From the Head of Early Years

A Return To Normality

Teaching teams were involved in a number of Professional Development sessions and discussions were directed to continue where we had left off when training had to be focused on safety and hybrid learning. This year we focused on upcoming changes, we focused on a deeper understanding of the Emergent Curriculum within the Early Years, outdoor learning and held training on classroom and teacher ‘quality’ and ‘self-reflection’. We also focused on the transition to a new hands-on Numeracy scheme kicking off from Year 1 in the upcoming 2022/23 scholastic year. Such professional development planning and moments of our college year are crucial to ensure effective transitions and continuous improvements. They allow the teaching teams to build solid relationships and discuss professionally as they learn from one another.

A positive change

The Emergent Curriculum within the Nursery and Kindergarten classes proved to be a positive change forward as we improve our ability to listen to one another and contribute to developing ideas. It blends very well with our already developed Think, Understand, Learn philosophy and practice at College. The concepts of research, questioning and discovery remain at the forefront of our practice and with the Emergent Curriculum we are now able to give more power to our young pupils. Giving students a voice and treating them as individuals has always been a priority to us and we will continue to strive to ensure that students are always comfortable in sharing their concerns, ideas, and thoughts. This is also seen in the importance we give to public speaking practice and confidence building. From our youngest, we encourage the pupils to stop and listen to one another. This is promoted during planned activities like show and tell, as well as during daily practice like discussions and debates. Being back in social situations, such skills are crucial for self-expression and provide a positive self-presentation. In addition, we placed a lot of focus on team building activities throughout the year to solidify relationships once again and encourage skills involved in working as part of a group. Reviving such skills contributes to the feel-good factor as well as nurtures a positive attitude all round.