The staff in our Pre-School work closely with our Reception team. As a result, Pre-School children are introduced to concepts which they will also come across in Reception, for example Numicon and printed letter shapes.

The Pre-School and Reception team work as a department, planning and sharing the same theme each term, for example dinosaurs, mini-beasts, people who help us and super heroes. 

There is continuity in our Early Years environment which supports the children with their transition from Pre-School to Reception. 

'I like listening to stories on the headphones.

Elsa is my favourite.'

Pre-School Pupil

We strongly believe that young children learn through open ended play opportunities as well as through experiences which capture their imaginations. 

During each session, the children will:

• Investigate and explore a Happy Hands activity which develops their fine motor skills.
• Participate in a group phonics activity which is linked to the seven aspects of sound; environmental, instrumental, body sounds, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, voice sounds and oral blending and segmenting.
• Have the opportunity to explore the inside and outside environment during independent learning time. 
• Take part in singing rhymes and songs.
• Share stories with the other children in the setting, often with the use of drama (Helicopter Stories).
• Participate in an adult led activity in a small group. This could be a shared writing activity, creating story maps, completing an activity with a mathematical focus or even cooking. 
• Have the opportunity to cut up and prepare their snack.

Children in our Pre-School have the opportunity to visit our library once a week to borrow a book. Research by the Nuffield Foundation and the University of Newcastle has shown that parents and carers who read with Pre-School children are giving them a language advantage of eight months. Further information can be found here.