Continuous Provision

Nursery- Year 2

At St Barnabas we offer a unique learning style that truly engages, challenges and empowers children by making learning irresistible. We provide a high quality education through a holistic approach to learning that keeps our children at the centre of everything we do.  The impact this has is evident in the powerful learning behaviours of our children. This can be seen in their confidence, creativity and genuine desire to know more about the world around them.

The key elements that make our approach so well embedded are:

Children are at the centre of their own learning

Continuous provision enables children to direct their own learning through following their interests and providing them with a range of irresistible learning challenges to choose from. Engaged in challenges they enjoy, children are highly motivated which contributes to their overall well-being and happiness. The structure of our days provide children with the necessary time to dig deeply into their learning, making connections and taking it further. Additionally, children are given many opportunities to practise developing skills and apply previous learning independently.

Enabling environments

Throughout our learning spaces, all resources are carefully selected, with every piece adding value to the learning experience. Staff work in collaboration to enhance environments ensuring they are purposeful. Resources, discrete areas, outside spaces and even displays and tidy up routines mean that we are always well equipped to make the most of all learning time. This means that our children are not only constantly challenged but are empowered to retrieve previous learning and practice new skills in different contexts (for example, counting in Maths being applied to scales in the sand area).

The role of the adult

The role of the adult plays a key part in our successful learning environment. Staff have a deep understanding of continuous provision pedagogy and their role in teaching all learners in a diverse classroom. Our adults know the children well and build strong relationships which ensures they feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.

Promoting talk through play

Our continuous provision promotes a talk rich environment. Adults encourage purposeful talk and role model social interaction. The structure of lessons and the learning environment itself give lots of opportunities for talk and collaboration. From EYFS, our children ask questions about their learning, wondering about the world around them and beginning to narrate their play and their thinking. The impact this has had on our children is that they develop confidence and the ability to articulate their thoughts and feelings clearly. 

Inclusive approach

The engaging, play-based approach of continuous provision removes barriers and makes learning accessible to all. This leads to high levels of well-being not only for children but also for staff. Children arrive at school smiling and eager to learn as they are not being forced to ‘transition’ into an overly structured routine that they are not ready for. There is less a feeling of forcing learning as our approach, supported by research, is more developmentally appropriate. Children of all backgrounds and needs make good to excellent progress from their starting points: continuous provision allows for all learners to achieve at their own level. It truly embodies our vision of caring about achievement for all.