The Ambassadors Approach
Our Curriculum
At Petite Ambassadors Day Nursery, children learn through play in a warm, caring environment, following the Early Year’s Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum which provides a structure for learning and care, incorporating Montessori activities because the Montessori approach encourages the development of self-confidence and independence.
Our children are supported and challenged to learn and develop to their full potential.
Intent
Promoting children’s personal, social and emotional development (psed) skills with their physical activities.
Implementation
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We create opportunities for our children to develop the above skills such as the toddlers and pre-schoolers working/playing together.
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We create opportunities for our children to promote their physical development.
Impact
Sometimes, the older children support the younger children with their learning. This promotes positive behaviour because the older children see themselves as role models. They set a good example for the younger children; children’s social interactions with one another promote their cognitive development as well as their language development, especially the younger children. When the children’s psed skills are developed, the other areas of learning and development from the eyfs curriculum framework is evident in the learning/development.
A Prepared Environment for our Babies, Toddlers and Pre-schoolers
The children’s learning environment have been specifically designed based on observations of the children to meet their needs and interests. For example, we provide opportunities for our babies to develop their speech and language skills through the singing and listening of nursery rhymes, and action songs, and we provide them with sensory activities to promote their physical development. Also, we engage our babies in heuristic play sessions, using a treasure basket. This gives the babies the opportunity to use their cognitive skills to determine their actions and make choices.
Learning through Play at Petite Ambassadors Day Nursery
Undoubtedly, children learn through their play and their linguistic recognition is well developed during their play. Children get competent in their play which promotes their self-esteem, and they use their imagination in their play because it is a form of children’s communication and language. As a result of this, we create lots of play opportunities for our children both indoors and outdoors.
In promoting the children’s psed skills, we practice elements from two distinctive approaches in early childhood education to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage (eyfs) curriculum framework.
Elements of the Montessori Approach
We promote children’s independence by creating opportunities for children to engage themselves in practical life skills such as helping in the kitchen prior to meal times, and dishing out and serving meals to their friends. Children wear their chef aprons and hats and they enjoy this activity very much. Also, they learn about risk taking when carrying food on a tray and the result is always excellent! Children are encouraged and supported in dishing out their meals and they will empty their trash. Children engage themselves in various occupations such as brushing / combing the hair, using their vacuum cleaner, using the cash register, scanning items and paying the items with money. Also, the children engage themselves in sewing activities using the sewing machine.
The above activities promote children’s physical development and it promotes their hand-eye coordination.
Sometimes, both the toddlers and pre-schoolers work together which encourages the children to teach and help each other; the older children see themselves as role-models which promotes positive behaviour.
Elements of Steiner Approach
Sometimes, our children work in a calm and peaceful environment, and they work at their own pace. With reference to their mathematical skills, their experiences are integrated in their daily activities such as cooking with their friends in the home corner with ‘more’ or ‘less’ vegetables and having several fruits and vegetables on their plates. Our Pink Table Talk time promotes our children’s language development and it encourages the children to speak and to listen to others.
Activities at the Leisure Centre/Physical Activities
“Physical Activity is vital for health well-being. If you can get the habit of being active when you are young, it will last for a lifetime”
Dr. Mike Loosemore: Lead Consultant Sports Physician UCL 2017
The children’s psed skills are promoted through their physical activities because physical activities provide a holistic approach to promoting PSED skills, enhancing children’s confidence, social abilities, emotional regulation and overall well-being.
The opportunities provided for the children to promote their physical development focuses not only on the strength, skill and health of the body, but also on the ways in which movement assists the development of the brain and nervous system.
Leisure Centre
Equal Opportunities
At Petite Ambassadors Day Nursery, we value the importance of developing positive self-esteem and all that a child brings with them to the nursery. Their language, culture, religion, family background and gender are all valued to help each child to feel accepted and accepting of themselves.
Special Educational Needs
We provide all children with a firm foundation on which to build future academic, social, and emotional success.
At Petite Ambassadors Day Nursery, every child is respected as an individual. The EYFS is designed to ensure that each child’s particular learning needs are met. All children have access to a broad and diverse curriculum and teachers use their judgement to adapt curricula to individuals learning needs.
Healthy Eating
At Petite Ambassadors Day Nursery, we lay the foundation for lifelong health and well-being as we help children prepare for school. We provide our children with the right foods for consumption for them to receive the necessary nutrients needed for their body growth and development.
Extra Curricular Activities
Musical Activities
At Petite Ambassadors Day Nursery, the children are engaged in a variety of musical activities to promote their physical and cognitive development. Children learn through play, and playing also involves the arts, offering tactile and multi-sensory experience for children. The children enjoy singing and dancing and we give the children the opportunity to play various musical instruments such as the piano and the drums to promote their fine- motor skills and their gross-motor skills.
Also, we provide opportunities for the children to listen to a range of music from various cultures.
Benefits of musical instruments for the ‘Unique Child’:
• Promotes brain development and cognitive thinking
• Promotes a higher self-esteem
• Increases concentration
• Promotes gross and fine motor development
• Improves children’s hand-eye coordination
• Children have a sense of their cultural awareness
Cooking Activities
The children enjoy cooking activities which promotes their fine-motor skills with reference to their hand-eye coordination. They use kitchen tools like spoons, pots, whisk and the activity encourages them to work in collaboration with their peers. For example, they learn to take turns with each other, and they share the resources/equipment’s amongst themselves. The children learn about healthy eating habits during cooking sessions, and they explore recipes from different cultures which enhances cultural awareness and appreciation. The activities promote the children’s language and literacy skills especially with the younger children because they also learn from the older children.
Forest School
At petite Ambassadors Day Nursery, we give our children the opportunity to have a Forest school on a weekly basis, unless in bad weather conditions.
Forest School is an inspirational educational ethos that focuses on developing children’s personal, social, and emotional development skills through regular outdoor woodland experiences. The ethos of Forest School is to allow our children the time and space to develop their skills, interests and understanding through a range of activities which provide practical, hands-on experiences in a natural environment. Children also have Forest School every last Saturday of the month from 9:30am-11:00am. This also would depend on the weather conditions as well as the number of children who will be able to attend.
Pink Table Talk/Home Corner
Our Pink Table Talk Show activity encourages the children to develop conversational skills, ideas, and thoughts, to promote expression. During the activity, the children are encouraged to talk and listen to others. Through this process of oral communication, they develop a rich and extensive vocabulary. The Pink Table talk Show is covered in a variety of ways using equipment such as, pictures, textured fabric, and various mark-making tools. At the beginning of the activity, the practitioner begins the interaction to begin with and the practitioner support and develop various ideas from the group of children at the Pink Table as well as introducing the ‘rules of conversation such as listening to each other when they are talking as well as respecting their views.
Grouping Of Children
The nursery operates to the following ratios:
Age 3 months– 24 months.......................1 member of staff to 3 children.
Age 24 – 36 months....................1 member of staff to 5 children.
Age 36 – 60 months.................1 member of staff to 8 children
Our Staff
The staff are selected for their experience and aptitude. Most of our staff are formally qualified and
possess qualifications which include the NNEB Nursery Nursing Certificate, BTEC Nursery Nursing Diploma,
or the B.Ed. teaching qualification. Our friendly staff reflects our values, ensuring your child has the
best nursery experience possible.
