The needs of the children are met through careful observation and real listening, with a genuine concern for the happiness and fulfillment of each individual. The environment is spacious, bright, well-maintained, and provides a warm, secure and relaxed atmosphere conducive to their well-being.
Child Learning
We follow the EYFS within a Montessori framework and a key person will assess and plan the next steps for your child’s development. Links with parents are encouraged and a learning journal feeds back achievements to foster a positive partnership and enable your child to attain their maximum potential. The following gives a brief description of each learning area.
Personal, Social & Emotional
Practical life skills enable the child to work with real tasks – polishing, pouring, sorting, matching, sweeping, folding and dressing frames are typical of some of the popular activities we introduce when a child begins the nursery. Simple and easily attainable, the child becomes self-motivated, gains self-esteem, improved co-ordination and competence to develop a variety of skills. Activities to extend the imaginative play with peers including dress-ups, home corner, role play & construction support children to elaborate play ideas and form friendships.
Physical
Exercises for balance and refinement of controlled movements are encouraged, such as choosing and replacing carefully from the low-level shelves, holding a pencil correctly and walking with control. More energetic climbing, throw and catch, parachute play, and physical exercise is also enjoyed and our outdoor area also provides plenty of opportunities to extend these skills. A rolling snack ensures children have free access to fruit and drinks with a strong emphasis on handwashing at all times. Children are encouraged to build independence with toilet needs, putting on coats, boots, etc but support is always provided when required.
Communication, Language & Literacy
Freestyle drawing encourages emergent writing and pencil control is introduced with shape inset frames. Tracing sandpaper letters introduce phonic sounds and formation in readiness for writing. The reading programme progresses through different levels, beginning with word-building of short phonic-based words using a large moveable alphabet. There is always a wide range of story and picture reference books available for the children to enjoy, with encouragement to discuss and express their own ideas.
Expressive Art & Design
The opportunity to use a wide variety of artistic mediums to encourage self-expression is readily available such as paint techniques, collage, cutting, sticking, dough, and messy play. If your child has a creative tendency we will support their learning and provide a challenging and inspiring range of activities. Singing to nursery rhymes, action songs and an assortment of percussion instruments are included to help children develop a sense of rhythm.
Understanding of the world
Finding out about the world around them is what babies and young children do very effectively when they investigate by touching, holding or pressing things and by climbing on and jumping off things. Older children love to explore and investigate how and why things work and to test out their ideas of what will happen if they do a particular thing like pouring more and more water into a container, for example.