Our Pedagogy

Vision for learning

Our vision for learning

At Shooting Stars Nurseries we aim to deliver a rich, diverse and challenging curriculum, through a blend of child-led exploration and adult-guided learning within a nurturing, enabling environment.  A place where children feel safe, happy and inspired.  We understand that well-being is fundamental to the overall health of children and that high levels of both well-being and engagement allow children to experience deep learning. A happy, involved child is one who can experience the world at its fullest. It is our role to support children to develop skills in ‘how’ to think, not ‘what’ to think. We encourage children to be courageous and not to fear failure, supporting them to ‘have a go’ and feel confident to try new things.

The 5 ‘Stars’ of our Pedagogy

Pedagogy is defined simply as the method, and practice, of teaching. Our pedagogy is how we approach delivering the content of the curriculum to the children.  At Shooting Stars, we’ve designed our own bespoke approach driven by the following 5 principles, or stars, to guide us;

The best practitioners never stop learning. We focus on continuous professional development, inspiring leadership and management, a strong accountable safeguarding culture and exceptional customer service. Our robust Safer Recruitment Procedure ensures only suitable candidates progress through the application process.

A happy, involved child is one who can experience the world at its fullest, as they are receptive and engaged to fully benefit from learning opportunities and interactions. Well-being is fundamental to the overall health of children and high levels of both well-being and engagement allow children to experience deep learning. Our Key Person approach means that each child has a nominated staff member dedicated to protecting and prioritising their well-being.

Our nurseries are designed to be uncluttered, light, spacious, and furnished in neutral tones, creating a calming, purposeful play environment.  Our indoor and outdoor environments are designed to enable children the space, choice and opportunity to explore their own unique fascinations and interests without sensory overwhelm and clutter. 

We promote an inquiry-based learning approach, recognising that resources which are open ended, movable and can used in a variety of ways offer the widest range of benefits to children, encouraging exploratory play, imagination and creativity.  We provide opportunities for children to become more confident and autonomous problem-solvers and thinkers, full of courage and self-belief as they discover and ‘learn by doing’. It is our role to support children to develop skills in ‘how’ to think, not ‘what’ to think.

We know that strong, effective partnerships with children’s families are some of the most valuable tools in ‘getting it right’ for them and we work in close partnership with parents to ensure good, regular 2-way communication. Our Key Person system ensures each family has a nominated staff member dedicated to supporting the very best outcomes for the children in their care.

Which learning theories shaped our pedagogy?

We’ve combined key principles from a number of respected learning theorists with innovative industry methods, thinking and approaches to develop our in-house ‘5 Star’ Pedagogy. So who inspired our unique approach?

Find out more about our 5 star Pedagogy

Download our Pedagogy booklet below