Once your child has reached 3 years of age, he/she will be ready to transition into the Reception Room and start their preparations for ‘Big School’. The ratio within this room increases to 1:8 and at this point parents can claim their early years grant entitlement for their child offering a great reduction in child care costs.
It is of key importance for children at this stage to begin preparations for school. We run educational programmes all year round which go beyond the norm of any childcare provider and we do this to ensure that we are offering the best opportunities and outcomes to each child who attends our nurseries. Each programme runs weekly, and examples of these programmes include:
Children are also encouraged to develop skills in the 7 areas of learning from the EYFS. Children are supported in developing advanced communication skills and building more complex relationships with their peers. Various daily activities actively promote this. The room layout promotes the areas of learning, having clearly defined areas for the children to make choices, all equipment is kept entirely at their level to ensure the children can develop their independence skills further. Children are encouraged to be independent in personal hygiene skills such as brushing teeth and washing hands.
The facilities within the Reception Room are all designed to help with the transition to school. A computer enables the children to begin learning about technology, and the children will also embark on a new reading scheme which is a fun way for the children to use pictures in a book to tell a story. We provide you with a communication book in which you can write comments about your child’s learning to help the practitioners enhance your child’s learning by providing a book that is of relevance to them.
We feel plenty of outdoor play time is essential to develop physical skills such as building, climbing, balancing and jumping. We also take local trips and outings to places within the community. We work closely with parents, local schools and teachers to make sure your child’s move to school goes as smooth as possible, and we follow an outreach programme during this process which is designed to support parents and children during this important transition.
