Philosophy
" Happy children are great achievers".
Miss Dorothy, Headmistress
At Kensington House Nursery we believe that learning should be interesting and stimulating, but most importantly it has to be fun! This is why we offer our children a wide range of activities which enable them to experience hands-on learning. For example children will make their own ice to experience cold, bake their own cookies to learn about measurements and textures and grow their own plants to learn about growth and decay.
We try and encourage independence in our children to help them with their transition to Reception Class where teacher to child ratios are much higher. At our school children are encouraged to prepare their own snacks, pour their own drinks and practice dressing themselves in our imaginative corner. Please do not worry as teachers are always there to offer a helping hand, so the children's confidence levels are always maintained. We put a big emphasis on building confidence and developing social skills as they are key to a pupil's future learning.
We teach children jolly-phonics and most of them are early readers before they move on to their next school. At this point all children can recognise and write their own names. They also learn new vocabulary through nursery rhymes, songs and core books. Children will also understand numbers from 1 to 20, size comparison and measurements by the end of their time with us. These skills are also encouraged through the fun games, construction toys, puzzles and displays around the school.
We operate an 'Open Door' policy and encourage the parents to fill out the 'Wow' sheets on a weekly basis. As we well know our youngest pupils will not tell us about exciting things they've experienced over the weekends. This is why submitting the 'Wow' sheet with parent's testimonies on it, helps us learn about a child's interests and plan accordingly.
Bearing in mind that all children are individual and develop at their own pace, we implement individual planning at our school. All planning and assessment is in-line with OFSTED recommended curriculum which is based on Seven Areas of Learning.
We also offer extra-curricular activities during morning and afternoon sessions such as:
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Tennis
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Drama
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French or Spanish
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Art and Design
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Science
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Information and Communication Technologies
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Music and Movement
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Football/Games
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Cookery Club
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Regular trips to the Library
2 to 3 year olds
Planning and assessment for 2 to 3 year olds is based on the following three Prime Areas of Learning and Development:
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development
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Communication and Language
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Physical Development
3 to 5 year olds
Planning and assessment for 3 to 5 year olds is based on three Prime Areas and four Specific Areas of Learning:
The Prime Areas of Learning and Development
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development
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Communication and Language
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Physical Development
The Specific Areas of Learning and Development
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Literacy
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Mathematics
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Understanding the World
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Expressive Arts and Design