The Barn Day Nursery
Part of Tregenna Nursery Group
The Barn Neighbourhood Nursery Partnership
Our Curriculum
Take a look at our new prospectus!
Within all of our nurseries you will see our comittment to play and the outdoors. We LOVE to go out! We strongly believe that children need access to the outdoors so have enhanced our outdoor learning environment which includes fantastic opportunities for physical play (gross motor, risk taking etc.), opportunities for imaginative play (our excellent mud kitchen) and opportunities for children to learn about numbers and shape, space and measure (and much more!)
We love to get out and about!
We are highly fortunate to have our own transport (8 seater minibuses) which we use on a weekly basis to provide children with truly unique learning opportunities. For more information about where we go and what we do, scroll down ↓ or visit our Facebook Page for more recent outings.
Throughout their time with us, children will be observed and assessed using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS - Outcomes for Children & The Development Matters for the EYFS 2021) to ensure that they are reaching the corect milestones in development. Our teachers and practitioners guide children's learning through each Area of Learning (see below), which is then recorded on Tapestry.
Those areas highlighted in green are referred to 'prime' areas of learning, whereas those in blue are referred to as 'specific'. At an earlier age we hold a higher focus on the prime areas of learning and as children progress (moving into pre-school), we consider all areas of learning.
Take a look at the EYFS for parents:
How might you see it...
We are sensitive to children's needs, recognising where and when children are ready to take risks, potty train and be independent and then responding appropriately.
In all of our playrooms, we have role-play areas where children's imagination soar! Staff listen to and respond to childrens' play, extending and developing learning.
We are sensitive to children's needs, recognising where and when children are ready to take risks, potty train and be independent and then responding appropriately.
Staff scaffold childrens' learning, extending vocabulary throughout the day. You will see children learning new words on a daily basis. We then incorporate these in current displays.
We have fantastic opportunities for gross motor (large scale/whole body) and fine motor (smaller scale/accuracy & precision) physical development.
One of the most important areas of learning; Communication & Language underpins all other areas of learning. We have introduced lots of new vocabulary within all areas of the play environment.
We like to make sure that children are happy and settled when they come into nursery. Our team are very nurturing, caring and loving to all of our children; we are like an extended family.
We love a good mess! It is important for children to explore different textures and matierials as this is highly beneficial for their development and meets sensory needs. We always have lots of different resources to encourge imagination, creative and messy play.
We have fantastic opportunities for children to experience the world; we have our own transport which we use to give our children experiences like no other. Our forest school & beach school sessions in particular encourage children to have a growing awareness and respect for all living things.
We also have a state of the art interactive touch screen which we use as part of registration & circle times.
Within all of our age groups, there is continuous opportunity for purposeful mark making. We love to make our own stories and draw characters for them and even write names on our work.
In our preschool environment, we have a Maths Investigation Area where children can explore, number, shapes, measures & quantities. In addition to this, we incorporate mathematical language (& opportunities) into everything that we do; from our 'Loose Parts' area to simply counting various objects in the environment.
Evidence: Planning IN THE MOMENT!
In all of our nurseries, we plan in an 'In the moment' style, meaning that teachers and practitioners immerse themselves into childrens' interests and extend their learning in small increments. This is something that we do all the time; just by speaking to children, we expose them to the English language (new words, ideas and ways to do things!)
'Teaching ... is a broad term that covers the many different ways in which adults help young children learn. It includes their interactions with children during planned and child-initiated activities:
Communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing, facilitating and setting challenges.
It takes account of the equipment adults provide and the attention given to the physical environment, as well as the structure and routines of the day that establish expectations.”
In all of our nurseries, we have large open environments (both inside and out!) for children to freely explore the high quality resources and equipment. The majority of all sessions involves children choosing resources and equipment
The way in which we 'plan' for children is using the following cycle ('Plan, Do, Review). Practitioners and teachers use Tapestry to make observations and assessments on children. We use this do identify what children are learning and the 'teachable moment' (what we did to extend children's knowledge and understanding).
Our priority is to maximise the amount of time spent with children, extending thier learning and engaging their curiosities! Therefore the observations and assesments that we carry out are not extensive and numerous.
Pictured right are our nursery rules. These are applicable to all children, staff and visitors to our nursery. These are a simple set of rules which we use in all situations; modelling appropriate behaviours in and out of nursery. We'd like to encourge parents and carers to use the same language (this is great tool to reinforce positive behaviours). Our (always) on-hand staff and SENDCo team are happy to support parents and chidren with behaviours and are able to get advice and support where needed.
Our nursery rules:
In assessments and observations that we make (through Tapestry) you may see 'CoEL' (Characterisitcs of Effective Learning) assessments. These are used to observe how children are learning and is an important tool for teachers and practitioners to develop the nursery and enhance learning. We love to encourge children to take ownership in their learning; independance is top priority and necessity for children to develop - take a look at the different 'Learnosaurs' that we like to use (pictured left).
The Learnosaurs!
"We're all about outings!"
We are very fortunate to live in such a wonderful place; the seaside (on our doorstep!) & beautiful woodlands and countryside that surround our small town. We like to get out as much as we can which has led us to establishing forest school and beach school sessions on a weekly basis.
Forest School
Every week, we take a different group of children to a local woodland to learn about who lives there, any treasures that we may find and taking risks. We encourgae indepence throughout the nursery and this extends to our outings; we let children to take risks in their play (when climbing trees!) as this is how they gain understanding of their own limits and gain confidence in going beyond these limits!
