In Pick Me Academy, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage for the Toddlers (2 years old), Nursery (3 years old) & Reception (4 years old) classes. Assessment is made and reported using the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile.

At Pick Me Academy the Foundation Stage applies to all children in the Nursey and the Reception Years. Pupils enter the Nursery at age 1 and a half and Reception in the September following their 4th birthday. The EYFS curriculum is organised in seven areas of learning:

• Communication and Language Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Mathematical Development
• Literacy
• Understanding of the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Communication and Language Development:
Communication and language development involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment; to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves; and to speak and listen in a range of situations.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development:
Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.
Physical Development:
Physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement. Children must also be helped to understand the importance of physical activity, and to make healthy choices in relation to food.
Literacy Development:
Literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials (books, poems, and other written materials) to ignite their interest.

Mathematics:
Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measures.
Understanding the World:
Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology and the environment.
Expressive arts and design:
Expressive arts and design involves enabling children to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials, as well as providing opportunities and encouragement for sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings through a variety of activities in art, music, movement, dance, roleplay, and design and technology.
(EYFS Statutory Framework)

At Pick Me Academy, we aim:
• To build on what the children can already do and what they know, and request records and reports from their previous settings. We also ask the parents to provide us with information about their child’s needs and abilities prior to their entry into either Nursery or the Reception Year. We expect most children to achieve and exceed the Early Learning Goals by the end of the Reception Year
• To provide an induction programme that enables children to come to school happily. To build a relationship with both children and parents through pre-school visits, information meetings and booklets, enabling children to settle well into our school.
• To help the children develop their social skills when interacting with others.
• To build on children’s existing skills in thinking and communication, enabling them to access the more formal school curriculum.
• To develop the children’s physical skills, so that they have increased control over their body movements.
• To develop the children’s aesthetic, moral and spiritual awareness so that they can begin to make judgements.
• To enable the children to understand more about the world around them by exploring first hand features of both the natural and man-made world.

At Pick Me Academy Nursery School, you will see children who:
• Show evidence of feeling included, secure and valued
• Show no evidence of feeling excluded or disadvantaged
• Interact with other children and adults in positive ways
• Are engaged in and show high levels of motivation in activities planned by adults and also those that they plan or initiate themselves
• Are taking part in well-planned, purposeful activities that build on what children already know
• Are developing skills and talents in chosen curriculum areas

A range of approaches are used to deliver the curriculum, from whole class teaching to group, partner and individual activities and tasks. We aim to achieve a balance between teacher led and child initiated activities, whereby children can make discoveries within the context of planned experiences.

Opportunities are given for children to explore, investigate, discover, create, practise, rehearse, repeat, revise and consolidate their developing knowledge, skills, understanding and attitudes. 
         We encourage the children to use all their senses through a variety of learning opportunities, and we help them to make links between their discoveries and the wider world.
         We give time for the children to express their opinions and experiences, and value their differing views.
         We provide opportunities for developing their imagination and communication skills through discussions and play.
Based on these principles we have planned a carefully structured curriculum that provides rich, varied and stimulating experiences. We have structured a curriculum that allows children to become involved in experiences which are mostly based on real life situations. We believe that activities should always be relevant, imaginative, motivating, enjoyable and challenging.