Vernon Lodge Kindergarten was established in 1981 and is the starting point for children entering the school. It is a happy, friendly, safe and stimulating environment where each child is treated as an individual, with special interests and needs. The Kindergarten is child-centred where children are encouraged to explore and experiment with activities using both the outdoor and indoor environments.
We have developed excellent relationships with parents based on a mutual understanding that we want to provide children with the best possible care and education. Since parents are recognised as the first and most important educators of their children we believe it is important to work in partnership with parents. Before starting Kindergarten we invite parents and children to spend some time with us in order to become familiar with the setting and the staff, although for many this happens from attending our Toddler Group on Friday mornings (please see Toddler Group information for more details).
Kindergarten attendance is sessional with the minimum attendance being 2 sessions. There are 10 sessions available: 5 mornings and 5 afternoons.
The curriculum is full of exciting activities to stimulate and fill them with the desire to learn.
We follow the guidelines of the Early Years Foundation Stage(EYFS) (DCSF 2008) with the aim to help the children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes:- Staying Safe, Being Healthy, Enjoying and Achieving, Making a Positive Contribution, and Achieving Economic Well-Being.
There are six areas of Learning and Development covered by the EYFS:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication, Language and Literacy
- Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
- Knowledge and Understanding of the World
- Physical Development
- Creative Development
All of these are equally important and are not achieved in isolation from the others but are delivered through planned purposeful play with a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities.
The Kindergarten uses topics and themes based on children’s interests to provide children with a wide range of opportunities, for example:
- People Who Help Us
- Around the World
- Journeys
- Animals
- The Circus
Our daily routine ensures that the children have sufficient time to become engrossed in the things that they want to do whilst adults are on hand to scaffold and support if necessary. The Kindergarten has excellent links with the school and especially Lower Prep joining together for some activities and celebrating Special Days together, such as Harvest, Diwali, Christmas, Pancake day, World Book Day, ‘Seaside Day’; these events help children progressing in to school to make the transition easily.
Examples of activities your child may be involved in when attending Kindergarten:
- Sand, water, malleable materials, paint, collage
- Woodwork, cooking, gardening
- Music, singing, dancing, performance
- Language activities, Letters and Sounds, drawing, writing, library
- ICT, investigation toys, small world
- Construction, building
- Walks & visits
In addition the children also have opportunities to take part in:
- Socatots
- Dance
- French
Staff:
Head of Early Years – Lesley Smith EYP, BA Early Childhood Studies
Early Years Practitioner – Anne Simms BA (hons) English, NVQ3 Early Childhood Studies
Lunchtime Supervisor – June Brookes
Please note that we are registered to receive the Government nursery grant for 3 and 4 year olds.