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Learning Development

What to expect in the Early Years

If your child is aged 3–4, the chances are that they are in some form of Early Years setting, whether that is a nursery, preschool, playgroup or with a childminder. This is a hugely important stage for your child's learning, and it's a really fun one too!

What will my child do in the Early Years?

At this stage of their learning, your child will be mainly learning through play-based activities. They will also be learning about routine and developing early literacy and maths skills, learning about the world around them and social skills.

The importance of play

This year your child will begin to learn by doing things for themselves, by exploring and investigating, watching and listening, talking and discussing, creating and communicating – in other words, playing. Play is children's work and playing hard is very tiring! Play can also be very messy as your child will be learning both inside with sand, water and paint, and also in the outdoors with mud, leaves and so on, so you can expect some mucky clothes at the end of the day!

The Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a curriculum for children aged three to five years old. This is broken down into three prime aspects and four specific areas of learning.
Communication

Communication is a key area of your child's learning in nursery. They will spend lots of time sharing rhymes, songs, stories and playing games to develop their speaking and listening skills. They will be encouraged to learn to listen carefully, to develop concentration, to respond to questions and instructions, to share ideas and experiences and to take part in conversations.

Personal/ Social/ Emotional Development

One of the main aspects of your child's time at nursery will be a focus on their personal, social and emotional development. They will be encouraged to develop positive relationships, to play with a variety of friends and to understand the feelings of others. There will be opportunities to build confidence and self-awareness, and also to manage their feelings and behaviour.

Physical Development

Your child will be given lots of opportunities to move in different ways, for example, running, jumping, balancing and playing with balls. Another important aspect of physical development at this stage is learning to hold and use tools, such as scissors, and also to use pencils and pens to draw lines and shapes. Your child will also begin to understand how to look after themselves and be healthy.

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Art

Finally, imagination and creativity are explored and developed in the area of expressive arts. Your child will explore different media and materials and be encouraged to use their imagination in a range of different experiences. Most of the time your child will be learning all seven areas of learning together, in a fairly jumbled way.

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Understanding the world

It involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology, and the environment. Your child will learn about the world around them and they will be encouraged to use simple technology and equipment.

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Mathematics

At nursery, your child will be given many opportunities to explore numbers and shapes in their play. For example, they may be encouraged to count objects they are playing with and to compare two groups of objects. They will probably begin to represent numbers using their fingers, marks on paper or pictures.

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Language

The 'Communication' section above outlines some activities to develop speaking and listening skills. In addition to sharing lots of stories, your child will be encouraged to handle and look at books independently and to begin to learn about how stories are structured. There will be opportunities for your child to recognise their own name and will be encouraged to draw, paint and to develop control and hand-eye co-ordination. They will begin to learn to copy the letters of their name.

Contact Us

Nursery Opening times: 8am to 4pm (Monday to Friday)

427 Brays Road, Sheldon, Birmingham, B26 2RR

enquiries@ststephensnursery.co.uk

Office :0121 742 1788,
Manager: 07565902488,

Ofsted Reg No:2577301