Our Learning Programme

  • parent-curriculum-scienceAt Bright Little Stars Nursery, we believe that the development of children is achieved by making learning fun. Children are stimulated by planned and child initiated activities, which not only include play but educational elements as well. Learning is guided by our exceptional and passionate staff who skilfully support children’s learning and development with effective teaching. Through stimulating activities and learning opportunities we strive to make a difference and create the most solid foundation for your child’s future learning and development preparing them for school.

    We follow a broad-based curriculum to ensure each individual child is supported and has a variety of opportunities to learn and develop in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Accordingly, the EYFS Statutory Framework sets the foundation of our curriculum and our unique Bright Little Stars Learning Programme provides challenges for each child individually whist preparing them for school, it nurtures a love of learning with measured amounts of formal teaching – the aim ‘to bring play and teaching together.’  This is achieved by incorporating:

    • Learning Journey

      Each child’s learning and development is recorded and celebrated through Bright Little Stars individual child’s Learning Journey.

      We aim to support every child with a learning experience that is planned from the very beginning with activities that are challenging yet achievable so that children can continue to enjoy learning. Your child’s Key Person will be sensitive to the individual development needs of each child to ensure that the activities they undertake are suitable for the stage that they have reached.

      Practitioners will complete on-going observational assessment in each child’s Learning Journey every month to inform planning for each child’s continuing development. The records are shared with parents regularly and include parental involvement at every stage.

      At Bright Little Stars Nursery we also hold two formal parent’s consultations each year.

    • Room Leader

      A Room Leader is allocated to each of the age groups that occupy different rooms, ensuring continuity of care, progress in learning through regular tracking and a sense of security for the children.

    • Key Person

      We adopt a Key Person approach from the very beginning to allow each child to build a strong relationship with an adult in the nursery to support their well-being. Each child will not only have a Key Person, but a Key Person ‘buddy’ also. This ‘buddy’ will also ensure early attachments are made in order to ensure consistency and security at all times during and especially in the absence of the Key Person. It is very important that parents and carers share information about their child with their Key Person to facilitate this approach and to enable the Key Person to coordinate your child’s care and education.  Having a Key Person also ensures that each child’s achievements are shared with parents on a regular basis.

  • The EYFS, revised in March 2021, is a Government Framework covering the stage of children’s development from birth to 5 years old, when they are at the end of their first year in school (Reception). The EYFS Framework describes how early year’s practitioners should work with children and their families and what your child will be learning to give them a firm foundation for a successful start at school.

    The EYFS is defined in section 39 of the British Government’s Childcare Act 2006 and comprises a set of welfare and learning and development requirements. This is a statutory framework for all children below the age of 5 years old.

    EYFS identifies various areas of learning and development. We use these when observing, assessing and planning to meet the needs of children as individuals.
    The areas of learning and development ensure that we continuously challenge children and help them to develop and succeed.
    The areas of learning and are split into two parts:
    The three prime areas are for all children aged between 0-5 years old and are our main focus when planning activities for babies and children under 3 years old:

    • Communication and Language;
    • Physical Development and
    • Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

    As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in the four specific areas. These are mostly used for children over the age of 3 years old but can also be relevant for younger children:

    • Literacy;
    • Mathematics;
    • Understanding the World and
    • Expressive Arts and Design.

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  • Language represents the foundation of learning to read and write and is the starting point of the Bright Little Stars Literacy Programme.

    Children’s oral language skills and opportunities to express themselves through babbles, and later speech, is nurtured and highly valued. This is because, young children use words and speech as a way to understand important concepts. We understand that language drives children’s cognitive development and thought processes about the wider world and therefore the way that children process information to inform learning. Language is used to ignite children’s interest and passion for literacy by allowing freedom of expression.

    Younger children are exposed to a deep love of story times whilst sharing books with passionate storytellers. Through the introduction of books, songs, rhymes and poems during role play and interactive story sessions children become growing readers and natural narrators themselves.

    Children build a desire and true appreciation for reading and recognising that symbols have meaning through story sacks, author visits, singing nursery rhymes, listening to audio books and on-the-move acting and role play.  The environment is rich with text for reading opportunities and mark making media for early writing skills.

