The Aim of our Pre-School
The purpose of our Pre-School Group is to encourage the children to share, play, co-operate with others and to develop sociability, independence and initiative, free from prejudice, harassment and discrimination. We have a well researched and planned curriculum leading to approved learning goals, as stated by the Department of Education's Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority. We are part of the QuILT scheme, which is a quality assurance scheme for early years settings that supports and looks beyond the standards required by OfSTED. We were judged to be outstanding by Ofsted at our inspection, meaning that our setting is exceptional and significant elements of our work are exemplary. Our latest OfSTED report can be viewed HERE for our Highway School site, and HERE for our Christchurch site.
The children are given opportunities for many types of activities, including creative play with clay and dough, imaginative play with dressing up clothes, toys, etc, and quiet activities with puzzles, crayons, paints and books. Each child is encouraged to take a lively interest in literacy and numeracy with the use of educational toys and games. The children are encouraged to extend their vocabulary and fluency by talking and listening, and by hearing and responding to stories, songs and rhymes.
During the course of the morning we have an outdoor playtime, when the children have the opportunity to play in the fresh air in our large garden. We also have a time when the rising fours are given more individual teaching in observation skills, language, literacy and numeracy. The children are given a good grounding in basic concepts and language to prepare them for their next step to Primary School. We would like to stress here the importance of parents reading and talking to their children. During the morning the children also have a circle time based on the current theme and story time. Other activities include various outings and a weekly Music Box session. This gives children an early insight into all aspects of music, including musical movement and development. We also encourage the children to learn about road safety at an early age.
Throughout the term our activities and discussions are based around a particular theme. We produce a termly newsletter and parent's timetable, giving details of our term's theme, certain festivals, dates and other useful information.
The times of our morning sessions are 9 am - 12 noon and the afternoon is 12 noon to 3.00 pm. We are registered with OfSTED as a provider of Early Years Education and receive Nursery Education Funding when children are eligible.
Children
Our Pre-School is registered with Ofsted to take up to 30 children per morning at the Highway site and 20 at Christchurch, from 3 to 5 years old, with limited accommodation for under threes.
Staff
Key Person
The Group operates a Key Person system, where members of staff observe, monitor and record the progress of small groups of children. This information is then transferred into our daily planning to enable us to cater for each individual child's needs. The children's progress is also recorded in their individual profile. These profiles are strictly confidential and should you wish to see them or discuss your child's progress, there is always a manager available. These will be passed on to your child's next educational setting when they leave us.
Lunch Club
We run lunch clubs at the Highway site, continuing on from the morning sessions, from 12 noon to 1 pm.
Afternoon Sessions
We currently run one afternoon session a week, from 12 noon to 3.00 pm.
School's Bridge
We have an excellent relationship with the local schools. Once a term we attend bridge meetings, involving representatives from primary schools and other pre-schools in the local area, as well as members of Bromley Early Years Education Department to share information and discuss topical issues.