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.