Explicit teaching

Young children benefit from clear, knowledgeable teaching.

Adults explain, model and demonstrate new knowledge and skills. Teaching may take place with a whole class, a small group or an individual child, depending on the learning and children’s needs.

Explicit teaching includes:

• introducing and explaining new vocabulary

• modelling how to complete a task

• demonstrating how to use a resource or tool

• teaching sounds, words, letter formation and early writing

• modelling mathematical concepts and language

• sharing and discussing stories

• teaching routines and expectations

• guiding children through new physical or creative skills

• checking what children understand

• providing supported practice

Teaching is broken into manageable steps and builds upon what children already know.

Purposeful play

Play is an essential part of learning in Early Years.

Through purposeful play, children explore ideas, practise communication, develop relationships, solve problems and apply what they have been taught.

Children learn to:

• make choices

• develop and communicate ideas

• negotiate with others

• create stories and imaginary situations

• test possibilities

• persevere when something does not work

• make connections between experiences

• use new vocabulary

• apply early reading, writing and mathematics

Play is not a break from learning. It is one of the important ways in which young children learn.

Adults plan carefully for play, select resources deliberately and interact purposefully to help children move their learning forward.

Continuous provision

Continuous provision describes the carefully organised areas and resources children can access regularly and independently.

These commonly include:

• reading and storytelling

• imaginative and role play

• small-world play

• construction

• mark-making and writing

• mathematical exploration

• creative work

• sensory and investigative play

• fine-motor development

• physical and outdoor learning

• exploration of the natural world

Continuous provision allows children to revisit knowledge, practise skills and apply learning in different contexts.

It is not static. Staff adapt and enhance areas in response to the planned curriculum, assessment and children’s needs. Resources are selected because they support particular knowledge, vocabulary or skills—not simply because they produce an attractive activity.

High-quality adult interaction

Every interaction has the potential to develop a child’s learning.

Our adults:

• listen carefully

• observe before intervening

• respond to children’s communication

• model accurate and ambitious vocabulary

• repeat and extend children’s sentences

• narrate actions and thinking

• ask purposeful questions

• encourage children to explain

• introduce new knowledge

• demonstrate skills

• join children’s play

• support children to solve problems

• give children time to think and respond

Adults know when to intervene and when to step back.

Through sustained shared thinking, adults and children work together to explore an idea, solve a problem or deepen understanding.

Practice, repetition and remembering

Young children need frequent opportunities to revisit and practise important learning.

Core stories, songs, vocabulary, sounds, number concepts and routines are repeated deliberately. Children then encounter and apply them in different contexts.

Repetition is particularly important for children who need additional time to process, remember or generalise learning. Practice is carefully varied so that children do not simply repeat an activity but learn to use their knowledge more independently.

Our aim is for important learning to become secure and usable.

The characteristics of effective teaching and learning

Alongside what children learn, we pay attention to how they engage with learning.

Playing and exploring

Children investigate, experience things and have a go. They develop curiosity and confidence by exploring resources, ideas and situations.

Active learning

Children concentrate, persevere and experience satisfaction when they achieve something. They begin to manage distractions and keep trying when learning feels difficult.

Creating and thinking critically

Children develop their own ideas, make connections and consider different ways of doing things. They begin to plan, test, review and change their approach.

Adults model these learning behaviours and help children recognise themselves as successful learners.

Communication and Language

Communication and language underpin every area of the Early Years curriculum.

Children need to understand language, communicate their needs and express their ideas before they can become successful readers and writers.

Our environments are language-rich. Children regularly experience:

• conversations with knowledgeable adults

• stories and non-fiction texts

• traditional tales

• poems, songs and nursery rhymes

• role play and storytelling

• partner and group discussion

• carefully planned vocabulary

• opportunities to retell, describe, question and explain

Through Voice 21 approaches, children learn how to listen, take turns, build upon another person’s contribution and speak with increasing confidence.

For our youngest children, adults respond to gestures, facial expressions, sounds and emerging words. As children develop, adults model increasingly complex vocabulary and sentence structures.

Where a child has an identified communication need, teaching may be supported through visual prompts, objects, signs, gestures, alternative communication methods or targeted language work.

Every child deserves to understand others and to be understood.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Personal, social and emotional development helps children feel secure, form relationships, regulate their emotions and become increasingly independent.

Warm and consistent relationships are at the heart of our provision.

