Our EYFS Curriculum

Pre-school

Our unique curriculum provides opportunities for children to learn, explore and discover, preparing them for a positive transition to school.

Little Crickets Daycare - Curriculum

At Little Crickets Daycare, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which provides a framework for children’s learning and development across seven key areas. Our curriculum supports children’s growth through play-based, child-led, and adult-guided experiences that help them develop confidence, independence, and a lifelong love of learning.

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What does the EYFS cover?

There are seven key areas within the early years framework. These include three ‘prime’ areas which, in turn, interconnect and enhance the remaining four, each helping to improve the other. We have a an EYFS based curriculum which is explained, in detail, below.

The Three Prime Areas

Essential foundations first

These 3 Prime Areas are those most essential for your child's healthy development and future learning, laying the foundations for everything else they'll ever learn

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Communication

and Language

Children develop listening, attention, understanding, and speaking through stories, songs, conversations, and group discussions. Practitioners model rich language and encourage children to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas with confidence.

Physical

Development

We support gross and fine motor skills, balance, coordination and healthy lifestyle choices through a range of indoor and outdoor activities. Children are encouraged to develop self-care skills and independence in everyday routines.

Personal, Social and

Emotional Development

Children learn to manage emotions, form positive relationships, and work cooperatively with others. They are supported to build resilience, self-confidence, and a strong sense of belonging.

The Four Specific Areas

Building on prime foundations

These four Specific Areas form important building blocks for your child’s future learning as they progress through school and further education. The skills and understanding they gain through play at this stage help them become curious, inquisitive thinkers with a love of both practical and academic learning, giving them the best possible start in life regardless of their individual abilities.

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Literacy

Early reading and writing skills are developed through phonics, storytelling, mark-making, and access to a wide variety of books. Children are encouraged to practice letter recognition, name writing, and develop a love of reading.

Mathematics

Children explore numbers, counting, simple calculations, shapes, and measurement through hands-on activities, games, and practical routines. Activities also support spatial reasoning and problem-solving.

Understanding the World

Children are encouraged to explore people, communities, nature, technology, and the wider world through themed topics, investigations, and real-life experiences. They are supported to ask questions, make observations, and develop an understanding of similarities and differences, helping them to build knowledge and curiosity.

Expressive Arts and Design

Creativity and imagination are fostered through music, movement, dance, role-play, and art, using a wide range of materials and resources. Children are supported to explore their own ideas and express themselves freely.

Our Pedagogical Approach

At Little Crickets, we use a blended pedagogical approach, recognising that children learn in different ways. Learning takes place primarily through play, supported by practitioners who model language, behaviour, and skills. Children also learn by observing and interacting with their peers, developing social understanding and confidence.

Practitioners guide learning through a balance of adult-led activities and direct teaching, carefully tailored to each child’s stage of development and interests. This approach allows adults to extend learning, introduce new concepts, and support next steps, while still valuing child-led exploration.

Learning occurs across both indoor and outdoor environments, giving children opportunities to explore, investigate, and develop skills in stimulating and meaningful spaces. The Dragonflies room is thoughtfully arranged to reflect children’s interests and needs, fostering curiosity, independence, and active learning in a nurturing and inspiring environment.

Our practitioners’ warmth, dedication, and genuine love for the children ensure that every child feels safe, happy, and supported in what truly feels like a home away from home.

Our Preschool Curriculum

Our preschool curriculum is designed to help children become confident, independent learners while preparing them for a smooth transition to school. Learning is engaging, meaningful, and centred around children’s individual interests and developmental needs.

Independence & Daily Life Skills

Children are encouraged to develop essential self-care and life skills, such as serving themselves at mealtimes, pouring drinks, tidying away resources, putting on and taking off coats and clothing, and using the toilet independently. These routines build confidence, responsibility, and readiness for school.

Community & Social Understanding

Children engage in activities that promote community awareness and social understanding.
They learn about local helpers, take part in walks and outings around our local community and forest and welcome visitors.
These experiences encourage respect, empathy, and a sense of belonging.

Working with Parents and Carers

We work closely with parents and carers through daily communication, shared learning experiences, and events. This partnership helps to create consistency between home and nursery and ensures parents are actively involved in their child’s learning journey.

