Why Exactly To Invest In Early Education

Theearlyyearsareamagicaltimewhenyourchildlearnsatthemostsignificant rate-fargreaterthanatanyothertimeduringtheireducationalyears.Themost importantlessonsaretaughtintheveryearlyyears,layingthegroundworkforthe typeofstudent,thetypeofperson,achildwillbecome.

Yourchildlearnstothinkindependently,chooserightfromwrong,setandreach goals,appreciatedifferentpointsofview,developtheirownopinionsandmake gooddecisions.Theybegintounderstandtheimportanceofcommunity,develop socialskillsandbuildasolidmoralcharacter.Developingaloveoflearning, reading,building,confidence,empathyandself-beliefarevitalforfuturesuccess. Asyouconsiderearlyyearseducation,wehopethatthisguidewillhelpyouwith yourdecisionmaking.

It’sThe Beginningof EverythingFor YourChild

Childrenwhoreceivequalityearlyeducationare reportedlymoreconfidentandcuriouswhichcan oftenleadtobettergradesatschool.

Thefirstfewyearsinyourchild'slifehaveamajorimpactontheirdevelopment.

Theirexcitementandcuriosityfordiscoveringnewthingscanmakethemaneffective learnernow-andalsointhefuture.

Betweenbirthand5years,yourchild'sbrain developsmorethanatanyotherstageoftheirlife,completing90%ofitsgrowth beforeFS2classbegins.Thelearningexperienceinthisearlierperiodimpacts everythingfromschoolperformancetolifelongsocialskills.

Wellplannedprovision,activitiesandexperiencescanreallyprovideremarkable beginningsandaworldofdifferenceforwonderfullycuriouslittlepeople.Theyarekey tohelpingyourchildfigureoutthatlearningcanbeexcitingandrewarding,whichwill helphimorhertoacceptthechallengesthatthelearningprocessbringsandenjoy beinganactivelearnerthroughouttheirlife.

Becausethe QualityofEarly YearsEducation Matters

Researchshowstherearedifferencesinthe benefitsdeliveredfromfreenurseryentitlement comparedtotimespentinmoreformalinfant schools.

Theenvironmentinwhichyourchildlearnscanhaveanimmenseimpactonherorhis future.Fromcopyingandadoptingthebehaviouralcharacteristicsofpeoplearoundtothe wordss/heuses,yourchildabsorbseveryexperiencearoundthem.Everyencounters/he hasisalearningopportunity. Atpre-prepschools,highlyqualifiedstaffwithformal degreesandspecialisedtraininginearlychildhoodeducation, setthebarhigh.

Combinedwithwrap-aroundcaretypicallyfrom7.45amto6pm,includingthe provisionoftea, qualityearlyyearseducationoffersawonderfulopportunitytotake fulladvantageofthisearlierperiod,toensureeducationalsuccessinthefuture.

Agrowingbodyofresearchshowstheimportanceandvalueofhighqualityearly yearseducation.DrBlanden,ProfessorMcNally,ProfessorHansenandcolleagues fromtheUniversityofSurreyincollaborationwithUniversityCollegeLondonand UniversityofEssexreporteddifferencesinthebenefitsdeliveredfromfreenursery entitlementcomparedtotimespentinmoreformalinfantschoolsintheirreport EvaluatingtheImpactofNurseryAttendanceOnChildren’sOutcomes.

BestStaff ypically undin e-prep

hools

hereisastrongrelationship fstaffqualificationsandthe arlyyearseducation.

Pre-prepschoolstypicallyemployspecialistexpertsinearlychilddevelopmentwith themostadvanced,relevantdegrees.Thesearestaffwhoarepassionateabout makingasignificantdifferenceinthelivesofyoungchildrenandarededicatedand focusedontheirsuccess.

Inpre-prepschools,yourchildisknownandpersonallysupportedbymanyadultsin additiontoclassteachers.Forexample,theschoolnurse,themusicteacher,thePE coach,thelanguagespecialistortheclassroomassistants.Keytothisishow independentschoolsinvestinallstaffsotheystaycurrentonthelatestbestpractice andcurriculum.Theyworktogethertomakesureyourchildthrives.

