Hythe Bay Nursery Curriculum and Termly / Weekly Planning

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Autumn Term

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Weeks 1-2: All about me

Week 3: Families

Week 4: Harvest Festival

Week 5: Hythe – our local community

Weeks 6-7: Seasons – Autumn - weather, plants, animals, activities, safety

 

Weeks 8-9: Darkness and light, day and night, fireworks and bonfire night

Weeks 10-11: Space, solar system, rockets

Weeks 12-14+: Festivities including Advent and Christmas around the world

 

Spring Term

 

Week 1: Festivals with our families including the New Year and our different cultures

Weeks 2-3: Seasons - Winter - weather, plants, animals, activities, safety

Weeks 4-5: Well-being weeks– physical and mental health and well-being (mindfulness, labelling and managing feelings, behaviour and resilience, dental health, diet, exercise, water, global goals).

Week 6: Labelling and managing feelings / love / Valentine’s Day 14/02

 

Week 7: Water and ice and other science experiments

Week 8: New life and life cycles

Week 9: Habitats and homes

Weeks 10-11+: Seasons - Spring - weather, plants, animals, activities, safety

 

Summer Term

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Weeks 1-6: People in our community / occupations - health professionals, police, fire and rescue services, teachers, shop, post office/box, care home, church, royal family - depending on when guest speakers and walks are convenient

 

Weeks 7-8: Seasons - Summer - weather, plants, animals, activities, safety

Weeks 9-10: Growing (animals, people, revise plants)

Weeks 11-13+: Independence, transitions, school readiness, personal next steps, assessments, parents meetings, children’s interests, revise previous topics

 

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About our curriculum

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We use the development and learning milestone statements in Early Years Foundation Stage and Development Matters to guide our assessments, observation and planning. We get to know each child to find out what they already know and are interested in before planning their individual next steps.

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These topics have been chosen, as they are themes that nursery children will likely be experiencing naturally or in their home/local environment. These topics are used for inspiration for planning the nursery environment, books, songs and activities in an age-appropriate way in each nursery room. We will expand the children’s exploration of these themes, and support children to develop a deeper understanding through carefully planned activities and interactions, as children learn through play.

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We also listen to and follow the children’s interests. We may alter or disregard our term’s topics to explore a different topic, which the children would find more engaging, to base the children’s activities for development and learning, because children learn when they are interested.

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Children have opportunities for child led play throughout each day in addition to the adult led activities. Adults use their professional skills to scaffold children’s learning during child led play through interactions, sustained shared thinking, extensions and challenges without interrupting their play.

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Here are some activity inspiration mood boards for our topics used by our staff team members:

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