At Knights Enham Nursery we believe that children learn best when they:

· feel safe and secure

· have the opportunity to be active learners

· engage in first hand experiences which stimulate them to think and to talk

· know and understand what they are learning and how to make progress

We plan all the experiences children have in school very carefully and think about the day as a whole so that every part counts! Many different elements make up the learning experience for our children but here are some of the key ones for us:

Planning - within each theme we plan for all the different areas of learning.   Workshops will have resources that relate to that theme, although the children may choose to take their learning in a different direction!

Organisation - Nursery children have a short period of adult led activities that usually happens in small groups. A large part of their session is spent doing “Discovery Time”, when the children follow their own learning supported by staff.

Classroom environment – the classroom spaces are set up on a workshop basis so that children can access learning opportunities and resources easily and imaginatively either when they are learning in a group with a member of staff or when they are working independently.

School Grounds and outside – we include our rich school grounds when we think about learning opportunities because we know that learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom. It can often be better outside where there’s more space, different opportunities or resources and a sense of being in touch with the  natural world.

Trips and events – we aim to bring learning alive for our children by planning the occasional trip out of school as well as organising different kinds of events and celebrations in school. We know that we all learn well when we have new  experiences that kick start our thinking and our use of language.