Curriculum
Care and Learning at Little Acorns
At Little Acorns, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, which sets the standard for learning, development, and care for children from birth to five years old. This ensures every child is equipped with the skills, confidence, and curiosity they need to thrive at school and beyond.
The EYFS curriculum is divided into seven key areas of learning and development:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
Through regular observation and assessment, our practitioners tailor learning experiences to meet the unique needs of each child—supporting both their strengths and areas for growth. Activities are carefully planned to encourage exploration, creativity, and independent learning in a fun, supportive environment.
At the heart of our Curriculum are the four inclusive Over-Arching Principles:
Every child is unique.
Positive relationships help children to progress.
Enabling environments help children to learn with their own individual interests and needs.
Learning occurs at different rates for each child.
Each of these principles are woven throughout our curriculum and daily practice to ensure practitioners and teachers offer children the best learning and inclusive experiences. Our curriculum has been developed hand in hand using the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (2025) and the supporting Development Matters (2023).
What is our Curriculum?
Intent/Curriculum
What we would like children to achieve before they leave Little Acorns to start Primary School
Implementation/Teaching
What we do as a nursery do to support the intent and help children achieve their full potential
Impact/Assessment
What benefits has the implementation had for the children?
How is the children’s learning journey progressing over time?
Our Curriculum Intent
At Little Acorns Day Nursery and Montessori School, our intent is that the children who enter our setting will develop physically, verbally, emotionally, creatively, intellectually, and spiritually.
Through our EYFS curriculum we will embed a positive attitude towards the development and learning for each child to ensure they achieve their full potential, as we set high expectations throughout all areas of nursery life and beyond.
We recognise that every child is unique and deserves to be supported by staff who are highly skilled to observe, plan, support, assess and review each child’s development, adapting and implementing enriching activities appropriate for each child’s stage and age, so they develop and thrive.
Our curriculum goals are not rigid and allows for growth and change as it is experienced differently by each child. It is unique to the child as it is to the setting.
Children to be an advocate in their own learning, to have a voice by making choices, asking questions, and being inquisitive about their play and experiences.
To understand their own feelings and those of others by having a strong sense of self.
To embrace a love of the outdoors and ensure that all children reach their full physical potential.
For children to acquire a love of literature in order to ignite their imagination, creativity, and communication skills.
To express their imagination and creativity by engaging in art, and to explore a range of media and materials.