Curriculum & Teaching

Our aim is to provide our children with an exciting, engaging and empowering curriculum that prepares them for today and tomorrow. 

At Hednesford Nursery School we carefully design, plan and implement a curriculum which provides breadth for every child; we proudly provide a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum which follows the Early Years Foundation Stage 2025 (EYFS).

Our curriculum is shaped by Curriculum Maestro, White Rose Maths and Monster Phonics alongside the children themselves – their ideas, questions and interests form the starting point for our planning. We build on this with carefully designed provocations and enquiry-led learning, encouraging children to explore with curiosity, creativity, awe and wonder.

Hygge Early Years is about giving young children a calm, happy, and secure start to life — inspired by the Danish idea of hygge, which means warmth, comfort, and togetherness.

Our rooms reflect calm, homely environments where real life furnishings, softer lighting and equipment are used with purpose, enabling our children to learn through contextualised play. Nature flows from outside to within and our outdoor areas are used for exploration, investigation and to develop a deep curiosity about our world, no matter the weather.

Staff set the tone, leading by example and using the senses to provoke the mood- playing diverse genres of background music, using subtle scents and displaying pieces of art or screen savers that depict images found in nature.

Our children learn purposefully with care and respect for each other and their environments. They are actively encouraged to take calculated risks, they are the pioneers of their own learning and staff facilitate sympathetically taking care not to stifle any potential gains. We have found that our children are more in tune with their own bodies, they are more able to self-regulate and know how to execute self-care skills. 

Alongside this, we make sure children also gain the essential knowledge, skills and cultural capital they need for future success.

This includes opportunities for trips, visitors and special events that enrich their experiences and widen their world. 

Starting with the 3 prime areas the golden thread running through everything we do is a focus on communication and language. Children are supported to share their thinking and ideas through:

• Attentive listening and thoughtful responses from staff
• Sustained shared thinkingactivities that stretch learning
• Rich language opportunities that underpin all areas of learning

Our safe nurturing learning environments – indoors, outdoors, are carefully designed to inspire independence and exploration. The outdoor spaces give children direct experiences of nature, helping them develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.

 We are proud to offer a truly inclusive curriculum, adapted to meet the needs of every child, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We have high expectations for all children, and ensure that our provision meets the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations (2014). 

As a staff, we carefully analyse the backgrounds, life experiences and culture of our pupils in order to help us to design a curriculum. We want our children to grow up loving our world, feeling a valuable part of it, knowing they have a contribution to make.  We recognise and respect the range of beliefs and cultures within our world and enjoy learning about other faiths.

My place in the World - we create opportunities to help pupils develop a good knowledge of the local community and the wider world. They are encouraged to be good citizens and are aware of their responsibility to care for the environment. Links to other schools and places broaden pupils understanding. They are made aware of current World events, which helps to foster a developing general knowledge. 

Communication - we provide opportunities for pupils to communicate their learning through speaking & listening, writing and through the use of technology. Pupils are encouraged to give their views and opinions across the curriculum through a range of purposeful learning opportunities.

We have designed and planned a curriculum to offer a range of experiences which enable every child to receive a full and rich curriculum. These experiences reflect the caring nature of our school and ensure that children benefit from a varied range of academic, spiritual, moral, social and cultural activities. These activities enrich pupils' lives and those of our whole school community, encouraging children to be proud of their British values, while respecting diversity. We take pride in the fact that our curriculum gives the children at Hednesford Nursery School the skills, confidence and self-belief to lead happy and fulfilling lives. Through our curriculum we encourage pupils to aim high and work towards their goals and aspirations.

Ensuring our children will be ready to succeed when they meet future challenges in the next stage of their education and beyond. 

For further details on the curriculum here, please contact:

dfreeman@westhill.staffs.sch.uk

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Curriculum Map for Parents -Sunshine & Sunflowers

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