    The learning is extended using the BLS Literacy Approach, which focuses initially on the aspects of pre-phonics, such as listening and wordplay, before moving onto the phonics aspects of alliteration and letter sounds. This uses an interactive, multi-sensory approach to supporting children in acquiring the phonic knowledge they need when it comes to learning to read and therefore being ready for the challenges of “Big School”.

     

  • Mathematics is one of the specific areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, and features prominently within children’s daily learning.

    Children learn about maths through their play and daily life. While ‘experiencing’ maths children learn about numbers, shape, space and measure, whilst becoming confident using mathematical language in everyday conversations.  A variety of teaching styles are used to create a wide range of mathematical learning opportunities across the learning programme, including practical, ‘real life’ activities along with using the touch screen computers and tablets to access mathematical learning resources on the Bright Little Stars On-Line Resource Finder App.

    Children explore the characteristics of familiar objects and shapes whilst learning to use every day mathematical language to describe them and talk about quantity, size, weight, capacity, distance, time and positioning.

    Children engage in a range of activities including creating patterns, traffic surveys, reciting rhymes with mathematical content, comparing measurements and finding the best fit, talking about temperatures for cooking and time.

    Healthy Risk Taking and Challenging Play together form a unique part of our Maths programme. Within these sessions children work in small groups with close adult supervision to experiment with the cause and effect of real life tools. Children build an awareness of personal safety, strong hand eye coordination and the importance of boundaries and following rules.

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  • During their time at Bright Little Stars each child will begin to build an understanding and knowledge of Science and Outdoor Exploration. As science is a key part of a child’s entire educational journey, we believe in getting children off to a flying start and the outdoor environment is an area in which we encourage the children to feel and be free.

    Science is introduced indirectly and holistically, incorporated in activities within the typical nursery day both in-and outdoors. The activities that we provide promote a greater understanding of the world through a ‘hands on’ approach. We do this with investigations into the behaviour of objects, conducting experiments, exploring and discovering and lastly presenting findings.

    Some examples of the skills children learn during science are prediction, observation, critical thinking, making decisions, discussion and problem solving, as well as self-regulation, boundary setting and mindfulness whilst exploring outdoors .

    We use outdoor exploration to educate children about the importance of life, living, nurturing, and caring. Children are actively involved in growing, foraging, loose part play, and risk-taking outdoors, this includes using parts of the Forest School curriculum.

    Through our Forest School sessions, the children have the freedom, time, and space to learn and be more independent. We encourage them to develop their relationship with the outdoor, natural world.  Forest School is a way to help children to understand how to respect nature and encourages them to open their curiosity about the world.

    Our children thrive off the opportunity to learn outdoors. Each week they look forward to engaging in a range of activities planned by the qualified Forest School teacher. These include: Natural Art, Animal House construction, Leaf Sashing, Meeting a Tree, climbing logs, observing minibeasts, using binoculars to watch the squirrels and birds in the trees, and lots more.

    Forest School is a fantastic way of extending the children’s awe and wonder of the world through the natural environment.

    Our pre-school children have this to say about Forest School:

    “I like playing at forest school. I play lifting the teddies up the tree and down the tree.”

    “We make things like snails and birds. There was a real snail race but nobody won!”

    “I like playing with binoculars and I like the yoyo’s.”

    By utilising children’s natural curiosity of living things and the outdoors educators are able to tailor the learning to the children’s interests with ease through activities involving: colours, light and shadows, sound, forces and magnets, fossils, floating and sinking, electricity, weather, liquids and solids. We use activities such as ‘my body’, ‘a plant’s life’ and learning about where the food we eat comes from to support children’s understanding of themselves, their friends, plants and animals.

    It is our goal that children understand at an early age to nurture and care for something living and to be proud of doing so.

     

  • Learning Programme - Geography

    Shared culture is communicated through daily life events, such as familiar music, foods and the ways we dress. We believe that young children of every culture need to develop a secure and positive sense of their own identity and a positive sense of pride in their family origins as well as respecting and celebrating their differences.

