In Portobello Primary we recognise the importance and value of an excellent Early Years setting and curriculum. We aim to encompass key life skills and experiences, as well as developing all aspects of child knowledge and skills and the core principles embedded into the Early Years Foundation Stage:

·       Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured

·       Every child can learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships

·       Every child can develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents/carers

·       All children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates

Our skilled Early Years staff are able to develop these aspects of child knowledge and skills, with a memorable, enjoyable and effective Early Years experience, where our children feel safe and thrive. Therefore, we design opportunities to learn and talk about the local environment in which the children live. We carefully support the children to reflect upon unexpected changes to their world and give them strategies to become resilient, honest, curious and passionate.  

​To ensure that all of our children make good or above progress, we insist that the starting points and prior learning of children are identified before they can begin their successful learning journey. We embrace the differences in all our children and celebrate their individual successes and achievements. Whilst some aspects of our nursery curriculum have an element of challenge, which some children thrive on, we have fully embedded and believe in the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning which are:

·       Playing and exploring - children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’

·       Active learning - children concentrate, keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements

·       Thinking critically - children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.

In our Early Years setting, we meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. We actively pursue safeguarding and promote the welfare of all of our children. As soon as the children enter our setting, we give them the tools, trust and confidence to know they are safe in school and to be able to talk to us about things happening in their lives and how they feel. We recognise, utilise and develop the differing social and cultural identities and the experiences that these may bring. We know that children learn most effectively when they are healthy, safe and secure, when their individual needs are met and when they have positive relationships with the adults who care for them. 

During the school day the children have opportunities to play and learn collaboratively with their friends in both the indoor and outdoor learning environments. Adults can skilfully interact with the children during sessions such as plan, do, review. They use the time in the provision to provide consistent quality interactions, where children make choices about what they will do, carry out their ideas and then reflect. We recognise that is it through active intervention and the support of a skilled adult that children make the most progress in their learning. Therefore, we provide discrete planned teaching to groups of children. At times, and when appropriate, these can provide academic challenge. Children develop their individual skills, and gain knowledge at different rates. An important element of our challenge comes from ensuring we instil ambition into all our children as individuals, as they learn across the curriculum. This ambition provides the solid foundation for challenge, reflection, and celebration. We take action to ensure all activities, designed or encouraged within our setting, promote personal and physical development of our children. Progress is accumulative as children gain, refine and internalise skills, knowledge and behaviour. We continue to promote assessment with a child centred approach. It remains important for us to have an overview of the progress of all children, ensuring everyone is understood, supported, and meets their individual potential. Our curriculum would not be as successful without the support from parents and carers. We take pride in the positive relationships we build with our families, which we work hard to develop from the outset, whether families positively engage with us immediately or are initially harder to reach. The relationships we endeavour to promote are positive and long-lasting. We know successful partnership working between parent/carers and teaching staff has a direct impact on well-being and learning.

The continuous provision in our Early Years refers to all areas which are available for children to use every day. Within these areas a range of core resources are provided for children to use. These resources offer a breadth of learning possibilities. The purpose of our effective continuous provision is to provide children with a constant environment that is safe for them to explore. Reflective of our curriculum, an important part of this provision is enabling the children to develop their skills and confidence in becoming independent learners. We are passionate that it is here children embed and connect concepts, as well and find challenge in their learning environment. Our continuous provision supports children’s learning and development across all seven areas and supports the characteristics of effective learning.