Stacey (pictured left) is our Forest School Leader. In 2022, she completed Forest School training for our small nursery group. Although based in our sister nursery (St Erth Nursery) she visits us each week for fabulous Forest School activities in our local woodland (Steeple Woods)! Here is a brief program of some of the activities that she covers:
Beach School
Every week, we take a different group of children to a local beach to learn about who lives there, any treasures that we may find and our local environment. We have recently been speaking to the children about waste and recycling and our fantastic beach school teacher (Hattie) and preschool lead (Rosie) have led a project in nursery about recycling responsibly & reducing waste.
Trips & Outings
If you hadn't already guessed it, we're mad about outings! There is so much on offer in the wonderful county of Cornwall - it's quite hard to fit it all in! Among all the other fantastic activities and outings, we take the children to: Tehidy, Heartlands, The Eden Project, Trewartha Care Home (on a weekly basis!), Our Sister Nursery (which is also FANTASTIC!), The Fire Station, The Vets, Mines, Moors, Newquay Aquarium, Trevaskis Farm & MANY MORE!
We make use of our own 8-seater transport to get out and about. All our vehicles are insured appropriately and all places we visit are throughly risk assessed: copies of which can be emailed to you/viewed in the documents section on Tapestry.
We try to tie our trips and outings into your child's interests wherever possible; this is inline with our philosophy of learning through our interests and exploring through play.
Sports 4 Tots!
Every week Nick, our Sports4Tots instructor comes to nursery to teach the children a different sport. All of his lessons are exciting and engage children in physical activity. We love to use our fabulous outdoor play area but do occasionally use the school field. Every year, we hold a sports day and Nick leads this too!
Swimming!
We have an excellent relationship with St Ives Leisure Centre and take a small group of preschool aged children to have swimming lessons every week. Living in such a coastal region, we recognise the importance of water safety and learning to swim. In these lessons, children gain this invaluable skill in very fun and playful way. Fees are paid directly to the Leisure Centre. For more information, please send us an email.
Ni a dhysk kernewek!
We learn Cornish!
Whether born and bred Cornish or privileged enough to live in this beautiful county we should celebrate and embrace its culture and heritage. We hope to encourage an interest in, and very basic knowledge of some Cornish words by story telling, simple games and with a special app on the i-pad called Magi-Ann.
Last term we started telling the stories from the Porth series, that we have given to the children for Christmas this year. They love the characters in these, and we would encourage you to read this to them; just pick out one or two phrases of Cornish adding more when they understand the first phrase.
Jan, Sue and Joe are all having Cornish lessons and are saying some very basic sentences and phrases to the children such as:
Mytten da - Good morning
Dydh da (pron. Dith da) - Good day
Piw os ta? - who are you - To which the children answer Fred/Joe/their name ov vy.
Although the children will not become bi-lingual in the short time they are here, there are many benefits to learning a little of another language. Understanding that different cultures may speak different languages improves positive attitudes to different cultures, fosters curiosity and research has shown that it boosts problem solving, critical thinking and listening skills. It can also improve memory, concentration and the ability to multitask.
So it really is worth having a go!
Dydh da!
Sue ov vy. My yw dyskadores yn skol-veythryn (An Skibber - yn Porthia)
Dydh da!
Joe ov vy. My yw dyskador yn skol-veythryn (St Erth Nursery - yn Llanudhnoe)
Terrific Technology!
Here at The Barn, we have created some truly unique pieces of technology to enhance play opportunity and learning. Technology is ever-changing and we aim to prepare our children for the future. We feel that technology should go hand-in-hand with education which is why we have invested in state-of-the-art resources.
Toddlers and Preschool children can access our fantastic Interactive Whiteboard/touchscreen which we use every day in singing and dancing activities and wake-up & shake-up.
Story Time
We read EVERY day!
As part of our Beach and Forest School sessions and our everyday routine, we like to incorporate stories to make activities more exciting and engaging. Something we particularly enjoy are 'active stories' where children participate in movement and action to reinforce the story: When reading 'We're going on a bear hunt' you might see that teachers and practitioners act out the 'swirling, whirling snowstorm' by rotating round and round. Reading to children is an essential skill them to gain a love for reading which is important for when children begin to read in school.
"children are made readers on the laps of their parents"
Emilie Buchwald
We see that reading to children as essential. On a daily basis, you will find children freely accessing our vast library of books. We encourage parents to read to their children every day (this is proven to be highly beneficial!) Parents are welcome to borrow books at any time - just ask!
More information about early reading can be found here:
Look at the story that we made - we like to do this all the time:
Here's a handy poster about keeping children safe online:
Green-Fingered Growers!
In our wonderful whimsical walkway, we have a living and growing area. Here, children learn about growth, decay and changes over time. At certain points in the year, we grow vegetables with the children. They are then harvested and used during our snack times.
Teacher-led Provision
We are highly fortunate to have an Early Years Teacher leading our provision (Joe - pictured left). He is highly passionate about providing children with the best possible start in life and supports our other, highly skilled and qualified staff members, in implementing our curriculum.
"We believe in a child-centered, child-led philosophy to teaching and learning which forms our pedagogy (way of teaching). We always welcome parent's input to learning; take a look on Tapestry and you will find evidence of how this is done!"