We engage children in their learning through their interests and fascinations. Teachers use these interests to plan active and creative learning experiences that develop children's listening and attention skills.  We provide a balance of child-led and adult-led experiences that meet the curriculum expectations for ‘Communication and language’ and ‘Literacy’. These daily experiences include: 

• Sharing high-quality stories and poems  

• Learning a range of nursery rhymes and action rhymes 

• Activities that develop focused listening and attention (including oral blending) 

• Modelling high-quality language during daily interactions.  

• Teaching and exploring the meanings of words linked to books or rhymes (Special Words)

We read and share a broad range of books with the children that focus on both fiction and non-fiction text. We challenge children's phonetical knowledge through the introduction and engagement of different writing genres so that children gain a deep and secure understanding of letters, sounds, words, text and information. 

Children engage in daily ‘teacher led sessions’ through which concepts such as rhythm and rhyme are developed further. Throughout the indoor and outdoor learning environments, children have the opportunity to explore a range of high-quality resources to continuously develop their knowledge of letters and sounds.

Experiences such as children's weekly music sessions with our resident musician, Pip, support children’s ability to tune in to sounds. Children experience a rich repertoire of nursery rhymes and action rhymes that include multi-sensory experiences, such as action rhymes in which children have to add claps, knee pats or foot stamps, or move in a particular way. 

​For children who are more confident in linking sounds to letters and who are at the early stages of reading, we challenge their learning through the introduction of more age and stage appropriate learning opportunities both indoors and outdoors. 

Our daily language and vocabulary enrichment programme, NELI Preschool, underpins and supports children's early reading and phonological awareness.