Nursery Curriculum Information
Term: Autumn term 2024
EYFS Curriculum
The EYFS curriculum is divided into seven different areas of learning and development which are all important and inter-connected. These are:
Prime areas: (We focus particularly on the three prime areas as these lay the foundations for success in the other areas of learning).
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Specific areas
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
As a Catholic school, we also teach RE.
Communication and Language
The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development.
This area involves developing Listening, Attention and Understanding and Speaking.
Examples of learning within this area include: listening to stories, talking to others, understanding instructions such as ‘Wash your hands and get your coat’ and asking and answering simple questions. Children will have lots of opportunities to extend their spoken language by using talk in their play such as role-playing situations in the home corner, playing with animals and playing games.
In autumn term we will be taking part in different activities that will help to develop listening, concentration and attention skills.
Physical Development
This area involves Gross motor skills and Fine motor skills.
Examples of learning within this area include: developing movement and balance by riding scooters and bikes and developing ball skills. Using the play village and climbing equipment will also help to develop children’s gross motor skills. Children will also develop their self-help skills and learning to become independent by learning how to put their coats on and use zips and buttons. In the autumn term we will be focusing on exploring a variety of tools and activities that promote the development of manual dexterity. Children will also learn about making healthy choices about food, drink, and exercise.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This area involves developing Self-regulation, Managing self and Building relationships.
Examples of learning in this particular area include: children developing in confidence, beginning to understand how to manage their feelings and forming friendships with their peers.
In the autumn term we will focus on forming positive relationships with adults and other children as well as exploring and identifying different emotions that are associated to the start of school. Furthermore, children will develop the confidence to select and to try new activities. They will be working together in groups to take turns and to understand and follow school/class rules.
Literacy
This area involves Comprehension, Word Reading and Writing.
It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading.
To develop language comprehension children will have lots of opportunities to take part in extended conversations about the stories they hear and also learn new vocabulary. To develop word reading children will be taught that print can have many different purposes and is not just seen in books. Children will learn the names for different parts of the book and how to handle books correctly to help them understand sequencing. Children will also develop their phonological awareness by taking part in activities where they listen for different sounds and also playing segmenting and blending games. For example, the adult says ‘put your hands on your b-a-ck’ and the children touch their backs.
In writing children will use their print and letter knowledge in their early writing through their play by writing for a range of purposes. For example, when writing shopping lists, birthday cards or labelling a picture they have drawn. In the summer term we will also begin to focus on name writing.
CLPE - Power of Reading
In the autumn term we will be reading the following core texts: Whatever Next, Astro Girl, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Biscuit Bear; covering two story books each half term. The activities planned around each core text will promote the development of a rich vocabulary and ability to listen to, tell and enjoy stories. These activities will also support many other areas of the curriculum.
Mathematics
In the autumn term we will be learning about colours, matching, number shapes and geometrical shapes.
Children will also be introduced to a set of number rhymes to explore counting and number recognition to 5.
Children will talk about and explore 2D shapes using informal and mathematical language and make comparisons between objects relating to size, length, weight and capacity. They will take part in activities where they will select shapes appropriately, for example, flat surfaces for buildings, a triangle for a roof etc.
Understanding the World
This area involves learning about Past and present; People, culture and Communities; and The natural World.
Children will talk about their own families, learn about different occupations, understand that there are different countries in the world and develop positive attitudes about the differences between people. They will learn about the natural world, looking at life cycles of butterflies as we take care of caterpillars in class before releasing the fully grown butterflies outside.
In the autumn term we will be linking our learning to the texts covered in our CLPE sessions. When we read the stories Whatever Next and Astro Girl, we will explore and learn about topics, such as Family and Space.
Expressive Arts and Design
This area involves Creating with materials and Being imaginative and expressive.
Children can express themselves by selecting their own resources whether it be through the media of music, dance, art or role-play. They will use different materials and textures to express themselves and experiment with colour mixing. Children will also have the opportunity to use their imagination to create their own ‘small world’ scenes using building blocks and constructions and act out different emotions in their play.
In the autumn term we will be linking our learning to the texts covered in our CLPE sessions. We will be using a variety of media to create space scenes such as the moon and stars when we read the texts ‘Whatever Next’ and ‘Astro Girl’. Children will have the opportunity to act out a picnic in the moon using small imaginative toys and also using the cake they will bake as a class.
Religious Education
In R.E lessons this term our topics will be Myself, Welcome, Birthdays and Judaism.
Myself: Children will learn about themselves, their names and their own feelings when they are called by their name. Children will learn names of their peers in their class and that we are all loved by God.
Welcome: Children will learn about their own and others experiences and feelings of being welcomed into different groups. We will talk about how we welcome people into a family before moving on to learning about how people are welcomed into God’s family through Baptism.
Birthdays: We will start this topic by discovering what a birthday is and how it may be celebrated. We will then learn about Advent, when people get ready for the birthday of Jesus at Christmas.
Judaism: Children will learn about a special days. We will talk about special days that we have and then we will learn about a special Jewish celebration called Hanukkah, The Feast of Lights. We will listen to the story of the oil lamp in the Temple and why Jewish people celebrate this special day.
Catholic Social Teaching
Throughout the year, OLM focuses on different elements of Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Each half term we look at a different theme and discuss what each one means:
Autumn 1 - Care of Creation
Autumn 2 - Preferential Option for the Poor
Spring 1 - Solidarity and Peace
Spring 2 - Community and Participation
Summer 1 - Dignity of Workers
Summer 2 - Human Dignity
Tapestry
Tapestry is an online learning journal to show your child's learning journey and development in their Nursery year. You will be able to access this from home in order to look at photographs, videos and notes following your child's time at school. Please check this regularly.
How to help at home
You can support your child with the early stages of reading, writing and mathematics by:
- Continuing to encourage an enjoyment of books, stories and poems; reading and sharing the class library text sent home and by visiting the local library.
- Continuing to encourage your child to join in with rhymes and songs.
- Continuing to provide your child with a variety of writing equipment to encourage drawing and writing skills, encouraging your child to give meanings to the marks that they make.
- counting everyday items such as biscuits or solving simple problems like sharing out food.
