Curriculum Introduction
At Heath Lane we carefully develop the curriculum so that it meets the interests and needs of our children. We do not have a set curriculum which we follow; instead we observe the children in their play, identify their fascinations, strengths and areas for development then plan experiences and opportunities that will excite, interest and challenge them!
All key groups have opportunities planned across all the areas of learning and they all have daily phonics and story sessions. However, each key group is planned for separately because we appreciate that no two key groups are the same-why would their needs and interests be! Each key person has an expertise and skill in listening carefully to their group and planning in response to what the children require.
Example 1: Children in the Owl group were struggling to open the Tupperware boxes in their lunchboxes at lunch time. The key person sourced a large number of different sized boxes and placed some dinosaurs inside. She challenged her group to get the dinosaurs out by opening the boxes. The children loved the challenge and soon became experts at taking the lids of boxes of all shapes and sizes!
Example 2: A child in the Butterfly group was going into hospital for an operation. He was highly anxious about this event. In response the key person developed the role play area into a hospital. She encouraged children to share their experiences of hospitals with the group and provided resources so that these experiences could be used in role-play. She invited in a nurse to discuss what happens in her work. The nurse then stayed and played in the role-play area with the children.
