Lechlade Little Learners aims to develop a child’s feeling of security, independence, self-worth and confidence in a stimulating environment where children can take pleasure in learning. During each session, we operate a free flow approach, which allows the children to be in control of what they would like to play with and where they would like to play. Staff setup provocations to interest and entice the children and allow their curiosity and imagination to run free. The children are also able to self-select toys and resources throughout the session. Both our indoor and outdoor areas help to support children in the seven areas of learning and development of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We always ensure the seven areas of learning and development are covered with the resources on offer and use our own knowledge of the children to develop learning experiences throughout the day.

"Little Learners provides a safe, fun and educational setting for children. It’s a very caring setting and because of this the children feel loved and secure."

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards that all early years’ providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It promotes teaching and learning to ensure children’s ‘school readiness’ and gives children the broad range of knowledge and skills that provide the right foundation for good future progress through school and life. It sets out:

The learning and development requirements
Assessment requirements
The safeguarding and welfare requirements

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.

There are four guiding principles that should shape practice in early years. 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 framework covers the education and care of all children, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Children will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge

and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of

learning and development. Children should mostly develop

the 3 prime areas first. These are:

Communication and language
Physical development
Personal, social and emotional development

These prime areas are those most essential for children’s

healthy development and future learning. As children grow

the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific

areas. These are:

Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the world
Expressive arts and design

Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active and through creative and critical thinking, all of which takes place both indoors and outside.

Diagram showing the areas of learning and development.

EYFS Statutory Framework

Birth to 5 Matters

"The staff are all highly enthusiastic in their roles. They work with a passion to ensure that every child has the very best learning experiences at the group. Staff have an in-depth understanding of children's needs, interests and abilities, and an excellent overview of where every child is in their learning. They plan and implement an exciting curriculum that takes full account of what each child needs to learn next. They instinctively offer the encouragement and support the children need to foster their all-round learning. Staff know when to play an active role in children's learning and when to stand back and let them play freely." ~ Ofsted 2025

Lechlade Little Learners Curriculum

Intent

Lechlade Little Learners aim to develop a child’s feeling of security, independence, self-worth and confidence in a stimulating environment where they can foster a love of learning. We want children to be exposed to new activities, environments and experiences, from social skills and creative expression to exploring the world around them. We build on the strengths and interests of each child, helping build a solid foundation on which they can develop their futures. We want children to be actively involved and motivated in their learning and creative in their own thinking. We provide the crucial first step in children’s learning and educational journey.

Implement

Everything we do at Little Learners forms part of our curriculum and at the centre of everything is the children. We use children’s interests, experiences and staff’s knowledge of child development to enrich children’s learning and development and extend the understanding of the children in our setting. Our curriculum is like a jigsaw puzzle, each piece is part of a bigger picture.

Jigsaw puzzle showing all the different activities and experiences we offer in preschool.

Impact

Children feel happy, safe and secure at preschool and in the transition to school.
Children are confident in their own abilities and feel confident with their own ideas.
Children have a love for learning and gaining knowledge.
Children are aware of emotions and can self-regulate.

"You made my child feel comfortable and welcome from the start, and gave us confidence that he would be ok which made it easier for us to bring him there. Your approach is so lovely and we couldn’t ask for anything better."