The curriculum provided by Rainbow Under 5 s Playgroup.

Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by Rainbow Under 5s playgroup helps children to continue to do this by providing all of the children with interesting activities that are right for their age and stage of development.

For children between the ages of 3 and 5 years, the Playgroup provides a curriculum for the foundation stage of education. This curriculum is set out in a document, published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and the Department for Education and Skills, and called Early years foundation stage. Pre-school follows this guidance..

The guidance divides children's learning and development into six areas:

Personal, social and emotional development:
Dispositions and attitudes.
This involves children being encouraged to be independant learners, curious and interested and eager to play and learn, confident to approach adults for help and support when needed and having a positive approach to new exciting experiences

Self Confidence and self esteem
This involves children feeling safe, secure and part of the playgroup, knowing they belong.
Showing care and concern for themselves and others, also being able to talk about their home and family and knowing they are part of different communities.
And being able to express their needs and feelings well.

making relationships

This involves showing a sense of trust eg putting toy in home box, making attachments to adults and children, seeking out others to share experiences and adapting behaviour to different situations and events, also understanding that there needs to be rules for the group to run smoothly.

Behaviour and self control

this involves learning to share, accept others needs, caring for others and the environment. Showing confidence to stand up for their own rights, knowing the difference between right and wrong.
Being aware of the boundaries and the behaviour expected

Self care

Being willing to perserve to manage tasks e.g washing hands, dressing themselves, being willing to ask for help or guidance, accessing activities independantly.
showing a sense of pride in achievements

Sense of community

Make connections between home and playgroup e.g i made this at home with mummy.
Be aware they are a member of different communities such as home and playgroup.
Build awareness of different cultures and religous differences.
Know these need to be treated with respect.
Being positive about themselves.

Communication, language and literacy:
Language for communication.

This invoves using gestures and speech to communicate, asking questions, taking turns in conversation, making simple statements, using talk to resolve disagreements, taking account of others views.
Listening and joining in with rhymes and stories, make up their own stories.
extending their vocabulary, confidently talking to people who visit the group who arent known to them
Language for Thinking

This involves using talk to describe what they are doing, to talk to connect their ideas anticipate what is happening during activities.
To use talk to describe past experiences and to pretend imaginary situations (role play).

Linking sounds and letters.

This involves rhyming and rhythmic activities, distinguishing everday sounds, e.g aeroplane, bird singing.
Tapping out simple beats, rhythmns.
Knowing which words rhyme.
Knowing which letter sound represents the initial sound in words and recognising which letter makes that sound

Reading

This involves listening to stories 1-1 and in groups, showing interest in print and pictures in the environment, having favourite books, looking after books and handling them well.
Suggesting how stories might end, re telling stories in their own words, knowing there are fiction and non fiction books and information can be found in books and computers

Writing

This involves drawing and painting sometimes saying what their pictures are.
slowing down their speech so you can write it down breaking their flow of speech into words.
Use writing to record and communicate for example writing a shopping list, writing their name.

Hand writing

This involves doing activities such as bead threading, jigsaws, joining train tracks to develop hand eye coordination.
Use one handed tools susch as scissors, pencils, paintbrush.
drawing large circles in the air e.g with scarves at dance time.
manipulating objects, with control.
painting going up and down over and over again.
Begininng to write the first letter of their name and then their whole name.
Encouraging more able children to write their names on their work.
Problem solving reasoning and numeracy.
Numbers and counting

This involves showing an interest in counting, using number names and language during play, e.g i have one of those you have two.
Attempting to count, some numbers in the correct order, recognising groups of 1,2,3 objects, recognising personal numbers e,g house number, number 3 or 4 for their age.
representing number by holding up their fingers or making marks on paper.
recognising numbers 1-5 then 1-10
selecting numbers to represent amounts eg 6 for 6 bricks.
Show confidence by spotting errors when counting or placing numbers in order.
Knowing which number comes after a given number and counting beyond 10

Calculating

This involves comparing groups of objects saying when they have the same number, using language such as more or less.
Offering solutions to problems such as how many cups we need at snack.
Finding the total of 2 groups of objects by counting them all.
Showing interest in number problems e.g how many chairs do we need, how many girls, boys at circletime

Shape space and measures

This involves playing with shapes making arrangements with them.
Showing awareness of shapes in the environment, eg shape of door, window etc
Making things with shapes, cut material to size.
Using language to descibe solid 3D shapes and flat 2D shapes.
Observing and using positional language eg front of line.
finding objects from positional clues.
Using language such as big and little.
Matching shapes.
Talking about shapes how many sides etc.
Desribing simple journeys.
Ordering items by length or height.
ordering items by weight or capacity.
Awareness of symmetry.
And intructing a programmable toy e.g pixie, roamer.