Children are supported to:

• recognise and talk about feelings

• develop secure relationships

• build friendships

• play cooperatively

• take turns and share

• ask for help

• manage personal needs

• follow routines and boundaries

• develop confidence

• persevere when something is difficult

• understand the feelings and perspectives of others

• make safe and healthy choices

Adults explicitly teach social and emotional skills rather than expecting children to acquire them without support.

Our SHINE values—Strive, Honesty, Inclusion, Nurture and Excellence—are introduced through stories, relationships, routines and everyday experiences.

Children also learn Waterloo’s three school rules:

• Be Safe

• Be Ready

• Be Respectful

We recognise that behaviour is a form of communication. Adults help children understand what they are feeling, develop appropriate ways to communicate and gradually build the skills needed for self-regulation.

Physical Development

Physical development is essential for children’s health, confidence, independence and learning.

Children develop gross-motor skills through:

• running

• climbing

• balancing

• jumping

• throwing and catching

• moving in different ways

• negotiating space

• using wheeled equipment

• dance and movement

• structured physical teaching

• large-scale outdoor construction

Fine-motor development is supported through:

• dough and modelling materials

• threading

• construction

• manipulating small objects

• drawing and painting

• cutting

• using tools

• fastening clothing

• using cutlery

• handwriting and letter formation

Children also learn about healthy choices, personal care, hygiene and keeping themselves safe.

Physical development is planned across both indoor and outdoor environments. Staff adapt activities and equipment so that children with physical, sensory or medical needs can participate successfully.

Literacy

Literacy includes comprehension, word reading and writing.

Stories and comprehension

Children experience a carefully selected range of stories, poems, rhymes and non-fiction texts.

Texts are shared repeatedly so that children become familiar with their language, structure, characters and ideas. Adults encourage children to:

• join in with familiar words and phrases

• retell events

• predict what might happen

• discuss characters

• explain ideas

• make connections with their own knowledge

• learn and use new vocabulary

Phonics and word reading

Read Write Inc. provides our systematic approach to phonics and early reading.

In Nursery, children build the foundations for phonics through speaking, listening, songs, rhyme, sound discrimination and oral blending. Letter sounds are introduced in a developmentally appropriate way.

In Reception, children receive daily Read Write Inc. teaching. They learn to:

• recognise and say sounds

• blend sounds to read words

• read fully decodable texts

• develop accuracy, fluency and expression

• discuss and understand what they read

Children are assessed regularly so that teaching and additional practice can be matched to their needs.

Writing and handwriting

Children’s writing develops from communication, talk, drawing and mark-making.

Adults model how spoken ideas can be recorded. Children learn to:

• give meaning to their marks

• hear sounds within words

• use phonics to spell

• form letters accurately

• write words and simple sentences

• reread what they have written

• write for meaningful purposes

Handwriting and letter formation are taught explicitly through Read Write Inc. and practised regularly.

Children also develop the physical strength and coordination needed for writing through purposeful fine-motor and gross-motor experiences.

Mathematics

Our Early Years mathematics curriculum develops secure number sense, mathematical language and confidence in solving problems.

In our two-year-old provision and Nursery, mathematics is developed through:

• songs and rhymes

• stories

• counting within everyday routines

• practical exploration

• sorting and matching

• noticing patterns

• building and arranging

• comparing size and amount

• filling and emptying

• exploring shape and position

• meaningful adult interaction

In Reception, children receive daily teaching through Ark Maths Mastery.

New concepts are introduced through practical equipment, carefully selected images, precise vocabulary and guided discussion. Children have repeated opportunities to practise and apply their understanding within continuous provision.

Children learn to:

• count accurately

• recognise and compare quantities

• understand the composition of numbers

• identify relationships between numbers

• recall important number facts

• recognise and continue patterns

• explore shape, space and measure

• solve practical problems

• explain their mathematical thinking

We prioritise secure understanding rather than rushing children through content.

Understanding the World

Understanding the World helps children make sense of their experiences and develop knowledge of people, places, nature, technology and the past.

Through the United Curriculum, stories, visits, visitors and practical investigation, children learn about:

• themselves and their families

• their school and local community

• similarities and differences between people

• different cultures, beliefs and celebrations

• the past and how life changes over time

• places and environments

• plants and animals

• weather and seasonal change

• materials and physical processes

• forces, movement and change

• technology in everyday life

Children are encouraged to observe, compare, ask questions, make predictions and explain what they notice.