    At Bright Little Stars the teaching of Culture and Geography go hand in hand and fit within our holistic learning approach. Each area ties into another and culture is determined as:

    • What we know: Where we come from, where a frog lives or how to use a computer
    • What we do not yet know: Where our friends come from, a frogs life cycle or how to catch a fish
    • What we want to be: A Teacher, a Lawyer, an Astronaut or a Ballerina

    There are many ways that cultural differences are taught to young children. By working with hands on materials, stories and through carefully planned activities and a purposeful environment, children develop sensitivity towards:

    • Themselves
    • Other people
    • The environment.

    We believe that young children of every culture need to develop a secure and positive sense of their own identity and a positive sense of pride in their family origins as well as respecting and celebrating their differences.  By promoting a varied knowledge and understanding of the world through geography we encourage children to investigate the physical and human features of their immediate surroundings and the wider world.

    Some examples of the skills children learn are a sense of self, a knowledge of others, observation, questioning, problem-solving, making decisions, predictions, discussion and critical thinking.

    Activities involve making and reading simple maps and identifying land and water, looking at similarities and differences of homes, countries and climates, noticing and recording the weather and taking part in local outings to learn about their surroundings.

    Children learn on a daily basis to understand themselves, their friends and their environment.

  • Animations and Coding are the unique elements of our ICT development, making the Bright Little Stars Learning Programme current and progressive; children are surrounded by ever evolving technology and naturally this becomes a fascination very early on.

    Children are introduced to animation using Stop Motion technology. Children create their own stories frame by frame, how to design, organise and stage their own film using resources, (often created by themselves) and also star in their own productions.

    Early Coding is experienced by using wooden robots that teach children the basics of computer programming through adventure and hands on play.

    Our Bright Little Stars On-line Resource Finder App offers opportunities in all areas of learning and appeals to the natural direct learning style of children, while building children’s confidence when using touch screen technology.

    Children’s basic need for information and the development of communication skills are key to their success in life.  We provide opportunities for playing, socialising and learning through the use of ICT. These activities are not solitary or restricted activities therefore children are learning many skills other than just the operation of equipment.  Children’s learning is extended by viewing real life demonstrations, images and footage using the touch screen computers and taking images of real-life objects to investigate and share with peers.

    Resources and activities include: interactive LCD computer screens, digital recorders and cameras, activity centres, musical keyboards, robots and remote controlled devices, cash registers and interactive books. Children have access to ‘learning tablets’ that provide activities in all areas of the curriculum. The essence of ICT is that it is a combination of communication, information and technology.

    Why we encourage ICT?

    • Children are often motivated by using ICT
    • ICT creates and extends both play and learning opportunities
    • ICT can be the medium for child-initiated, peer guided and adult-led activities
    • Children will be familiar with using technology when they start school and this aids their transition.
  • Creativity comes naturally to children, therefore, it is necessary for children to be given the time to imagine, explore and experiment with ideas, materials and activities whilst learning about thoughts and feelings during the process.

    In Expressive Art and Design, at Bright Little Stars, children are inspired to have vision and to self-express with the aim of forging rich memories of childhood moments and for children to grow to become confident individuals. Children are supported to be creative by encouraging attitudes of curiosity and questioning and are also taught skills and techniques. Children notice everything and closely observe the most ordinary things that adults often take for granted. By building on children’s interests we lead them to create amazing inventions or make marks on paper that represent for them an experience or something they have seen.

    Children choose and use materials and resources in an open-ended way, they make choices and have confidence in their own ideas. Retaining childhood confidence in their ideas and skills can easily be lost if others ‘take over’ and try to suggest what the child is making, thinking or doing. At Bright Little Stars practitioners express an interest in the process a child has gone through by asking open questions such as ‘Can you tell me about it? That looks interesting’. This may be all that is required to help a child hold on to their remarkable creativity.

    Our holistic Learning Programme approach includes, sensory experiences, music, dance, interactive story-telling and cold cooking, all of which encourage children’s creativity and imagination as they discover the world of colour, sound, texture, shape and form around them.

    As Under 5’s are enthused by imaginative play our role play areas are regularly transformed into every day environments. These include café’s, hospitals, construction sites and beauty salons to stimulate the children’s imagination to the full and encourage interaction with other peers. Being Imaginative is a key developmental skill which will enable children to grasp abstract ideas in later learning.

