IN FOCUS 2021
Early Years By Mrs Mason, Head of Early Years
I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown past. It really doesn’t feel like 12 months since I was sat here trying to condense all the wonderful things that have happened in our Early Years department to share with you once again. We have been continuing to working hard this year to enhance our whole provision ensuring a holistic, child-centred approach. It really is a joy to look back on all that we have achieved and experienced.
Resilience, as we know, is a key factor in giving children the skills to stave off potential negative effects of challenging experiences, and it involves them persisting despite difficulties. Resilience is something we are not born with, but we learn through our early experiences and relationships. Positive relationships with pets can also help assist language acquisition and enhance verbal skills. We have already seen evidence of this within the provision, and it is an absolute joy to witness.
First, we continue our ongoing transition to a blended learning approach with a more fluid way of learning. Alongside our phonics and mathematics programmes, we use 'in the moment planning' to excite, challenge, extend, and give the children the time they need to practice and incorporate what they have learned in their play. The children are engrossed in what they are doing and are unaware that they are learning through their play. If they are happy, comfortable and having fun, they will remember the things they are being taught. We continue to develop our 'Loose Parts' resources, and the children in Pre-Prep have been experimenting with transient art. We have also had some delightful furry additions to our department. Luna and Kiki, our Guinea pigs who divide their time between Nursery and Pre-Prep and more recently Humphrey, our six-month-old wirehaired dachshund. The benefits of children coming into regular contact with animals have been well studied and documented. The evidence suggests that children who have regular, consistent contact with animals have stronger immune systems, feelings of importance, social competence and self-esteem. Animals can help promote empathy and pro-social skills, such as learning to take responsibility and selfdiscipline, which contribute significantly to building resilience.
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Christmas 2020, our Pre-Prep children performed a wonderful nativity led by Mrs Pratt and the PrePrep team. We weren’t able to share this with you in person but again, virtually. However, despite this, the children out sung themselves and performed beautifully, brimming with confidence and eager to participate.
Our Baby Room more recently had the most wonderful afternoon tea on the Terrace with their teddy friends as special guests. They were truly amazing and sat so well, enjoying their sandwiches, turn-taking and sharing. Right from this very young age, they are so many opportunities to develop independence, self-esteem and emotional and social development.
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