Specialist Support & Curriculum

Specialist learning support is provided by an external professional three times a week within the Dragonflies Room.
This targeted support focuses on children’s language development, including extending vocabulary, improving understanding, and supporting expressive language.
Support is delivered through fun, interactive circle time games, helping children learn positional language, build sentences, and communicate confidently.
By working alongside staff in a familiar environment, this inclusive approach ensures every child can fully participate, develop key communication skills, and achieve their full potential.
Our curriculum celebrates multiculturalism and languages, exposing children to songs, stories, greetings, and traditions from around the world.
Cultural celebrations, music, dance, and art help children develop respect for others, curiosity about the wider world, and an appreciation for diversity.
Mathematics and literacy are woven into daily routines in engaging and practical ways.
Children explore numbers, counting, shapes, patterns, and letters through games, construction, puzzles, and storytelling.
They practise name writing, phonics, and early reading skills, fostering a lifelong love of books.
Science and exploration are also key, with children encouraged to investigate nature, conduct simple experiments, plant and care for vegetables, and discuss changes in the environment.
These experiences develop curiosity, critical thinking, and early scientific understanding.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Our extra-curricular activities are a valued part of our curriculum and are fully embedded within our daily routines. Children actively take part in a wide range of experiences designed to enrich their learning and support their physical, creative, social, and emotional development in a fun and engaging way. Through these opportunities, we aim to help every child reach their full potential.

Technology Area and Computer Corner Learning Experiences

Children take part in activities in our dedicated technology area, including a computer corner where they explore age-appropriate programs under supervision. These hands-on experiences help them develop early problem-solving skills, creativity, and confidence through drawing, interactive storytelling, and other engaging learning tasks.

Outdoor Learning and Nature Activities

Outdoor learning is central to our routines, with children regularly using our mud kitchen to grow vegetables, explore soil, and engage in imaginative play while learning about where food comes from. They also take part in mini-beast hunts, searching for insects and small creatures to develop curiosity, observation skills, and respect for living things.

Children participate in frequent forest and field trips, exploring natural environments, observing wildlife, collecting materials, and taking part in group activities. Gardening, woodwork, and creative projects using natural resources such as pinecones, seed pods, pebbles, and threading materials help them develop fine motor skills, creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Yoga, Mindfulness, Art and Cultural Activities

In yoga and mindfulness sessions, children strengthen their balance, flexibility, and emotional wellbeing while learning to self-regulate and remain calm. During Art Club, they explore a variety of materials, textures, and techniques, creating artwork inspired by observation and imagination. Through these activities, as well as music and dance from different cultures, children learn to appreciate diversity and express themselves confidently and creatively.

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Diversity and Inclusion

The Dragonflies curriculum is inclusive and diverse, ensuring every child feels valued, represented, and respected. Learning experiences reflect a wide range of cultures, languages, family structures, and abilities through books, stories, music, art, and everyday interactions.

Children are introduced to different traditions, celebrations, and languages in age-appropriate ways, helping them develop curiosity, empathy, and understanding of the wider world.

Practitioners adapt activities to meet each child’s individual needs so all children can fully participate.
The curriculum celebrates differences and promotes respect, helping children build confidence, a strong sense of identity, and a sense of belonging in their nursery “home away from home.”

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A Digital App to Enrich Children’s Education

Assessment and Communication - Tapestry Updates

Within the Dragonflies room, there is a strong focus on independence and preparing children for school. Tapestry care diary entries are not recorded in the same way as in younger rooms. Instead, practitioners encourage children to take responsibility for their own routines and daily experiences, supporting them to talk confidently about their day and reflect on their learning.

Children’s progress is monitored and recorded through:

Two detailed termly observations
Daily group activity updates
Planned observations and progress summaries
Individual next steps in line with the EYFS

Significant achievements, learning milestones, and any areas where additional support may be required are shared with parents through regular communication, meetings, and reports. This approach supports children’s growing independence and confidence while maintaining strong partnerships with families and ensuring continuity of care, learning, and support as children prepare for their transition to school.

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Supporting Early Language and Communication Through LEEP

LEEP Partnership

Little Crickets Daycare is proud to be part of the Language Enhancement and Empowerment Project (LEEP), which supports the development of children’s communication and language skills through high-quality, inclusive practice.

As part of this approach, we use the WELCOMM Assessment Kit to evaluate each child’s speech, language, and communication skills when they begin preschool. This enables our practitioners to identify individual starting points, plan targeted support, and ensure that every child receives appropriate strategies to develop their communication skills effectively.

Through this partnership, we aim to build children’s confidence in expressing themselves, enhance their language development, and provide a strong foundation for a smooth transition to school.

Our goal is to nurture happy, curious, and confident learners in a warm, supportive environment that truly feels like a “home away from home,” helping every child reach their full potential and feel well-prepared for the next stage of their educational journey.

Together with our dedicated practitioners, parents, and initiatives like LEEP, we ensure that every child is valued, included, and encouraged to flourish—laying the foundation for lifelong learning and success.

Need More Help?

The Little Crickets team is always happy to help and provide guidance.