Upper Pre-school
Welcome to Upper Pre-school!
Our Children move into Upper Pre-school the year before they leave us for school. In Upper Pre-school we will continue to learn through play, exploring all areas of the early years foundation stage in new and exciting ways.
We have a fabulous garden with outstanding resources such as an outside classroom, orchard and allotments, climbing frames, mud kitchens, sand pits and more.
We spend most of our time outside learning in the amazing surrounding environment. Regardless of the weather we explore, investigate, and learn through our play. We love the heavy rain so we can put on our waterproofs and jumping in muddy puddles. We enjoy the darker evenings in the winter to explore the garden using torches. In the summer, we love to spend all day in the garden making dens for shade and enjoying our exciting water trays.
We care for a maximum of 31 children a day on a 1:8 ratio
Upper Pre school is more structured than the previous rooms. We run a timetable in line with a school day with free play either side of these times.
The children will take part in lots of guided play structured around the children’s next steps and interests each morning and afternoon. The children will be encouraged to focus and participate as much as they can.
During the morning the children will break away into their key groups and take part in topic related activities, phonics and finger gym. These times will give your little one the best foundations for when they start school.
During their time in Upper Pre-school our children will have opportunities to take part in some amazing real-life experiences. We will watch caterpillars cocoon and become butterflies, watch tadpoles turn into frogs and help to feed the baby lambs.
During the Winter Term your child will practice and take part in what we think is an outstanding nativity, where each and every child will showcase their talents to an audience full of parents. This is no small thing, and every child will shine in their fantastic roles.
In Upper Pre-school we encourage the children to be more independent, as they learn new skills to prepare them for school. The children will try to put their own shoes and coats on, confidently use a knife and folk at mealtimes, pour a drink of water independently, self-care during toileting, choose their own activities to play with and problem solve within their friendship groups.
During the week the children will have the opportunity to take part in many different activities such
as Forest School, football training with Serious for Sport, Yoga with Tatty Bumpkin and french lessons with My Little Linguist.
Forest School
Forest School introduces a whole new dimension to teaching and learning, with new experiences for both the children and teachers. These sessions allow the children to take risks and attempt new challenges they would not face in a classroom and creates a sense of excitement and adventure.
During Forest School the children are free to explore and manipulate the environment around them using all their senses whatever the weather! Many of the activities within forest schools are child-led, and the activities will follow the direction in which children choose to take them. This offers children the opportunity to really develop their imagination and creativity when carrying out tasks. There are no limitations in Forest School and children are free to let their imaginations run wild as they attempt problem solving and exploration of their surroundings.