Funfishers follow the mandatory Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. At the centre of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the philosophy that every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential.
We engage in many different activities throughout the day, and we celebrate child led play and encourage children’s independence.
We encourage a child-centred curriculum with the child’s interests at the heart of our provision and experiences. Adult interactions are key in enhancing knowledge and skills, scaffolding learning to ensure knowledge becomes secure. We tailor our curriculum to suit individual needs, differentiating activities and learning opportunities to ensure that active participation is possible for all children, regardless of age or ability.
In addition to this, we support children that have Special Educational Needs through liaising with parents/carers, holding regular meetings with key people within the child’s care, updating essential information and coordinating care plans for children. We support children holistically whilst attending the setting and when transitioning from/to another childcare providers/school.
As a setting we use Famly to communicate with our families. We document observations, photographs, videos and assessments of children who access the baby, toddler or pre-school rooms. This is an effective way for us to show you, as parent/carers, what your child is learning whilst at the setting and for you to form strong links with us by adding comments to what you see and by adding your own photos and descriptions of special memories you have made as a family.
Funfishers strongly encourages parental involvement in their child’s learning, development and care whilst at our setting. Your input on your child’s journey or learning or play with us is greatly valued and we love to see and hear about home experiences.
Settling in and school transitions We support your child’s unique needs by offering settling in sessions where you can stay and play or drop off for short periods of time (max 2 hours.) We support your child’s transitioning through the different rooms, encouraging them to feel safe, secure and ready for their next steps. Over the day the children from baby and toddler room spend time in the pre-school room for lunch and short play sessions, passing through to access outside etc so they form relationships and become familiar with the different environments daily, making transition smooth and less disruptive.
Mealtimes Throughout the day we offer healthy and nutritious meals and snacks that consist of a main item and fruit or vegetables. We provide lunch daily, both in and out of term time. All meals are prepared by our cook, and our menu changes each half term to offer a varied and balanced diet. The children also have an option of milk and water to drink throughout the day. Each half term, we update our menu and share it with all families via Famly, our communications app. Each week, our cook, Carol, uploads a detailed meal plan The menu attached here is a sample menu. We accommodate for all allergies and dietary requirements outlined by families on their registration form.