We are lucky to have two Pre-School rooms where our children over three years old are based. One room caters for the younger three year old’s and the other room caters for those children who are approaching their fourth birthday who have decided to stay with us for their final Nursery year. Both rooms are Teacher Led.

Children of this age are inquisitive, enthusiastic learners who are confident communicators. When planning activities we maintain the careful balance between child led and adult led learning. However, there is much more of a focus on securing core Maths & Literacy skills within this age group. Our qualified teachers work with children 1:1 and in groups to develop the children’s understanding of key concepts. They deliver daily phonics sessions to engage children in reading and writing through fun and scaffolded Literacy activities; we have found this to be a huge success and children quickly begin to achieve and take pride in their new found abilities!

Many of our children have reading folders and are reading simple stories and sentences by the time that they leave for Reception; likewise, they are also forming recognisable letters and working out how to spell simple words independently. Maths is also key in this age group and our teachers spend time ensuring that the children have a secure grounding of all aspects of Maths, from number to shape to mathematical language to simple problem solving; this is a fantastic grounding for children to thrive from when they move into Reception.

As in all groups staff will observe and assess children individually to make sure that their capabilities and interests are fully reflected in their environment ensuring that we have engaged and happy children. The child led activities are often open ended in nature and allow the children to explore, follow their own lines of enquiry and be imaginative. Staff participate in this play too, skilfully monitoring and joining in the children’s play to model key social and language skills and, when appropriate, extend their learning. The adult led learning is delivered through focused activities, either one to one or in a small group.

We often plan a ‘topic’ in this age group. Topics are fluid and changes as and when the interests of the group change. We want to help develop children who ask questions and have a thirst for learning, therefore the children lead their education through choosing their class topic as a group. They discuss what subject they would like to explore and what questions they would like to find answers to. The teacher then builds this into activities and the environment so that children can succeed in finding the answers and information they were looking for. This brings a real sense of pride and enthusiasm to the children’s learning and they often find that an answer leads to a new question to investigate and research!

Challenge and investigation are still a key part of what we do in this age group. We encourage children to observe and question their world through exciting science based activities, although with a greater level of independence with this age. This allows children to develop their thinking skills and begin to link their knowledge and ideas together. It is wonderful to see the social skills and dynamics develop here as the children are able to pool their ideas and understanding and arrive at their own group conclusion, drawing on their previous experiences and their understanding of the world.

The challenge in the provision allows children to develop a real resilience and positive attitude to learning; they realise that trial and error are key life skills and that perseverance and team work are essential skills. These lessons are so essential to creating well rounded, capable children who are ready for the challenges they will face as they grow up; it is fantastic to watch them develop these skills over their time in Pre-School.

Circle times are a big feature in this group. Plenty of opportunity is given to share favourite stories and songs; children learn invaluable Literacy and Language skills through these activities and it is a fundamental part of a child’s early education – we can never have too many stories! Essential in this age group is using the circle time to widen our understanding of our world and have a sense of other people, their feelings and communities. Discussion is a crucial part of Pre-School circle time and the children are asked to think about different topics and respond to each other’s thoughts, ideas and news.

Our Pre-School children are incredibly social by this age and they have formed firm friendships with other children whom they spend their time playing with over the day; this is often something which parents enjoy seeing and hearing all about! Staff continue to skilfully develop the children’s social skills and teach them to deal with different social situations and problems in a positive manner; children learn how to negotiate and solve problems through suggesting alternative solutions as well as to realise that their actions affect other people’s feelings.

Children become very independent by this age and although it can be a little emotional to see them grow up so quickly, it really is essential in their ‘school readiness’; this will allow them to move on to big school with confidence and ease as they are prepared and able for the challenges faced in Reception! There is always an interesting question to answer or an exciting role play game in full swing and it is a delightful place to spend some time talking with our wonderful children; they always manage to amaze us in a new way every day!