     

  • At Bright Little Stars Nursery, we are committed to equipping parents with the knowledge and ideas to support their child’s learning at home as we recognise their important role, being their child’s first and most enduring educator, is crucial in underpinning learning.  We are therefore committed to developing our parent partnership in such a way that all children have the advantage of being able to reinforce this learning outside the nursery.  We aim to give parents the skills they need to ensure that their children do not miss out on any possible learning opportunities.

    The key to successful Home Learning is using ordinary occurrences for purposeful learning. Using the knowledge and experience our Head of Teaching, Qualified Teachers and other Early Years Professionals we have put together suggestions of day-to-day activities in each area of learning and how they can be used to support children’s progress (these can be found on our secure Parent Area of the Bright Little Stars website.)

    • How we support Home Learning

      Bright Little Stars parents with children in the Supernova room are informed, by email, on a weekly basis of what learning took place in the previous week and what is to come in the week ahead. This enables parents to become involved in that learning, for example, encouraging their child to bring in an item beginning with that week’s sound and sharing it with their friends during group activities.

      By accessing the Home Learning Tab in the Parent Area, parents have a wealth of ideas to help them further their child’s learning. This includes guidance and resources on teaching phonics and letter formation, maths and number formation. It details opportunities in daily life that provide learning across all seven areas of the EYFS.

      We also provide Workshops in ‘Teach Your Child Phonics and Home Learning’, led by our Head of Teaching, which introduce parents to some of the resources used by Bright Little Stars. This gives an overview of the Bright Little Stars Learning Programme.

      Parental involvement has a profound, positive effect on a child’s learning, both at home and in nursery leading into school.  With the aforementioned provision, we are enabling our parents to further support their child and give them the best possible preparation for ‘Big School’.

      An example:  A trip to the shops can include –

      Literacy – ‘write’ a shopping list before you go (this can be mark making to begin with)

      Communication and Language – asking questions such as “What shall we buy?”

      Maths – counting items into the shopping basket and recognising coins

      Physical Development – a discussion on healthy eating and food choices

      Personal, Social & Emotional Development – encouraging your child to ask shop personnel where a certain product can be found.

  • At Bright Little Stars Nursery, we offer a variety of club activities to support children’s learning and life skills. External professionals enhance development, and we visit local facilities like museums, libraries, and parks when possible.
    Club activities are included in our fees to ensure equal opportunities for all children. Offerings may vary by nursery, be weather-dependent, or rotate throughout the year for a well-rounded experience.

    Drama – Storytelling classes, encouraging babies and children to join in actions, including dance and drama skills. Bringing storytelling to life, creatively and in a fun environment.

     

    Forest School – Providing children with regular hands-on experiences in nature, rain or shine. Encouraging risk assessment, decision-making, and child-led learning through activities like sensory walks, foraging, woodwork, and tree climbing. By connecting with nature, children gain a deeper understanding of the world around them.

     

    Languages – Fun, engaging, and interactive musical language classes for all children (babies to pre-school). Using recognisable songs and nursery rhymes, along with sensory props, puppets, bubbles, maracas, and ribbons, making the experience exciting and bringing language to life in a fun and familiar way.

     

    Mindfulness/Yoga – Yoga and mindfulness sessions, blending movement, storytelling, and emotional growth. Through yoga-inspired moves, children explore adventures while improving focus. Mindful sessions teach presence, support self-regulation, and build confidence.

     

    Sensory Sessions – The Bright Little Stars Sensory Session offers a four-week rotation of themed activities designed to engage and stimulate our little ones in the Milky Way Rooms. Each session includes singing, sign language, sensory lights, bubble shows, floating fabrics, balloons, role play, and exploration of natural interest items.

     

    Wild Fangs – Exotic animal encounters with interactive, educational, and entertaining talks. They emphasise ‘education through engagement,’ believing children learn best through firsthand experiences, activating prior knowledge, sparking excitement, and introducing new information.

     

    Sport/Gymnastics – Children enjoy a variety of sports, including gymnastics, tennis, basketball, dance, and athletics. Enhancing strength, movement skills, and confidence using different equipment. All sessions focus on fun, learning, and overall development.

     

    Music/Movement/Dance – Interactive music and movement classes with themed adventures like colours, animals, and the circus. Using nursery rhymes, action songs, and props. Encouraging learning through dance and play.