Pre-School

Children between the ages 3-4 complete their journey with Little Ladybirds in our Pre-School room.

This large, first floor room is set out to mimic a classroom, so the children are prepared for the transition to ‘big school’, we even encourage the wearing of uniforms as part of this process.

Our highly qualified Early Years Foundation Stage Practitioners have an important role to play in ensuring your child follows a carefully planned curriculum which will allow them to further develop their skills in the key areas of learning and development. These are:

Prime areas

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Physical Development
  • Communication and Language

Specific areas

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

Pre-school room at Little Ladybirds

Ongoing formative assessment is at the heart of early years best practice and our staff observe children as they interact in their play and everyday activities. By analysing these observations it can help us to plan new experiences and opportunities for the children.

The Pre-School children regularly enjoy educational visits from ‘people who help us’, including the police, and fire officers, to name a few. Alongside this they have access to a weekly training session with our football coach, Coach Shane, our French teacher, Madam Vardy, and a mobile library bus through Stockton Council. All of this helps the children experience new opportunities, expands their knowledge, and increases their vocabulary.

Your child’s electronic learning journal is by now almost full and prior to them leaving the nursery this will be shared with the school you have chosen. You will continue to receive daily verbal summaries of your child’s day along with an electronic report, delivered by an app to your mobile telephone, tablet or computer. At the end of each day, when you come to pick your child up, a member of our Pre-School room team will provide a verbal handover and you will also receive an electronic report, delivered by an app to your mobile telephone, tablet or computer. This report includes a run through of their day, meals, and also pictures, and sometimes video, of what they have been up to.

We also encourage teachers to come to the nursery to discuss school with the children, as well as organising visits to schools so the children can experience it for themselves.

We recognise the move from nursery to school is a big step, but with the detailed planning and implementation involved in all aspects of your child’s life at Little Ladybirds, we know we are giving them the best possible start.