What we teach through our curriculum at Comper and why
Our curriculum is the over arching, long term plan of all the things we want children to experience, know and be able to do as a result of coming to Comper Nursery School. Our curriculum sets out what we teach and when, and what the children learn. There is a big focus on communication and language in our curriculum because being able to communicate your needs and ideas is the foundation to all other learning. Our curriculum is based on the development of knowledge and skills that build over time.
How did we decide what knowledge and skills are important for the Comper Long Term Curriculum?
- Our curriculum is underpinned by the programmes of study in the Early Years Statutory Framework 2024
- We asked parents what they think is important for their children to learn through a post it note exercise at a school event
- Our staff identified what we think is important for children growing up right now. We thought about the skills and knowledge they will need as they grow up, to navigate their worlds as resilient, confident and emotionally healthy young people
- We thought about what is important to our children and young people living in East Oxford
- We used our knowledge of typical child development guided by the non-statutory guidance 'Birth to Five Matters'
- We observe our children closely everyday and use their interests and ideas on a weekly basis to enrich and develop what is on our long term curriculum plan. This means our curriculum is live and constantly evolving based on the needs of the unique child
Together we decided on some core skills and knowledge that we thought are particularly important for children at Comper to learn:
- Making steps towards learning to ride a bike and how to stay safe on a bike
- Understanding the importance of looking after the environment
- Knowing what a healthy, positive safe relationship is
- Knowing how to keep ourselves emotionally and physically safe, including online
- Knowing how to keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy
- Becoming emotionally intelligent and resilient
- Knowing how to keep ourselves safe around water
- Knowing the importance of being creative and enjoying the expressive arts
From the above identified skills and knowledge we came up with our curriculum area goals for each age group.
Curriculum Area Goals
While developing our curriculum we identified some key curriculum area goals that we feel are particularly important for our children to aim for. We will support all the children to achieve these during their time at Comper.
We aim for all children to work towards the same curricular goals and we support them to move at the pace that is right for them.
Some children will need more support than others to get started on a goal. Some children will need steps broken down, to keep progressing and some children may need extending beyond these goals. The adult will be constantly observing and assessing the children to ensure they support the children where they are.
Our curricular goals for 2 year olds
Our curricular goals for 3 and 4 year olds
How is our curriculum implemented?
We run a play-based curriculum at Comper focused on child-initiated learning. This is where children have the autonomy to choose the activities they are doing and use the environment as they wish to learn through their play. Adults support this child- initiated play through resourcing our curriculum well, and structuring the learning environment and routines.
The role of the adult:
- Adults support through high-quality interaction: conversation, vocabulary, sustained shared thinking.
- Adults are always ‘intentional’: they guide children’s play towards the skills, concepts and vocabulary that will enrich their play, and prepare them well for their later learning carefully weaving in the relevant skills and knowledge from our curriculum
- Adults lead small planned group work to impart carefully chosen knowledge and skills from our curriculum.
Core experiences we offer our children at Comper
We are passionate about providing an inclusive learning experience at Comper and ensuring that all our children have the opportunity to experience a wide range of learning opportunities and build cultural capital. We therefore ensure that each term our children are able to engage with a range of trips and experiences. All our children will take part in listening to professional musicians sing and play their instruments, going to the library or local bookshop, observing and learning about farm animals, baking, and being part of a performance.
How do we measure the impact of our curriculum?
All our children are allocated a key person when they join Comper. This person will get to know your child very well. When they first come in they will make an assessment of where your child is in their development over the first term they are with us. They will also carry out a standardised language assessment called the Wellcomm Assessment. This will give us an idea of where your child is with their language and communication and help us identify how we need to support them to make the best progress possible in this area.
Observations and Tapestry
Our staff are constantly observing the children and gathering important information about their learning and development. Some of these observations will be shared with you on our Tapestry platform. These observations provide some evidence for us about the progress that your child is making.
Tracking your child's progress
Four times a year we make a end of term judgement about whether your child is working at the expected age for how old they are in months. We make this judgement based on our expert knowledge of child development, underpinned by the non-statutory guidance 'Birth to 5 Matters' and how they are progressing towards the knowledge, skills and core goals on our long term curriculum.
Pupil Progress Meetings
Four times a year, we also hold pupil progress meetings. This is when the keyperson comes to discuss their key children with the headteacher & SENCo. This is an in-depth discussion about each child, what their successes are and, where we identify gaps in their knowledge and skills that we still need to support them with. Our keyperson approach ensures that we know your children very well at Comper and can respond to their learning needs effectively ensuring that they can make excellent progress while they are with us.
Parents Evenings
We have three Parents Evenings a year where your child's key person will feed back to you how they are getting on at Nursery. They will discuss your child's emotional wellbeing and their developmental progress. This is a chance for you to share how you feel they are developing to and feed into our assessment of your child. You know your child the best out of all of us.
Reports
At the end of the summer term before your child moves to reception at their new primary school, you will receive a written report from your child's keyperson. This will be a final summary of their progress and development at Comper.