with things that interest them, be it dressing up, Peppa Pig, train sets and so on. As your child’s first and best educator, we believe that you know your child best and we will give you opportunities to contribute to the assessment by sharing information about what your child likes to do at home.

 

The Timetable

 

When children arrive they have 'free-play' time. During this time they are encouraged to take their name cards from the board and put them into the tin for registration. There are always a variety of toys and activities on offer, such as sand, water, drawing, reading corner, puzzles and sensory trays with things like rice, pasta, foam, jelly, oats etc. There will be construction equipment such as Duplo, train sets etc, small play toys such as farmyard, dinosaurs etc, electronic toys and equipment and other activities which encourage social skills, hand-eye coordination and concentration skills.

 

Everything is planned and timetabled but we are flexible to a child’s request for a specific activity. There is always an adult led activity, such as colour matching, letter sounds, craft activities, counting games etc, where each child can be helped according to their needs.

 

The children also enjoy singing, dancing, storytime, number rhymes, instruments etc. We have an outside area with bikes, bats and balls, climbing frame, mud kitchen and music making area. We go on walks to the park or the library; we will ask for your consent beforehand and always have the appropriate ratios. We have outside visitors such as French teachers, yoga and dance teachers to enhance your child’s experience and we also encourage ‘stay and play’ sessions with parents and grandparents during the year.

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Learning Journey Profiles

 

Your child’s profile will be filled with lots of photo’s, written observations and drawings from their time at Rainbows. We will send these home with your child; this provides an opportunity for a shared document of progress. We encourage parents to add to their child’s book with photographs, pictures and notes of things your child has done at home for example, holidays, visiting friends and relatives, day trips, practicing writing, potty training successes etc. We have found that the children love to use this to show the other children what they have been doing, not only does it build your child’s confidence but it is a great communication diary between us and you at home. We may also send your child home with information sheets of things you can be doing at home with your child that link with the topics at Rainbows.