Busy Bees Pre-School Curriculum


All children are entitled to quality learning and teaching. This will equip them with the skills, knowledge and understanding they need today, and prepare them well for tomorrow. Children learn at different rates and each child's development is unique. Children learn best when they are happy, secure and actively involved in their own learning.

  • 1. Teaching and Learning

    Is based on the children’s interests and how they play and learn.

    Staff play alongside the children to give them encouragement and offer prompts and ideas to extend their play.

    Staff use effective methods of teaching to build on what the children already know.

  • 2. A Regular Cycle of Learning

    The setting follows the Seven Educational Programmes devised by the Department of Education.

    This is what we want the children to know, understand, be able to do and have experienced.

  • 3. Core Books, Rhymes and Songs

    Our chosen books, rhymes, and songs will help the children become very familiar with the story and key parts, learning new words and building on their vocabulary.

    Children are taught the words and actions to the 10 core rhymes and songs.

  • 4. Core Focuses

    Our three core focuses are - All about me, Our World and Growing.

    All three focuses run alongside each other during the year. Some activities are planned like starting at Busy Bees, celebrations and planting in the spring where others are more spontaneous activities for example “it’s snowing… lets talk about the weather”.

  • 5. Core Experiences

    This evolves around planting and gardening, caring for living creatures and animals, trips and visits.

    These are experiences that children may or may not have at home that they can experience at the setting.

  • 6. Our Curriculum Goals

    We have 5 curriculum goals for all the children, these are ambitious and provide an overview of many of the different things we would like children to know and be able to do.

Busy

Bees

Educational

Programme

Busy Bees Educational Programme

  • We are committed that every child is listened to and respected and has the chance to enhance their communication skills.

    Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. Through conversation, storytelling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures.

  • To enhance the gross and Fine motor skills, core strength and physical ability.

    By creating games and providing opportunities for play both indoors and outdoors, adults can support children to develop their core strength, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination and agility. Gross motor skills provide the foundation for developing healthy bodies and social and emotional well-being. Fine motor control and precision helps with hand-eye co-ordination which is later linked to early literacy. Repeated and varied opportunities to explore and play with small world activities, puzzles, arts and crafts and the practice of using small tools, with feedback and support from adults, allow children to develop proficiency, control and confidence.

  • To have a voice and know that they matter, to understand, label and manage their emotions. To interact with other and develop and maintain relationships demonstrating empathy and care as well as negotiating and resolving conflicts.

    Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities, to persist and wait for what they want and direct attention as necessary. Through adult modelling and guidance, they will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating, and manage personal needs independently. Through supported interaction with other children they learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts peaceably. These attributes will provide a secure platform from which children can achieve at school and in later life.

  • To encourage children to access a wide range of books with an understanding of how stories are structured and build on their knowledge of the written word. To begin to make up their own stories or to re-enact a story out using props and their imagination. It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading. Reading consists of two dimensions: language comprehension and word reading. Language comprehension (necessary for both reading and writing) starts from birth. It only develops when adults talk with children about the world around them and the books (stories and non-fiction) they read with them, and enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together. Skilled word reading, taught later, involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Writing involves transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech, before writing).

  • To learn and recognise numbers, sizes shapes, weights and patterns as well as learning mathematical language. Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers.

  • To learn about where they live and what’s in the world around them. We are committed to ensure that every child has the chance to enjoy a diverse range of materials, representing different cultures and beliefs. Understanding the world involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community. The frequency and range of children’s personal experiences increases their knowledge and sense of the world around them – from visiting parks, libraries and museums to meeting important members of society such as police officers, nurses and firefighters. In addition, listening to a broad selection of stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems will foster their understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world. As well as building important knowledge, this extends their familiarity with words that support understanding across domains. Enriching and widening children’s vocabulary will support later reading comprehension.

  • The development of children’s artistic and cultural awareness supports their imagination and creativity. It is important that children have regular opportunities to engage with the arts, enabling them to explore and play with a wide range of media and materials. The quality and variety of what children see, hear and participate in is crucial for developing their understanding, self-expression, vocabulary and ability to communicate through the arts. The frequency, repetition and depth of their experiences are fundamental to their progress in interpreting and appreciating what they hear, respond to and observe.

More Info

  • The Gruffalo

    Room on the Broom

    The Very Hungry Caterpillar

    My friends the Weather Monster

    Handa’s Suprise

    Monkey Puzzle

    Happy Town

    The Colour Monster

    Goldilocks and the Three Bears

    Tree Billy Goats Gruff

  • The Wheels on the Bus

    Tommy Thumb

    Incy Wincy Spider

    Five Little Monkeys

    Once I Caught a Fish Alive

    Cows in the Kitchen

    I can sing a Rainbow (Makaton)

    Five Current Buns

    The Grand Old Duke Of York

    Tiny Turtle

  • Families

    Pets

    Emotions and Feelings

    Our Bodies

    Our Senses

    Growth and Growing

    Health and Hygiene

    Daily Routines

    Likes and Dislikes

    Similarities and Differences

    Celebrations

    People who help us

  • Where I live?

    Local Environment

    Different Countries

    Language/ Traditional Dress

    Cultures and Festivals

    Special Events

    Places

    Holidays and Seaside Resorts

    Stories from Around the World

    Weather

    Seasons

    Hot Countries

    Cold Countries

    Animals in the World

    Space

    Dinosaurs

    Farms and Zoos

    Recycling/ Climate change

  • How I Grow

    Life Cycles

    Caring for Plants

    Caring for Living Creatures

    Seasons

    Gardening

    Minibeasts

Our 5 Curriculum Goals

  • Settle in and become a confident learner

  • Make up their own story

  • Make a model with construction pieces or small and large materials

  • Create their own dance to a piece of music

  • Building mark making skills