LatestresearchfromTheNuffieldFoundation,whosemissionincludesadvancing educationalopportunities,showsthestrongrelationshipbetweenthelevelofstaff qualificationsandthequalityofearlyyearseducation.

ForaJoyof Learning

Everyparentknowstheirchildlearnsmore quickly,happilyandsuccessfullywhentheyare wellsupported,comfortableandtrustthepeople aroundthem.Atourpre-prepschool,yourchild willbepersonallyknownandindividually supportedsos/hethrives.

Pre-prepschoolstypicallyencourageexperientialandplaybasedlearningwhere yourchildwilltrynewthingswithfreedomtocreate,innovateandlearn. Learningis structuredsothatyourchilddevelopsearlyskillsforreading,writingand mathematicsandcanapplyadeeperknowledgeindifferentsituations.

Encouragingyourchildtoexploreandlearnbydoingandplayinghelpshimorherto learnwhatdoesanddoesn’twork. Thistypeofhands-onlearningchallengesyour childwithbothsuccessandfailure. Havingto’tryagain’andbefullysupportedtodo soisthefoundationofresearchandexploration-andcriticalforyourchildto developagrowthmindset.

ForMore Individual Attention& Guidance

Atapre-prepschool,youryoungchildwon’tget lostintheclass.

Independentpre-prepschoolsdifferentiatelearningthroughalowstudent:teacher ratio.Classsizesaretypicallymuchsmallerthanstateschoolssoyourchildwill benefitfrommuchmoreimmediateandpersonalguidance.

Staffhavetimetocultivatestrongerrelationships,gainingabettersenseofwhoyour childisandtheirspecificstrengthsandweaknesses.Thisenablesteachingthat reallysuitsyourchild'spersonality,keepingtheirenvironmentstimulatingwhich naturallyresultsinthechildwantingtoachievemore.Inshort,itleadstothegreater academicsuccessseeninindependentschools.

Insmallerclasses,yourchildwillhavemoreopportunitiestospeakup,discussviews, shareopinionsandtakepartinactivitieswhichreallyenhancelearning.Inlarger stateschools,childrendon’talwaysgeteverythingtheyneedtodevelopfurther.Itis mucheasierforthemtobecomelostinthemix.

ForaMore Enriched Curriculum

Earlyinteractionsbuildupyoungchildren'sself esteematanearlyage.Thisconfidencewillcarry themthroughoutlife,helpingnotjustinschoolbut alsotodevelopimprovedrelationships,includingwith theirparents.

Allschoolscommittoteachingthenationalcurriculum.Thedifferenceisthatpreprep schoolshavetheabilitytoteachbeyonditandtailorlearningtotheindividual interestsofyouryoungchild.Thisiswhysomeparentsfeelthatpre-prepschoolsare abetterfitandhelptheirchildtoachievehighly.

Staffhavefreedomtodevelopandexpandprograms,offerexperiencesanddeliver morecurrent,relevantandenrichedlearningwhichfallsoutsidetherealmofstate schools.Itistypicalforindependentschoolstohavethreetimestheamountof resourcesdeployedperchildthanstateschools.

Thisoftenincludesexcitingopportunitiessuchasexcellingcreativelyinvisual, writtenandperformedarts;foreignlanguagelearningfromtheyoungestages; enrichedSTEM(Science,Technology,Engineering&Maths)learning,virtualreality experiences;specialisedclubsanduniquetrips.

ForaMore Relevant Curriculum

Researchshowswhatachildhaslearntinthe earlyyears,suchasbyage5,ispredictiveofa rangeoflifeoutcomes,i.e.educationalandsocioeconomicattainment ,healthandwellbeing.

