Policy on Teaching and Learning

Teaching & Learning Policy Spring 2017 Review: Spring 2019

“Our vision for Tunstall Nursery School is to provide a warm, caring and stimulating infant environment, which encourages values and celebrates diversity and individual excellence. We aim to make a difference to every child, regardless of any barriers to learning they may face. We want to instil a life-long love of learning in every member of the school community. We wish to equip all pupils with the skills necessary to become interesting, well-rounded individuals, who in turn will make a difference to others in their lives”.

“ALL DIFFERENT, ALL EQUAL, ALL ACHIEVING”

Introduction

We believe in the concept of lifelong learning and regard the teaching and learning which takes place in our nursery school to be part of a learning continuum which begins before the child comes to school and continues into adulthood. Both adults and children learn new things every day. Learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone; in short, it should be fun. Through our teaching, we equip children with the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to become competent, confident learners who achieve well. We believe that appropriate learning experiences help children to lead happy and rewarding lives.

Aims and objectives

At our nursery school, we aim to provide a rich and varied learning environment that allows all children to develop their skills and abilities to their full potential.

Through our teaching and our learning environment, we aim to:

· provide a welcoming environment in which all feel safe, secure and ready to learn.

· build on the learning a child has already achieved.

· equip children with the key knowledge, skills and understanding which they need for further learning

· provide a language rich environment

· listen to children and respond to children’s interests

· be responsive to individual children’s needs and ensure they can access to a broad and balanced curriculum.

· enable children to access resources and equipment independently and at their level enabling them to become confident, resourceful, enquiring and independent learners.

· encourage creative thinking

· foster children's self-esteem and resilience.

· give children opportunities to access the early years’ curriculum outdoors.

· ensure that children develop a self-image of themselves as capable learners who have a ‘can do’ approach to learning.

· offer activities and provision which supports and encourages playing and learning together.

· help children build positive relationships with other people encouraging children to respect the needs, ideas and feelings of others.

· enable children to understand their community, and help them feel a valued part of it.

· develop a working partnership with all parents/carers which valuing the knowledge, skills and experience they have to offer

· promote learning for all including opportunities for adult learners

Effective learning

We believe that children learn most effectively when they are happy and when we enable them to develop their self-knowledge, self-esteem and self-confidence. Helping children settle happily into our learning environment is a priority. We ensure the best possible environment for learning by developing a positive atmosphere in which pupils feel safe and feel they belong.

Parents/carers are the first and continuing educators of their children and we plan to support the transition from being an effective learner in the home culture to being an effective learner in our school community.

Each child is allocated a keyworker who may home visit and who works with parents/carers to help their child settle into nursery school. The keyworker’s role is to:-

· ensure that every child’s care and learning is tailored to meet their individual needs.

· work with parents/carers to support their children’s development at home.

· monitor children’s development and record key moments in their learning journeys.

· contribute to a quality learning environment.

Play is needed for the healthy development of a child; it is an essential part of all children’s development and learning. Tunstall Nursery school follows the Early Years Foundation Stage which is a play based curriculum. Children learn through first hand experiences, playing and exploring, active learning and are encouraged to be creative and think critically, essential characteristics for effective learning.

Research tells us that people learn in many ways, and respond best to different types of input (visual, auditory and kinaesthetic and a combination of these); we must therefore facilitate learning experiences in different ways to address the needs of all our learners.

We aim to create an environment which enables learners to enjoy being challenged and not to be afraid to ‘take a risk’ in their learning. An ‘ I can ’ approach is used where practitioners and pupils have the highest possible expectations.

We make sure that the children have access to drinking water and milk to enhance their wellbeing and readiness for learning.

Planning underpins our whole provision and maximises learning opportunities. Focus activities are planned in accordance with the following principles:

· the practice should build on previous learning and children’s interests.

· the practitioner should emphasis the learning that is taking place.

· the sessions should incorporate opportunities for a range of learning styles to be accommodated.

· children should be given opportunities to reflect on and review what they have learned.

· practitioners should provide opportunities for feedback to the children, celebrating success, reviewing learning strategies, and assessing learning.

· children should be given opportunities to collaborate with others.

· practitioners should indicate what the next step in the learning will be.

· practitioners should challenge and extend children using effective learning dialogues, open ended questioning and differentiation

Practitioners reflect on their practice daily engaging in rigorous dialogue, evaluating each session and using observations of children to inform future planning.

We offer opportunities for children to learn in different ways.

These include:

· opportunities for involvement in a wide range of social contexts

· opportunities to communicate affectively and make sense of the world around them

collaborative work;

independent work;

whole-group sessions;

focus activities

· Sharing books and stories

· singing rhymes and songs

· Imaginative role play including small world play

· cooking

· ICT, interactive whiteboard, programmable toys,

· Playing and exploring

· exploring and investigating

· problem-solving;

· designing and making

· creative activities

· using tools

· malleable materials, playdough, clay

· water play

· sand play

· construction toys

· block play

· puzzles and games

· gardening

· woodwork

· real life experiences

· music/dance

· painting/mark making activities

· listening and responding to music or audio material;

· visits/ trips

· participation in a range of physical activities, bikes, climbing and balancing, bats and balls

· Forest School

· opportunities to consolidate and extend learning in the indoor and outdoor learning environment

Superskills for Learning

Children are encouraged to be independent in their learning and begin to develop and use” Superskills for learning” to equip them with lifelong skills.

