Early Years
Our international programme accepts children of all nationalities and classes are available for children 18 months to 7 years of age. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework for children 18 months to 5 years and the British National Curriculum for England and Wales for children Year 1 & Year 2.
Pre–Nursery
Young children are just learning to explore the world using all their senses. Newly mobile children want to take off in all directions at once. However, they have the need to feel safe and secure in their environment so that they can develop their love for learning. Our Pre-Nursery Curriculum ensures that your child’s day will be filled with things to explore, items to see, objects to touch and hugs to give and receive. Each day is personalised by our highly experienced and trained teachers to provide an environment that will develop your child’s confidence and self-control.
Children will gain experience from a variety of activities such as storytelling, art & crafts, cooking, role-play, music & movement and creative play in our water and sand activities
Children will be encouraged to develop independence though establishing routines, such as snack time and circle time.
Our classrooms are designed with active, busy young children in mind. They support a daily schedule balanced among play, quiet time, independent explorations and small group interactions. Classrooms are set up into learning areas allowing children to explore areas that are of interest to them
In addition, our school is equipped with miniature toilets to meet your child’s needs and to help in toilet training.
We choose the class appropriate for your child by age. Children may attend one or two pre-nursery classes before they move on to nursery class in September if they are 3 years of age (by 1st September), bearing in mind that every child develops at a different pace. Children can attend our Pre-nursery class for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days a week, to allow them (and their parents) to adjust to their new routine at school.
Nursery and Reception
At nursery age, children are ready for a longer, more structured day. Many skills are developed using the natural curiosity of children at this level. Children are given ample opportunities to expand in their language, maths and science skills throughout the day, as well as building social skills and self-confidence in an enriching, trusting environment. Our teachers work with the children using planned purposeful play to build upon their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
Children are taught the basics of mathematics, reading, writing and pencil control, alongside themed arts and craft activities.
Kids’ Academy has a well-stocked library and children in nursery and reception level are allowed to take 2 books home per week to share with their parents. One book will be an appropriate level Oxford Reading Tree Book and the other will be a fictional book of their choice.
The children have daily access to an outdoor learning area where they can explore stimulating and challenging activities that complement the learning within the classroom.
Nursery Class
Children will continue to follow the EYFS with equal emphasis on all seven areas of learning. During communication language and literacy sessions the children will be introduced to phase one of the Letters and Sounds Phonics programme. This focuses on building the children’s listening skills in order to prepare them for reading in the future. A range of fun activities are used to teach skills such as rhyming, alliteration and oral blending and segmenting. The curriculum will be delivered using a thematic approach, developing the child’s understanding of the world alongside their basic maths and fine motor skills via popular topics such as mini beasts, outer space and fairytales.
Reception Class
Children will be introduced to Phase 2 of the Letters and Sounds programme, where they will learn through a wide range of resources, games and activities, including interactive whiteboard software. By the end of Term 3 they will know 42 of the main sounds (phonemes and graphemes) used in the English Language and they will be using this knowledge in their reading and writing. They will also learn to sight read and write a range of tricky words that cannot be decoded using phonic knowledge.
The curriculum will be delivered using a thematic approach, developing the child’s understanding of the world alongside their basic maths and fine motor skills via popular topics such as super heroes, pirates and dinosaurs. Throughout the year our class teachers will provide suitably challenging learning experiences to ensure that each child achieves the 17 early learning goals outlined by the British Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).
