Partnership Working, Curriculum and Enrichment

At The Flower Cottage, we believe that strong partnership working is essential in supporting children’s educational, social and emotional development, overall well-being and future success.

We are committed to working closely with our families, relevant external professionals, the local authority and other boroughs to ensure that our provision reflects the individual needs of our children and families. We also regularly welcome external organisations, professionals and specialists into our setting to provide children with a wide range of enriching and engaging learning experiences.

Enrichment Opportunities

The additional classes and experiences we offer are not fixed and are carefully considered based on the needs, interests, next steps and attainment levels of each cohort of children. We recognise that every group of children is unique, and therefore our enrichment programme naturally evolves from year to year.

For example, one cohort may benefit from opportunities such as football and Spanish, while another may have a particular interest in Forest School, Drama Tots, music, dance or other specialist experiences. We select our enrichment opportunities based on what will be most meaningful, engaging and beneficial for the children attending our setting at that time.

This flexible approach ensures that our enrichment programme remains relevant, purposeful and responsive, allowing us to follow the children’s interests while supporting their individual development and next steps.

Our Curriculum Approach

Our curriculum is underpinned by the Development Matters guidance, which is a non-statutory curriculum guidance document for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It supports practitioners in understanding children’s development and planning appropriate learning experiences and opportunities. We also use the guidance to support our ongoing assessment and professional understanding of each individual child’s development.

Development Matters - Non-statutory curriculum guidance for the early years foundation stage

Working in Partnership with Parents and Carers

Working in partnership with parents and carers is central to our approach at The Flower Cottage. From the very beginning of each child’s journey with us, we focus on providing effective teaching and learning experiences that support their development while nurturing their individual interests, strengths and characteristics.

We value parents and carers as their child’s first and most important educators. We treat every family with respect and value their thoughts, wishes, knowledge and contributions. By working collaboratively with families, we develop a deeper understanding of each child’s unique culture, background, experiences, interests and individual needs. This helps us to build a holistic picture of the child and provide a strong foundation for their ongoing learning and development.

How We Promote Parent Partnership

Regular, ongoing communication
We encourage open and two-way communication with families through a range of methods, ensuring parents and carers have regular opportunities to share information, ask questions and contribute to their child’s learning journey.

Email
We use email to share important information, documents and invoices with families in their preferred format, such as PDF or Word documents.

WhatsApp
WhatsApp provides an effective way of communicating with individual parents and carers. We may use this platform to share observations, weekly overviews, updates, reminders and other important information.

Social Media and Website
We use our Facebook, Instagram and website platforms to celebrate our setting, events, activities and children’s learning. These can be accessed through the relevant social media icons on our Home page.

Telephone Calls and Meetings
We recognise that some families prefer to communicate by telephone or through face-to-face meetings. We provide opportunities for parents and carers to discuss their child’s learning and development, review learning folders, share information or raise any questions or concerns.

Family Trips and Events
We love welcoming families to join us on trips, outings and special events. These provide valuable opportunities for families and practitioners to spend time together, share experiences and discuss children’s learning and development. We also hold annual birthday and graduation celebrations, giving parents and carers the opportunity to celebrate these special milestones alongside their children. Photographs from these events may also be shared through our social media platforms.

Family Workshops
We provide opportunities for families to take part in workshops designed to support their understanding of children’s learning, development and well-being. These sessions also provide an opportunity for parents and carers to share ideas, ask questions and develop strategies that can be continued at home.

Home Learning

We recognise the importance of creating continuity between children’s experiences at The Flower Cottage and their learning at home. Our Home Learning Book Bags provide families with opportunities to engage in meaningful learning experiences with their children and share these experiences with us.

We also have a very special member of our class, Blossom, our class bear! Each week, Blossom goes home with a different child to share in their family adventures and experiences. Children and their families are encouraged to take Blossom along on their adventures, whether that is a special day out, a family activity, a trip to the park or simply enjoying everyday moments together.

Families are invited to take photographs of Blossom’s adventures and share them with us when he returns to the setting. The children can then talk about their experiences with their friends and practitioners, helping to develop their communication and language, confidence, social skills and sense of belonging. The photographs are added to our special Blossom Memory Book, creating a wonderful collection of memories that the children can look back on together throughout the year.

This simple but meaningful activity provides a lovely connection between home and nursery, allowing children to share their family experiences with their friends and helping families to become an active part of our setting community.

For more information about our Home Learning Book Bags, please click on the 'Planning, Learning and Development Booklet' in the drop-down box.

At The Flower Cottage, we are committed to creating a supportive, inclusive and collaborative environment where children, families and professionals work together to give every child the best possible start in life.