Led by a qualified teacher, our Prep 1 Junior group is
where most of our 2 ½ to 3 ½ year olds are based.
Children of this age are inquisitive, enthusiastic learners
who are confident communicators.
Activities are still planned around the EYFS Curriculum
and we maintain the careful balance between child
led and adult led learning. However, there is much
more of a focus on securing core Maths & Literacy skills
within this age group. The qualified teacher works with
children 1:1 and in groups to develop the children’s
understanding of key concepts. The teacher uses Jolly
Phonics to develop children’s early reading and writing
skills by planning fun and scaffolded phonics activities;
we have found this to be a huge success and children
quickly begin to achieve and take pride in their new
found abilities! Our children have reading folders and
some are often reading simple sentences by the time
that they leave to start school; likewise, they are also
forming recognisable letters and some even leave us
having accomplished how to write their name
independently! Maths is also key in this age
group and the teacher spends time ensuring that the
children have a secure grounding of all aspects of
Maths, from number to shape to mathematical
language to simple problem solving; this is a fantastic
grounding for children to thrive from. As in all groups
staff will observe and assess children individually to
make sure that their capabilities and interests are
fully reflected in their environment ensuring that we
have engaged and happy children. The child led
activities are often open ended in nature and allow
the children to explore, follow their own lines of enquiry
and be imaginative. Staff participate in this play too,
skilfully monitoring and joining in the children’s play to
model key social and language skills and, when
appropriate, extend their learning. The adult led
learning is delivered through focused activities, either
one to one or in a small group.
We continue with a ‘topic’ in this age group. The topic
is fluid and changes as and when the interests of the
group change. We want to help develop children who
ask questions and have a thirst for learning; therefore
the children often lead their education. Based on the
observations gathered of the children throughout their
play, the teacher will build their
interests in to activities and the environment so that
children can succeed in finding the answers and
information they were looking for. This brings a real
sense of pride and enthusiasm to the children’s
learning and they often find that an answer leads to a
new question to investigate and research!
Challenge and investigation are still a key part of what
we do in this age group. We encourage children to
observe and question their world through exciting
science based activities, although with a greater level
of independence with this age. This allows children to
develop their thinking skills and begin to link their
knowledge and ideas together. It is wonderful to see
the social skills and dynamics develop here as the
children are able to pool their ideas and nderstanding
and arrive at their own group conclusion, drawing on
their previous experiences and their understanding of
the world. The challenge in the provision allows
children to develop a real resilience and positive
attitude to learning; they realise that trial and error are
key life skills and that perseverance and team work are
essential skills. These lessons are so essential to creating
well rounded, capable children who are ready for the
challenges they will face as they grow up; it is fantastic
to watch them develop these
skills over their time in pre-school.
Circle times are a big feature in this group. Plenty of
opportunity is given to share favourite stories and
songs; children learn invaluable Literacy and
Language skills through these activities and it is a
fundamental part of a child’s early education – we
can never have too many stories! Essential in this age
group is using the circle time to widen our
nderstanding of our world and have a sense of other
people, their feelings and communities. Discussion is a
crucial part of Pre-School circle time and the children
are asked to think about different topics and respond
to each other’s thoughts, ideas and news.