Watch a young child pick up an old whisk, a wooden spoon, and a metal bowl, and you will see something wonderful happen. Within minutes, that ordinary kitchen kit becomes a drum, a telephone, or an ingredient in an elaborate imaginary recipe.

That instinct to explore, investigate, and make meaning from everyday objects sits at the heart of what The Curiosity Approach® is all about. At Gingerbread House Nursery in Smallfield, we draw on elements of The Curiosity Approach alongside the EYFS, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia influences that shape our practice every day.

What Is The Curiosity Approach?

The Curiosity Approach® is a modern early years pedagogy influenced by several well-established educational philosophies, including Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Steiner/Waldorf, and Emmi Pikler. Rather than prescribing a set of activities or a particular room layout, it offers a way of thinking about how children learn, how environments are prepared, and how practitioners support development.

At its core, the approach values child-led learning. Practitioners observe what children are drawn to, follow their interests, and create opportunities for those interests to deepen. Children are seen as capable, curious, and rich in potential from the very start. The emphasis is on open-ended experiences, authentic resources, respectful relationships, and routines that give children a sense of security and agency.

How Curiosity-Led Learning Works in Practice

A setting drawing on this approach prioritises the quality of children’s experiences over the quantity of activities on offer. Environments are carefully considered, with open-ended resources and everyday materials that give children genuine opportunities to investigate, imagine, and create. Rather than telling children what to do with a resource, practitioners step back, observe, and extend thinking when the moment is right.

Some examples of open-ended play experiences that support curious, child-led exploration include:

• Loose parts play: Age-appropriate collections of natural and everyday objects, such as wooden blocks, fabric pieces, pine cones, and stones, that can be arranged and reimagined in countless ways.
• Real-life resources: Familiar items from the home environment, such as pots, pans, and gardening tools, that help children connect their play to the world around them.
• Sensory treasure baskets for babies: Carefully selected, age-appropriate materials for babies to touch, hold, and explore under close practitioner supervision, chosen with safety at the forefront.
• Outdoor and nature-based exploration: Mud kitchens, water play, gardening, and time outdoors that support physical development, curiosity, and an understanding of the natural world.

None of these experiences have a single correct outcome. That is precisely what makes them so valuable.

Why Learning Through Play Matters So Much

For children under five, play is not a break from learning. Play is learning.

When a toddler stacks blocks and watches them fall, they are exploring early mathematical thinking and cause and effect. When two children negotiate roles in a pretend shop, they are developing communication, social skills, and an understanding of the world around them. These outcomes map directly onto the areas of learning within the EYFS framework that guides early years practice across England.

Play and hands-on experiences are central to early years learning within the EYFS. Children build skills in communication and language, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, mathematics, and understanding the world through rich, unhurried play. Children who are absorbed in meaningful experiences are making choices, testing ideas, solving problems, and persevering when things do not go as expected. Those are habits that support learning for life.

Building Curiosity, Independence, and Confidence

Three important qualities can grow when children are given space and time to lead their own learning.

• Curiosity develops when children are trusted to ask their own questions and explore without always being told what to do next. A child who learns to wonder and investigate approaches new experiences with openness rather than anxiety.
• Independence grows through daily opportunities to make choices, solve problems, and take responsibility for their own activity. Children who practise choosing, persisting, and reflecting develop a genuine sense of capability over time.
• Confidence builds when children’s ideas are listened to and taken seriously. When a practitioner genuinely engages with what a child is doing, they send a clear message: your thinking matters here.

Together, these qualities form a strong foundation not only for the transition to primary school, but for the years of learning that follow.

Curiosity-Led Learning at Gingerbread House Nursery

At Gingerbread House Nursery, we follow the EYFS framework and draw on elements of Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and The Curiosity Approach® to create a warm, play-based environment where children aged 0 to 5 can grow, learn, and thrive. Our three rooms, Ladybirds, Caterpillars, and Butterflies, support children through different stages of their early years, with opportunities to explore, play, and learn as they grow.

We believe children flourish when they feel known, secure, and valued by the people caring for them. Our team works hard to build those relationships from the start, taking time to understand each child’s interests, temperament, and pace.

Alongside our everyday EYFS provision, children at Gingerbread House take part in enrichment activities including French, yoga, Kicks Dance, Mini Athletics, and Mini Notes. Each adds something distinct to children’s week, whether that is early language exposure, physical development, creative expression, or the music and movement that Mini Notes brings.

Come and See It for Yourself

The best way to understand what Gingerbread House is about is to come and see it. We offer visits so you can meet the team, explore the setting, and get a feel for whether it is the right place for your child.

If you are exploring childcare in Smallfield, book a visit, and we will be happy to show you around.