Our approach to learning and development
Learning through play
Research has shown that children learn to think through doing and communicating, and play helps young children to learn and develop in these areas. Therefore, our emphasis is on play and playful teaching. We provide challenging and playful opportunities to ensure that children are actively involved in their learning, which motivates them to investigate and explore further.
Playing with and alongside others, children are constantly learning about themselves and their social and cultural worlds. Playing indoors and outdoors encourages the child to make discoveries, try out and practise ideas, take risks, explore feelings, learn from choices, be in control and think imaginatively.
Explore Experience Enjoy
The children have plenty of time throughout the day when they make their own choices – what they may want to play, build, learn, investigate and create. It is during these times that imaginations are stirred and interests sparked and developed.
Adult-led activities teach the children listening, attention, and reflection skills and the importance of turn-taking as they communicate, respond and reflect on the ideas of others and voice their own views. With adult support this encourages sustained, shared thinking and provides opportunity to talk about values such as tolerance and respect.
When we plan our activities and topics, we first ask the most important question – why? – what is our intention – in other words how will this impact our children’s learning and development? Once the Why? is clear, we then plan how we will implement our ideas, and finally, we reflect on the impact on the children’s development to see clearly where their ‘next steps’ need to take them. We work in partnership with parents who know their children best to make sure that we know and understand every child’s needs and learning style in order to close gaps and achieve potential.