We follow the early years foundation stage (EYFS) curriculum, which sets out national standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth up to the age of five years.

The highest standards of early years education for children aged from three months to five years

Here at Tiddlywinks your child’s progress along their EYFS journey is important to us.

We ensure that your child’s voice is heard and that they have access to all areas of the curriculum in a safe and secure environment where they can thrive.

We follow the statutory framework that applies to all early years settings. We use this as a guide to ensure that high-quality childcare is being provided for our Tiddlywinks children and families. We also use the following non-statutory curriculum guidance to help shape and support our vision and the range of activities we offer:

Focus on key areas of learning and development

All of the facilities, activities and equipment we provide are intended to support the seven areas of learning and development set out in EYFS guidance:

  1. Personal, social and emotional development.
  2. Communication and language.
  3. Physical development.
  4. Literacy.
  5. Mathematics.
  6. Understanding the world.
  7. Expressive arts and design.

We develop our own curriculum to ensure we cover all these key areas of learning and development for children at every age. Our teams use multiple strategies and combine a range of options to allow children to learn and develop in their own way.

“Learning at Tiddlywinks is never one-dimensional, it’s always multifaceted. That’s key to the quality of the learning experience we provide.”

Helping children to learn without knowing it

Learning is incorporated into everything we do. We plan activities and sessions very carefully, but also adapt in the moment as children’s attention and interest shifts. All of our planning is child-led, and our skilled practitioners differentiate activities according to the individual learning and development needs of each child.

We put out a range of activities and materials for children to experiment with, so they can make their own decisions about how to spend their time. Our staff provide gentle guidance to ensure children get the most out of each activity while developing key skills and understanding.

Adapting to individual preferences

We adapt according to each child preferences. So if a child likes to work on their own, we enable them to do that while also encouraging them to join in with different activities alongside other children. We praise and celebrate every child’s achievements, so that they grow confidence and build essential skills while having fun and experiencing new things.

Supporting your child’s communication and language

Speech and language are integral to everything we do, from nursery rhymes to phonics and those all-important everyday conversations. Below are some of the resources and information we use to support speech and language – with suggestions for ways you can support your child’s language development at home: