Unity Stars Nurseries is proud to be part of Unity Schools Partnership, a trusted and respected Multi-Academy Trust in the East of England that has a reputation for transforming the lives of children. The partnership’s well-established curriculum – Curriculum with Unity Schools Partnership (CUSP) – not only serves the children within the Partnership’s schools, but has grown organically to serve pupils across over 800 schools throughout the UK, as well as a growing number overseas.
CUSP Early Foundations celebrates learning for the youngest of children. Recognising the fundamental importance of all children having access to rich language from the earliest possible stage, the curriculum is underpinned by explicit vocabulary instruction and research-focused pedagogy. Combining these has led to exceptional outcomes for children.
This evidence-led and research-focused approach underpins everything that we do at Unity Stars Nurseries. We know how children acquire knowledge and skills; this is the balance between learning through play, high-quality interactions (between adults and children), and direct instruction (teaching).
Children do not just bump into learning. CUSP Early Foundations intentionally adopts a balanced approach; guiding, modelling, and scaffolding learning to enable all children to progress and develop. We commit to structured planning and preparation for learning and do not rely on adults acting in the moment.
The core elements of CUSP Early Foundations are:
Foundational knowledge: what children should know and be able to do throughout the EYFS and how this will support their development and prepare them for Key Stage 1
Opportunities and experiences to learn this foundational knowledge through play and guided activities that will children to explore, experiment with and think hard about new and important concepts
Structured Story Times that introduce key language, ideas and themes children need to access the foundational knowledge, built into a framework that uses all that we know about effective literacy instruction
