We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage 2021 together with elements of the philosophy and practices of Maria Montessori. Children develop at their own pace, each child’s learning and development is observed and their learning experiences and opportunities applied accordingly.  Alongside the Montessori method, we also use the Jolly Phonics book and CD to teach the children about sounds, letters and actions.

Our curriculum has proved to be favoured by many of the Pre-Prep Schools and we maintain the highest standards throughout a child's time at Pippa Pop-ins.  We are proud to follow a more structured ethos which we have developed to ensure a happy medium between teacher guided and the children learning through play in preparation for their future schools.

Early Years Foundation Stage (Taken from the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage 2023)

The four guiding principles should shape practice in Early Years settings. These are:

 Every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.

 Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.

Children learn and develop well in enabling environments with teaching and support from adults, who respond to their individual interests and needs and help them to build their learning over time. Children benefit from a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers. NB. Teacher should be understood to refer to any practitioner working with the child.

 Importance of learning and development. Children develop and learn at different rates. (See "the characteristics of effective teaching and learning". The framework covers the education and care of all children in early years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The areas of learning and development : There are seven areas of learning and development that must shape educational programmes in early years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. 

 Communication and Language

 Personal, Social and Emotional Development

 Physical Development

 Literacy

 Mathematics

 Understanding the World

 Expressive Arts and Designs

Further information regarding the EYFS can be found at: Early years foundation stage - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

- Statutory Framework 2023: Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

- Development Matters 2023: Development Matters - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Montessori Ethos

Maria Montessori was one of the most important early years educators of the 20th century, the innovator of classroom practices and ideas which have had a profound influence on the education of young children the world over.

The Montessori approach is holistic and aims to develop the whole child. Fundamental to the approach is the belief that a child's early years from birth to six are the period when they have the greatest capacity to learn. Maria Montessori saw that children learn best by doing and that happy self-motivated learners form positive images of themselves as confident, successful people. She created specially designed resources to foster independence and a love for learning from an early age.

Further information regarding the Montessori philosophy can be found at The Montessori Philosophy | Montessori Foundation | MFA | IMC

Within Pippa Pop-ins we use the following:

Timetables
These have been devised to outline the activities for the day and to help with the free flow of the school. Please note that the timetable is not ‘set in stone’.

Class Planners
A monthly planner is devised incorporating the Early Years Foundation Stage, the children's interests, spontaneous activities, and next steps. You may wish to look at this for reference and it can be found on the Classroom wall.  

Learning Journey

All children will have an online Learning Journey documenting their development. The teachers observe the children and use their professional knowledge, recording WOW moments with photographs or a video of your child. Parents have private access to see their child’s Learning and development. The photographs will be uploaded weekly. 

Work Books
Children will start these when they are ready, usually in Transition class. The workbooks consist of a ‘My Name’ book, ‘My Weekend News’ book and ‘Little Learners’ book (Numbers and Letters).