Pre-prepschoolsteachbeyondthecurriculumandnot'tothetest'.Theyknowthevalueof anearlystart,developingthosesoftskillswithhardbenefitsandhelpchildrenrightfromthe start to develop key critical skills they will need to succeed in and beyond school. Referenced by the World Economic Forum as becoming increasingly valuable over time, theseskillsareacorepartoftheeducationprovidedbymanyindependentschools.

Criticalthinkingandanalysis.

Creativity,innovation,ideation,originality, andinitiative.

Peoplemanagement.

Coordinatingwithothers.

Emotionalintelligence. Negotiation.

Cognitiveflexibility.

Complexproblemsolving.

Serviceorientation.

Activelearningandlearningstrategies. Technologydesignandprogramming. Leadershipandsocialinfluence.

Systemsanalysisandevaluation.

Culturalsensitivityandawareness.

Judgement,reasoning,analyticalthinking,and decisionmaking.

Allschoolstypicallycommittovaluesofsomesort.Thedifferenceisthatpre-prep schoolshavebehaviouralstandardswithemphasisplacedonpersonalvalueswhich helpyourchilddevelopqualitiesastheymature.Developingthesevirtues,withothers oftheirsameage,iscrucialastheymovethroughschool.

Pre-prepschoolsfosteraculturewheredifferencesinperspectivearevaluedandwith staffwhoguidechildrentoappreciateandacceptdifferences,developingempathy andcriticalthinkingskills.Alongsidethistheydevelopanunderstandingthateveryone isuniqueandspecialintheirownwaywiththeirownbeliefs,cultureandethnicity.

It’scommonforindependentschoolstoworkinpartnershipwithparentsandreflect andreinforceparents’valuesdailyatschool.Insearchingfortherightindependent schoolforyourchild,similarday-to-dayprinciplesareanindicationofagoodchoice.

Pre-prepschoolsinstilanearlysenseofconcernandcompassionforothersby providingopportunitiesforyourchildtotakepartincommunity,leadershipand charitableprojects.Aswellasshowingtheimportanceofmakingacontributionin theircommunity, yourchildwilldevelopempathy,humilityandleadershipskills alongsideanawarenessoftheworldaroundthem.

Parentengagementisencouragedatpre-prepschools,whetherit’sforspecial assemblies,eventsorinformaldiscussions.Thiscreatesaninvitingcommunitywhere yourfamilybecomespartofanetworkoffamilieswithsharedinterests.

Pre-prepschoolsareusuallylinkedtoanindependentschool,someofferingdirect admissionforyourchildwhichavoidsanyunduestressofa7+exam.

Thebestpartofcommunityvaluescreatedwithinpre-prepschoolsarethattheyare awin-win:everyonebenefits.

ItistheEntry PointForBig

Futures

Researchshowsthathigh-qualityearlychildhood educationisanextraordinarilypowerfulmeans topromotecontinuedsuccessinschool,inthe workplace,andalsoinsocialandcivicrealms.

Manylifetimesuccesseslinktoearlyyearseducation,whetherit'sgoingtouniversity orbuyingahome.Aninvestmentinindependenteducationisthebestpreparation forimprovingdevelopmentalandeducationaloutcomesforyourchild.

Thekeythingstolookforarefirstandforemost,approachablehighqualityteachers, livedvaluesandopportunitiesforpupilstohaveapositiveimpactontheschool (pupilleadershipandpupilvoice).Othersignsofanexcellentchoiceareplentyof opportunitiestolearnart,music,STEM,andstayactive.

AtWakefieldGrammarPre-Preparatoryweprioritiserelationshipswithchildrenand theirfamiliesandtailoroursmallclassessowereallyknoweachofouryoungpupils andtheirspecificinterests.Therelationshipswebuildreallyinfluenceourpupils eachdayandtheylovecomingtoschool.

Discovermoreaboutourschoolhereorevenbetter,visitusonanormalschoolday foratourwiththeHeadorDeputyandmeetsomeofourwonderfulchildren.Youcan contactusviaourwebsiteorbygivingusacallon01924231618.