Comparing longest and shortest

knowledge and understanding of the world:
Exploration and investigation

This involves showing curoisity by facial expression movement or sound, looking at and handling objects to find out more.
Describing features of objects and events.
Examining living things to find out more about them,
Talking about what they see and what happens during activities eg cooking, mixing water and flour.
Show awareness of change e.g when adding water to dry sand or ice melting in the water tray

Designing and making skills

This involves investigating different tools and realising they have different uses e.g playdough tools, brio tools.
using construction sets to build and balance, contruct things with a purpose in mind, decide what they are going to make and make it.
Use simple tools and techniques well.

Information and communication technology.

This involves showing an interest in ict, e.g till, tape recorder, turning on a switch, pressing a buttton at traffic crossing.
Knowing how to operate simple equipment e.g till.
Completing a simple programme on the computer or pixie or roamer

A sense of time

This involves remembering and talking about things that have happened to them, showing an interest in other peoples lives in the group, begining to differentiate between past and present e.g seasons, growth etc.

 A sense of place

This involves showing an interest in the world around them, asking questions about the natural world, noticing differences in the environment, e.g different houses, trees etc.

Communities

This involves expressing feelings about significant events e.g birthday or death of a pet. Describing significant events to others e.g a wedding.
Gaining an awareness of cultures and beliefs of others.
e.g chinese new year, St Patricks day etc.

Physicaldevelopment:

Movement.

This involves moving in available space safely.
Moving to music and dance.
being able to stop when needed.
moving in a range of ways, rolling, crawling, walking, running, hopping, skipping, sliding, shuffling, jumping.
Using movement to express feelings
Adjusting speed or changing direction to avoid obstacles
Negotiating space successfully when playing racing and chasing games with other children
generally moving with confidence and safely.
Using slide and climbing steps, managing to create intended movements eg when sweeping the floor.
Balancing, holding a fixed shape or position e.g musical statues.
Threading things, picking up and releasing objects.

  A sense of space.

This involves moving around the playroom without bumping into children or furniture.
Showing respect for other childrens personal space when playing among them,
judging body space needed e.g using tunnels.
Persevering in repeating some actions/attempts when developing a new skill e.g catching a ball.
Collaborating in devising and sharing tasks, including those which involve accepting rules.
Having a clear preference for the left or right hand.

Health and body awareness.

this involves showing awareness of own needs regarding eating, sleeping and hygiene and seeking adult support to ensure these are met.
Show awareness of a range of healthy practices with regard to eating, sleeping and hygiene.
Observe the effects of activity on their bodies after exercise eg heart beat, sweating etc.
Show some understanding that good practices with regard to exercise, eating, sleeping and hygiene can contribute to good health e.g healthy foods, brushing teeth etc

Using equipment and materials

This involves Operating equipment by means of pushing and pulling movements, e.g rides, pushchairs, trolleys.
Constructing with large materials such as cartons, long lengths of fabric and planks.
Showing increasing control in using equipment for climbing, scrambling, sliding and swinging.
Using increasing control over an object by touching, pushing, patting, throwing, catching or kicking it
Retrieving, collecting and catching objects eg balls, bean bags, hoops, throwing rings over cones etc.

Using tools and materials

This involves engaging in activities requiring handeye coordination eg pegboards, jigsaws, sewing etc.
Use one-handed tools and equipment e.g scissors, hammers, pencils. glue sticks.
Use small world sets e.g garage, trainset, dolls house.
Explore malleable materials by patting, stroking, poking, squeezing, pinching and twisting them
Manipulate materials to achieve a planned effect e.g playdough and clay,
Use simple tools to effect changes to the materials
Show understanding of how to transport and store equipment safely
Practise some appropriate safety measures without direct supervision

Creative development:

Exploring media materials.

Begin to notice different colours.
Notice what happens when colours are mixed.
Use bodies to explore texture and space.
Begin to describe texture of things.
Make 3D structures eg junk models.
Use lines to enclose a space, then begin to use these shapes to represent objects. e.g drawing a face or house.
Begin to construct, stacking blocks vertically and horizontally and making enclosures and creating spaces,
Make constructions, collages, paintings, drawings and dances.
Experiment to create different textures eg mixing things together.
Work creatively on a large or small scale.

What are Development matters and early learning goals ?