Rationale For Change

Our commitment has always been to provide high quality care and education for the children in our nurseries. We encourage children to excel in all ways, but it was becoming increasingly clear to us just how important wellbeing is to learning.

While academic achievement is a crucial part of learning, and will open up a variety of future life opportunities for a child, focusing too heavily on academics will only help children develop so far. Our new curriculum is holistic, with equal emphasis on social skills, building relationships, thinking creatively and self-expression, alongside reading, writing and mathematics.

By providing our own curriculum, we can invest in children's learning and wellbeing as a consistent approach across all of our nurseries, right from the outset.

Almost 1 in 4 children and young people show some evidence of mental ill health. This is a great concern as it can significantly impact on children's life experiences and future opportunities as they grow towards adulthood (Thrive Approach 2016).

It is essential to focus strongly on children's wellbeing and those important transitions to help children to settle and support their resilience and confidence.

That is why, at Bright Horizons, we believe that we need to invest in children's wellbeing early on. This makes a positive impact on their development, enabling them to be ready to learn, and contributes to every child's positive life chances.

Our curriculum covers the seven areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) but gives the wellbeing aspects equal weight, so that children become confident and well-rounded individuals with a genuine love of learning.