The Cottage

Our youngest children, aged three to five years, start their educational journey in The Cottage for Preschool and Reception class and then continue into Year 1 and 2. The Cottage has its own garden which allows for free flow between indoor and outdoor learning. The children all take part in weekly Outdoor Education sessions where they have the opportunity to learn important life skills as well as more about the natural environment. During each session the children are encouraged to collaborate, take risks and use their own initiative to solve problems. This continues into Year 1 and 2 with an emphasis on outdoor learning.

Preschool

In our preschool, children aged three to four years are provided with a stimulating, individual and exciting play-based curriculum. With a balance of child and teacher initiated activities the learning environment is designed to encourage and support the children, which includes specialist class teaching for Music and PE.

Reception

In order to ensure our children are achieving success in all areas of their learning and development, it is key to create a happy and holistic environment. To achieve this we pay attention to the children's individual needs and allow time to extend and challenge. In Reception, we tailor our sessions to the seven areas of development and encourage the children to choose their learning, question what is around them and investigate ideas they have. An emphasis is also placed upon embedding a love for reading, writing and numeracy. The children are exposed to a wide range of literature and encouraged to read everyday, along with daily phonics sessions to develop their confidence and independence in their reading and writing skills. Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy are taught through practical, hands on learning experiences. The children are provided with opportunities to develop their skills in their surrounding environment through our continuous supervision.

Our early years children benefit from seeing the successes of the older children in the school. This excites and encourages them to develop whilst exposing them to the opportunities that await them as they progress. By the end of their year, Reception class children are keen to learn, eager to take part in school life, as well as being inspired to challenge themselves and succeed in their development.