Adults introduce accurate vocabulary and correct misconceptions sensitively. Important ideas are revisited through stories, outdoor learning, practical experiences and continuous provision.

This learning establishes early foundations for science, history, geography, religious education and computing.

Expressive Arts and Design

Expressive Arts and Design develops children’s imagination, creativity, confidence and ability to communicate ideas.

Children have opportunities to explore:

• drawing

• painting

• colour and pattern

• texture

• modelling and sculpture

• design and construction

• music and singing

• rhythm

• dance and movement

• imaginative play

• storytelling and performance

Adults teach children how to use tools, materials and techniques safely and effectively. Children are introduced to different artists, music, designs and cultural traditions.

Children are then given opportunities to practise techniques, make choices and develop their own ideas.

Creative development involves both exploration and teaching. Children need freedom to imagine, but they also need knowledge and skills that allow them to express those ideas successfully.

Foundations for later subjects

Children in Early Years learn through the seven areas rather than through a timetable of separate National Curriculum subjects.

However, our curriculum deliberately establishes knowledge and experiences which prepare children for later subject learning.

Subject leaders work with the Early Years team to ensure that:

• important subject foundations are identified

• vocabulary develops progressively

• Nursery and Reception learning connects with Year 1

• unnecessary repetition is avoided

• children’s prior knowledge is recognised

• subject expectations remain appropriate to Early Years

• practical exploration and play remain central

This creates a coherent curriculum journey from age two to Year 6.

Assessment helps staff understand what children know, what they can do and what they need to learn next.

Practitioners assess children through:

• conversations

• direct teaching

• play and exploration

• practical activities

• reading, writing and mathematics

• observations of relationships and independence

• information from families

• information from previous settings

• focused checks where these are helpful

Assessment is woven into teaching. Adults notice how a child responds, identify misconceptions and decide what to model, explain or teach next.

We do not collect evidence simply for its own sake. Assessment should improve the education and support a child receives.

Starting points

When children join Waterloo, staff build an accurate picture of their starting points through information from families, previous settings, interaction and assessment.

Ongoing assessment

Teachers and practitioners use ongoing assessment to:

• adapt teaching

• adjust the environment

• identify children who need additional practice

• provide additional support or challenge

• review the impact of provision

• plan children’s next steps

End of Reception

At the end of Reception, children are assessed against the Early Learning Goals through the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage Profile.

The Profile provides families and Year 1 teachers with a summary of each child’s development at the end of Early Years. It also supports a well-planned transition into Key Stage 1.

Inclusion is one of Waterloo’s core values and is central to curriculum planning.

Children may need different forms of support to access the same ambitious curriculum. Staff identify the barrier and provide an appropriate route into learning.

Adaptations may include:

• simplifying or clarifying adult language

• using visual prompts, objects, signs or alternative communication

• reducing unnecessary sensory demands

• adjusting routines or the environment

• providing additional processing time

• breaking learning into smaller steps

• modelling a skill more explicitly

• repeating core stories, songs and vocabulary

• providing additional guided practice

• using a child’s interests to support engagement

• adapting tools, resources or equipment

• targeted individual or small-group teaching

• support from Waterloo’s Inclusion Team or external professionals

Purposeful repetition and overlearning are particularly important for some children, including those accessing specialist provision. Children are given repeated opportunities to encounter and apply important knowledge across play, direct teaching, routines and everyday experiences.

Adaptation does not mean reducing ambition or narrowing children’s experiences.

Children with English as an additional language

Speaking more than one language is an asset.

Children learning English as an additional language are supported through:

• warm and responsive interaction

• clear adult modelling

• visual prompts and gestures

• stories, songs and rhymes

• repeated vocabulary

• practical experiences

• opportunities to play and communicate with other children

• links between new words and familiar experiences

• partnership with families

We value children’s home languages and recognise the important role they play in identity, relationships and learning.

Staff assess children carefully so that the process of learning English is not confused with a special educational need.

Parents and carers know their children best.

Information from families helps us understand children’s experiences, interests, communication, culture, achievements and needs. We share information about what children are learning and provide practical ways for families to support development at home.

This includes support with:

• conversation and vocabulary

• stories and reading

• phonics

• early writing

• mathematics

• independence

• personal, social and emotional development

Further information is available on our Working with Families page.