Preparing for School
Children at The Chelsea Nursery have priority entry to Cameron Vale School. Our learning provision ensures the children are well-prepared for the transition from Pre-School to Reception. From exploring numbers and sounds to pre-reading skills and taking turns with their friends, they are ready for ‘big school’ and the next step of their educational journey.
We encourage all children in the Pre-School year to attend at least five mornings a week to help prepare them for the transition to ‘big school’. This is the year that children are three, turning four, between 1st September and 31 August.
All our activities within the nursery are engaging and have key learning outcomes to support the children reach their milestones and be independent and curious about the world around them.
One of the many benefits of a great nursery education are the social skills which the children will be learning all the time, which are great preparation for school. These might include taking turns, lining up, sitting and listening to a story in a group, sharing toys, taking part in group activities and so much more.
The children will learn about numbers, sounds, letters and shapes throughout their time at nursery. These have a stronger focus in the year before school starts. We use the Anima Phonics programme to develop initial letter shapes and sounds to build pre-reading and early reading skills, in tandem with books which start with no words and then have simple words to build. Being able to re-tell a story, predict different endings and talk about the characters are all great ways to help at home.
From going to the playground to climb and swing, to using tweezers to pick up beads, these are all great for developing both gross and fine motor skills. Upper body strength from running around, catching a ball, climbing and hanging are vital for building up to string hand-eye coordination and the fine motor skills used for mark making and writing. When children are developmentally ready, they will start to write their names and be taught letter formation and pencil grip.
Numbers and shapes are all around us, and the children absorb the information from counting how many teddies we have on our bed to simple addition and subtraction. Puzzles also provide opportunities to manipulate shapes and develop spatial awareness.
Additional key skills for the easy transition from nursery to school are the ability to pack and unpack your own bag, do up and take off your shoes and dress/ undress yourself. At Cameron Vale, the children have swimming lessons each week, so being able to dress and undress is very helpful.