Curriculum

All children deserve the care and support they need to have the best start in life.

At Elizabeth House, we follow the National Curriculum for under 5's known as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This framework sets the standards for learning, development and care from birth to the age of five and is designed to ensure that all children develop well and are kept happy and safe.

The EYFS seeks to provide:

Quality and consistency in all early years settings, so that every child makes good progress, and no child gets left behind.
A secure foundation through planning for the learning and development of each individual child, and assessing and reviewing what they have learned regularly.
Partnership working between practitioners and with parents and/or carers.
Equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice, ensuring that every

child is included and supported.

The EYFS sets out four overarching principles which shape the way we tailor our curriculum at Elizabeth House. These are:

Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident, and self-assured.
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time.
Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers.
Importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates. The EYFS framework covers the education and care of all children, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The EYFS state that there are seven areas of learning and development that are all important and inter-connected.

Three prime areas are particularly important for learning and forming relationships. They build a foundation for children to thrive and provide the basis for learning in all areas.

The prime areas are:

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development

Elizabeth House also supports children in four specific areas, which helps strengthen and develop the three prime areas, and ignite children’s curiosity and enthusiasm.

The specific areas are:

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

Our Preschool classes (Dragonflies and Hummingbirds) benefit from a more structured timetable and tailored curriculum designed by our qualified teachers. This will take into account each child's specific needs and interests to allow them to grow and develop as individuals at their own pace.

We use the Little Wandle Letters & Sounds Foundations phonics scheme. This scheme has been developed specifically for use in Early Years settings.

Elizabeth House provides a huge range of extra curricular activities for your children to enjoy throughout the week. Some of the activities we offer include:

Music with Boogie Mites

Boogie Mites is all about enabling babies and children to experience the brain-boosting power of active music making throughout their everyday lives.

Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle programme by Spread the Happiness

This fun and engaging scheme uses neurological and physiological movements to help children develop into strong writers in the future. It is the pre-mark making moves needed before a child becomes a mark maker and future writer.

Children in Preschool use the Dough Disco scheme which is the next step along from Squiggle. This helps develop children's fine motor skills to aid mark making and writing.

Ballet with Miss Lucy from KAD

Our ballet lessons teach children gross motor development, rhythm and creativity in a fun and engaging way.

Yoga with Children Inspired by Yoga

Following the adventures of Tatty Bumpkin, children gain the key benefits of holistic yoga by following multi-sensory stories that explore movement and relaxation.

Other activities that our Preschoolers enjoy throughout their week include:

French Language
Mini Chefs Cookery
Mini Professors Science