An independent learner is someone who…

· makes connections

· collaborates

· communicates

· perseveres

· is reflective

· is creative

· is a risk taker

· is resourceful

· is curious

Effective teaching and learning

We focus on motivating all the children and build on their interests, skills, knowledge and understanding, so that they reach the highest level of personal achievement. The EYFS Curriculum is used to guide our practice.

Practitioners make ongoing assessments on each child’s progress, and they use their observations when planning sessions, enabling them to consider the abilities and needs of all children. We aim to develop the knowledge and skills of all children including those who have English as an additional language, (EAL), those who are more able and those whom have been assessed as having Special Educational Needs (SEN). Practitioners modify learning opportunities to ensure each child’s needs are met. When planning work for children with SEN, information and targets contained in individual SEN Support Plans. Each child is valued as a unique individual and practitioners are familiar with relevant equal opportunities legislation covering race, gender and disability. We strive to meet the needs of all our children to ensure that we meet all statutory requirements related to matters off inclusion. We have high expectations of all our children and we believe that their learning should be of the highest possible standard that they can achieve.

Next steps for children are regularly set and reviewed; these are shared with their parents/carers. Progress is reviewed for each child at the end of every half term and a comprehensive end of year report is given to parents/carers highlighting achievements and stating next steps for learning for the following academic year. Two year olds have a ‘Two-Year-Old Check’ before their third birthday or shortly after if they have recently joined the setting.

Focus/support activities may be linked to children’s interests, seasons or festivals. Parents/carers may be asked to become involved to share their skills and experiences. In these activities, we ensure that the learning intentions are shared with children using appropriate, child-friendly language. We encourage children to talk about their learning, for example what they liked, what they can do, what they would like to do. They might do this whilst sharing their learning journey with a practitioner or parent. The language used by children is celebrated and reflected in displays in the learning environment.

Children have the opportunity to learn at Forest School, in a local woodland environment, with qualified Forest School leaders. Forest School allows children to explore and experience the natural world through child led, practical hands on experiences which enables children to develop in all areas of learning particularly self-confidence, self-esteem, social skills and language skills.

All practitioners treat the children with kindness and respect. We recognise that children are all individuals with different needs, and treat them fairly giving them equal opportunities to access provision. Practitioners interact with children in a warm and interested manner developing extended interactions and conversations where possible around what interests the child, giving children time to think and respond.

Practitioners play alongside children, joining in their play, observing what they can do and helping children achieve their next steps of learning by sensitively scaffolding their learning. Children are supported to use the workshop areas appropriately and to care for their resources. They can choose what most interests them and revisit as often as they wish. In this way, they master skills and begin to develop a range of concepts that form the foundations of future learning. Children choose what they want to do; adults invite children to participate in activities or join them in their play.

We do not test children, we observe them to find out what they can do and how we can support them in the next steps of their learning. Adults act as role models for the children modelling thinking, language and behaviour. How we behave, communicate and enjoy learning will influence children’s learning.

Practitioners value the children’s efforts and not adult expectations and understand that learning is in the process not in the finished product. We praise children for their efforts and give specific praise for their achievements building positive attitudes towards learning.

All practitioners reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, and plan their professional development accordingly. We support our practitioners in developing their skills, through session observations, constructive feedback, demonstration sessions and collaborative working, so that they can continue to improve their practice. We conduct all our practice in an atmosphere of trust and respect for all.

Our nursery reflects a stimulating and attractive learning environment. We use a variety of celebratory and aspirational displays as well as displays of work that children have chosen to display. Displays are frequently changed to reflect the learning that has taken place and support new learning. We try to ensure that all children can display their best work.

We believe that a stimulating environment sets the climate for learning, and that an exciting and well organised classroom promotes independent and creative use of resources, which results in high-quality learning for all children.

The role of the Headteacher and other senior leaders

The Headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team are primarily the leaders of teaching and learning. Their own practice models high quality teaching. They have a responsibility to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in the school. This will be achieved through:

· the formal performance management and appraisal of practitioners, involving session observations;

· collaborative practice and working alongside colleagues;

· support practitioners with planning, observing and evaluating children’s learning;

· talking to children about their learning during the session;

· scrutinising evidence in learning journeys;

· scrutinising class learning environments;

· overseeing pupil assessment records.

The role of governors

Our governors determine, support, monitor and review the school's approach to teaching and learning. They:

· support the use of appropriate teaching and learning strategies by allocating resources effectively;

· ensure that the nursery building and premises are used optimally to support teaching and learning;

· check teaching methods in the light of health and safety regulations;

· seek to ensure that our staff development and our performance management both promote high-quality teaching and learning;

· monitor how effective teaching and learning strategies are in terms of raising pupil attainment, particularly attainment and progress of vulnerable groups including Pupil Premium children;

· monitor the effectiveness of the school's teaching and learning approaches through the school's self-review processes, which include reports from the Headteacher, senior leaders and practitioners, including performance data for each group of learners, and a review of the continuing professional development of staff.

· Ensure that teaching and learning is appropriately and effectively resourced through efficient budget management

· Ensure that parents and carers receive information on the learner progress at least annually through a report system

The role of parents and carers

We aim to work in supportive partnership with parents/carers. We believe that parents and carers have a fundamental role to play in supporting their children’s education. We do all we can to inform parents and carers about the curriculum, teaching and learning strategies, their children’s current learning and the outcomes of assessment.

We do this by:

· home visits prior to children starting nursey school

· informal discussion at the beginning and end of each session with keyworkers/early years practitioners