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An Insight into Bright Horizons Nursery and Curriculum

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Curriculum- What does that mean for us?�

Michelle Tamburrini

Early Childhood Specialist

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What is a curriculum?

Generally considered to be a series of interrelated aspects
These aspects set out what we want our children to learn

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-ND

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‘’The wider the range of possibilities we offer children, the more intense will be their motivations and richer their experiences’’

Loris Malaguzzi

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Who decides what a curriculum for early childhood should look like?

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Who decides? (Question posed to the group)

How a curriculum is delivered or interpreted is very much influenced by the views of the practitioners and their perceptions of how young children learn. If we think about a school curriculum, they are generally quite rigid, and outcome driven with a focus on teaching and learning. There would be a far greater focus on formal, direct teaching with some child-led learning.
Whereas in a nursery provision the emphasis would be play based learning with a balance of child-led with some adult teaching.

The effectiveness of the curriculum lies in what each child takes away and what each child comes into the setting with- Links to Cultural Capital.
The early childhood curriculum is strongly influenced by the people and the social context, for example in New Zealand Te Wariki is very much an inclusive curriculum with children learning about family structure and values, socio economic status and family values. This will look very different to Denmark, Sweden or Norway where they have prioritized early childhood and young children don’t start formal schooling until 7. There is no national curriculum for young children in Scandinavia; instead, the focus is upon care and socialisation/emotional security.

Anning and Edwards also talk about ‘Cultural Capital’ and ‘Cultural baggage’. One is using the OUR EXPERIENCES within the social context positively to enhance the curriculum, the other is the ‘tendency for one’s culture, values and biases to influence thinking and limit the experiences we provide for our children.

Do we in the UK value some experiences more than others, for example numeracy and literacy, and put emphasis on these as it’s on the political agenda?

This is what what we are led to believe children need to learn by the government. Is it driven by a political agenda?

The fact is, Someone has to decide what our curriculum looks like, if we believe that we need one? In the UK, the decision is already made for us- We are told what curriculum our youngest children need. How this is delivered will be dependent on us?

The quality of the curriculum will of course be dependent upon knowledge, values, experience, training of the adults designing the curriculum and its contents.

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Historical context of the curriculum in the UK: Setting the scene

Before we really start to look at our early childhood curriculum, it’s important to put some context behind where the current EYFS statutory framework came from.

In 2000, following on from the Desirable Outcomes in 1996 - THE FIRST NATIONAL CURRICULUM setting out what children needed to learn before reaching compulsory school age.

The foundation Stage was made a statutory part of the National Curriculum, the aim of which was to ensure that a curriculum for young children was appropriate and that it was afforded the same status as curriculum for older children. The guidance was warmly welcomed by practitioners as it acknowledged a distinct phase in early childhood education

Alongside this was Birth to Three Matters which was introduced in 2002 which signaled an understanding that practitioners also needed guidance for those working with under 3’s.

Additionally, there was a framework which supported childminders and those providing daycare to under 8’s which led to a single framework as part of a 10-year strategy.

Here, the EYFS was born and became statutory in 2008 which consisted of 6 areas of learning, (Learning and Development requirements, Welfare Requirements (later revised as Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements) and assessment.

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By providing our own curriculum, we can invest in children’s learning and wellbeing as a consistent approach across all of our nurseries right from the outset: ‘’A Bright Beginning for every child’’

Positioning of Bright Beginnings: How does this all fit in?

This brings us to our own Bright Beginnings Curriculum

Our curriculum will ensure that children are prepared for the next stage in their learning journey, whether they are transitioning to primary school or moving rooms within our nurseries.

We believe that children develop better when their learning is not ‘compartmentalised’, because everything they experience is interconnected and

adds to their knowledge of the world. Our curriculum provides opportunities that fully meet every child’s learning and emotional development needs, offering a

balanced and truly holistic approach.

It is paramount that children grow up feeling safe, so that they can become emotionally resilient, able to manage their own feelings, be happy and make

friends. The curriculum acknowledges this by offering experiences to develop a wide range of skills, which are unique to the Bright Beginnings Curriculum. For

example, mindfulness, self-expression, problem-solving, and critical thinking. These skills contribute to children’s emotional resilience and sense of self. They are

equal in importance to learning about mathematical concepts, developing their love of writing, passion for reading and developing strong social relationships. All

areas of the Bright Beginnings Curriculum are of equal importance and provide children with a ‘holistic’ approach to learning and development, which recognises

the significance of physical and emotional wellbeing if we are to prepare children for their future.

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What is it like being a manager at Bright Horizons?

Gagan Dhamu-Nursery Manager

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�Our HEART values form the foundation of the Bright Horizons culture and these are the principles that guide our teams. �Children benefit daily from these core values as our staff continually role model them in our nurseries. We put our HEART into everything we do, ensuring children get the very best possible start.�

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Keeping everyone safe

Safer recruitment- We have a robust system of compliance checks before employees start. This includes telephone screening, ID verification, references DBS etc.
Induction process- Complete induction booklet including talking points with management team and learning zone training. To help employees understand BH policies and procedures.
6 months probation with regular meetings

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Keeping everyone safe

All staff are responsible for carrying out necessary check regularly such as opening room/garden and cleaning checklist.
Daily paperwork such as registers and headcounts
Risk assessments
Care plans for children/staff
Dietary process-Traffic light system (meal time supervision, designated person)
Visitor sign in book
Secure premises
Fire drill process
Ongoing staff training- learning zone or training session. Recently held a training day for all Preschool room leaders
DSL
Daily huddle

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Partnership with parents

Communication with parents is key to maintain a good relationship with all our families.
We use Famly app to share regular updates, newsletters, sharing daily activities, observations and reports. Two way communication-parents can send direct messages and also upload home learning observation
Parent invites- Parents come along to events hosted by the nursery such as tea parties, valentines craft day etc. Celebrate festivals and invite parents in to share their experience with us.
Listen to parent feedback- suggestion box, management question of the month. Also have a lending library including EAL books and resources (Ask parents for key words spoken at home)

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Employee appreciation

We value our staff and want everyone to feel part of the team.
Monthly we have staff meetings and vote for Employee of the month
Offer retail discounts-Bright benefits, pension
AOE Awards
Employee appreciate week
Regular supervisions
Carry out teaching and learning observations on staff
Support staff to develop and progress further- Career progression

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Management support

Being part of Bright horizons, we have a huge team to support and to reach out to. This includes ECS-Michelle, Regional Manager, Safeguarding team, finance team etc.
Always there to offer and support and advice (Ready to respond)

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