We’re thrilled to hear about the UK government’s new funding for school-based nurseries. At Cosy Direct, we’re committed to helping nurseries provide high-quality, inclusive resources for all children, all while offering competitive, fair prices for you. One of the best ways to maximise your funding is by identifying which learning areas need the most attention in your cohort and focusing your resources accordingly. Here are our top resources for meeting different learning areas across the EYFS.

1. Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

Do you have a group of children who could benefit from extra support navigating their emotions? Here are our favourite resources for promoting emotional intelligence:

2. Communication and Language (C+L)

Communication skills are fundamental in the early years. You can invest in:

  • Promote Storytelling: Along with lots of regular reading, why not promote storytelling with fun resources like our Storytellers throne?
  • Conversation Promoting Role Play: Why not invest in role play areas and outdoor spaces that encourage vocabulary development and conversations, like this.

3. Physical Development (PD)

Physical development helps children build strength and coordination. With your funding, you can invest in:

  • Outdoor Play Equipment: Climbing frames and balance beams are fab for gross motor skills!
  • Sensory Play Materials: Sandpits, textured mats, and water play encourage fine motor skills and sensory exploration.
  • Large Loose Parts: Why not add large loose parts to your outdoor provision, allowing for lots of obstacle courses and maximum effort play?

4. Literacy (L)

Literacy is crucial for future learning. Your funding can support early reading and writing skills with:

  • Library investment: Why not invest in a free standing bookshelf or expand on your reading area?
  • Early phonics resources: Open ended provision focusing on letter sounds are wonderful for early literacy.
  • Mark Making Materials: Invest in lots of mark making resources to get children excited about early writing skills. Our mark making stations are a great start!

5. Mathematics (M)

Mathematics is a vital area of early learning. You can use your funding for:

  • Take maths outdoors: rustic, open-ended resources are wonderful for encouraging pattern spotting and maths concepts in the great outdoors! Our rainbow maths sticks are great for this.
  • Enhancing outdoor play with numbers: why not add our lovely nature number pack to add maths into outdoor loose parts play?
  • Maths storage: we’re big shed lovers at Cosy, and would be remiss not to mention our maths sheds for keeping everything tidy and accessible!

6. Understanding the World (UTW)

Understanding the world around them helps children develop curiosity and a respect for the natural world.

  • Bug Hotels: Create a safe space for buzzy friends and a great spot for exploring minibeasts with our bug hotels!
  • Cultural Resources: Multicultural books and toys help children understand diversity and different cultures. Our multicultural wooden peg people are a great start for this.

7. Expressive Arts and Design (EAD)

  • Art and Craft Materials: Update your resource cupboard!
  • Update Your EAD area: Why not invest in a new art station, for example?

With schools-based nursery funding, there are fantastic opportunities to really improve your setting and child outcomes. The environment is the child’s first teacher - so let’s make it count!