Early Years
At Highfields, our Early Years provision is designed to give every child the strongest possible start to their education. Across our 2‑year‑old room (Caterpillars), 3-year-old room (Butterflies), and Reception, we provide a carefully sequenced curriculum that reflects the Statutory EYFS Framework and builds securely towards the knowledge and skills children need for future success.
Our curriculum intent is rooted in the Characteristics of Effective Teaching and Learning - playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically. Through a planned progression of learning, we ensure that children develop strong foundations in communication and language, personal and social development, early reading, and mathematical understanding.
High‑quality interaction is central to our implementation. We use the EEF ShREC approach (Share, Respond, Expand, Conversation) to structure effective adult‑child communication, enabling staff to model vocabulary, deepen understanding and extend children’s thinking. This ensures that all children are supported to make strong progress.
Our enabling environments, indoors and outdoors, are purposefully organised to promote independence, curiosity and sustained shared thinking. Daily access to well‑planned outdoor learning allows children to explore, investigate and develop physical confidence while applying knowledge in meaningful contexts.
Ongoing assessment is integral to our practice. Staff use skilled observation to identify what children can do, plan responsive next steps and ensure that learning builds cumulatively over time. As a result, Early Years children at Highfields Academy and Nursery develop confidence, resilience and a secure foundation for the next stage of their education.
To explore our planning overviews (for each area of learning) and to look at the checkpoints which staff use to support their ongoing assessments, please click the links below.
Do also check our individual room/class pages, and use the 'Highfields Nursery' tab on our website for information relating to eligibility, funding and session times.
For any further questions about our Early Years provision, please contact our EYFS Lead: Charlotte Williams - [email protected]