Preparing for 'Big School'
Here at Dean Park Day Nursery, we understand that when it’s time for your child to move on from their nursery setting to the next stage of their education, they have reached an important milestone. That’s why our experienced staff ensure that each child leaves Dean Park thoroughly prepared for entry into ‘big school’.
Our highly trained practitioners work within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which features seven core areas of learning with many opportunities to develop children’s key skills. All these areas are covered in a broad learning framework for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
The youngest children are encouraged to be independent, from the moment they enter the nursery setting with their families in the morning, to finding their coats and bags at the end of the day. Independence continues to be encouraged throughout the day, allowing children to put their bag on their peg, selecting the areas that they wish to play in and by teaching them to tidy up after themselves. Girls and boys are also supported with toilet training and dressing by themselves so that when the time comes to enter Reception year at school, they are equipped with the practical skills needed as part of their Personal, Social and Emotional Development.
Academically, children are taught to identify numbers and letters through the Literacy and Mathematics areas of the curriculum, laying the foundations for their future learning. From an early age, children are shown their names on their pegs so they can eventually identify it by themselves, and they are taught to identify numbers and letters through games and play both inside and outside the nursery.
At Dean Park, children are taught comprehensively and holistically with all their learning achievements recorded so that practitioners are able to share children’s development with their new school teacher in the months prior to starting school. Dean Park Day Nursery welcomes visits from school teachers so that children can become familiar with them. Then, when the children visit their new school at transition events, the staff can talk to the children about this and give them the opportunity to ask any questions that they might have about it.
During the summer prior to starting school in September, all leavers at Dean Park enjoy a ‘Graduation’ ceremony with their families at our wonderful nursery; an emotional event that leaves parents in no doubt that their child is ready to make a seamless transition to school.