Kindergarten Department
The final Pre-School year is a very exciting one, in which the children are offered lots of different activities and experiences. The Department comprises the main classroom, along with a Quiet Room and outdoor balcony.
Kindergarten is taken by a team of fully qualified staff, and Qualified Early Years teachers, who provide a wide variety of play-based educational tasks and activities to challenge each individual child and prepare them for their transition to school.
We believe in the importance of children learning through play-based opportunities, which reflect their interests leading through to some more structured tasks as we seek to develop their pre-reading, writing and number skills.
Children are greeted by Key Carers, before hanging their belongings on their pegs and entering their classrooms.
They enjoy welcome Circle Times before embarking on different activities throughout the day, and enjoying the ability to easily access the top garden via their dedicated balcony.
All parents are invited to join an Information Evening at the end of their Toddler time, in which we discuss all the wonderful experiences the children will be offered in their Pre-School Year, and answer any questions Parents may have, in order to ensure a smooth transition to school at the end of the year.
Please note: children in their final Pre-School year are expected to attend for sessions of at least School Day length, in order to prepare them for the longer days when they transition on to School. Morning or Afternoon-only sessions are therefore not available in Kindergarten.
MOVING TO THE KINDERGARTEN: What is new?
UNIFORM: All Butterfly children are provided with a jumper or cardigan and a polo shirt as uniform which they are requested to wear every day – this is SO exciting for little ones, and really helps them to differentiate themselves as the ‘big children’ of Nursery, whilst providing a simple transitional step to the ‘uniforms’ they may wear at School.
SHOES: Kindergarten children wear their shoes in Class but are invited to bring their wellies, especially in the cold and wet weather. We spend lots of time outdoors so please remember to bring a warm coat with them together with named hats, gloves/mittens and scarves when it is very cold.
SPECIAL TRAY: Kindergarten children are encouraged to bring in SMALL items of interest to place in the Special Tray for Show and Tell at ‘Circle Time.’ However, the items do need to be small enough to fit in their book bag so they will need help to make this judgment!
EXTRA SPECIAL ACTIVITIES: Children in their pre-school year take part in specialist Dance, Wildplay, Yoga and Drama classes on different days during the week, which along with music, singing and cookery opportunities seek to extend their experiences and opportunities.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT: As the Kindergarten children enjoy regular PE and sporting classes, each child is expected to bring their own PE kit, comprising of a white t-shirt, navy/black shorts, white ankle socks and black pumps/daps. Please, can you ensure all items of clothing are named. These will remain at Nursery and are sent home for washing from time to time. They also enjoy weekly football or gymnastics sessions.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: We are extremely fortunate to have a wonderful Artist in Residence, Amy Pegler, who joins us each week to expose children to lots of new and exciting mediums.
PHONICS SESSIONS: At the start of the Spring term we introduce our ‘Sound of the Week,’ whereby we focus on a weekly letter, and invite children to bring an object beginning with this letter sound to place onto the Sound Tray for us to talk about during our daily Phonics Sessions. We follow the Letters and Sounds Programme and introduce Jolly Phonics Stories and Songs.
MATHEMATICS: We use the Boo Zoo Maths Programme and Numicon resources, which introduce the children to all the mathematical concepts within the EYFS in a fun, informative and interesting way, enabling us to vary the levels tackled to meet the different stages of development and understanding of each of the children.
OUTINGS: In order to extend the children’s experiences we organise outings to different places which have in the past included Queenswood, the Cathedral, the Courtyard Theatre and Newbridge Farm Park. We ensure outings take place on different days of the week so that all children attend at least one.
PROMOTING INDEPENDENCE: During the course of this year, we will be quietly preparing for your child for school. All the basic skills of being able to share, take turns, tolerate each other and respond as part of a class will make a big difference and help them to settle. Independence is another great skill, being able to get dressed and undressed on their own, put on their own coats and shoes etc
SPECIAL EVENTS: Kindergarten children take part in – and lead – lots of Special Events during the year, including Harvest and the Christmas Nativity, together with Spring Concerts and Displays and Sports Days, which we hope you will be able to attend.
QUIET TIME: All children enjoy a period of Quiet Time after Lunch. However, if you feel your child would benefit from a daytime nap then please just let us know and we will arrange for them to use the Quiet Room for a comfortable sleep, providing them with everything they need to meet their individual needs.
TRANSITION TO SCHOOL: Once you find out which School your child will attend when they leave Nursery, we begin the process of ensuring they have the smoothest transition possible. Reception Teachers are invited to the Nursery to meet with their new cohorts, and a Starting School Display board is created. We create Transition to School checks which are then shared with the child’s Reception Teacher.
For those who were unable to join us, please watch our Information Evening video HERE