About Us
Luckington Pre-School is held in the 'Pratten' classroom at Luckington Primary School and is open 38 weeks each year. We are open Monday to Friday mornings and offer sessional day care between 9.00am to 12.00pm. We provide care and education for young children between the ages of 2 years 9 months and 5 years. We have strong links with Luckington School and share some of their facilities. To aid the children's transition to Primary School we have frequent visits where stories and events are shared. We welcome all children; those who are to attend Luckington School and those who will attend other primary schools. The Pre-School is situated in a beautiful rural area and can take advantage of the local community with visits to the Post Office, village shop, local farms, walks by the river and picnics.
The Pre-School is self-financing, in that we do not receive any funding from local or central Government except the Nursery Education Grant for children of an eligible age. We do of course apply for any additional grants available to us. Fees cover rent, insurance, staff wages and some equipment but we still need to raise extra money to supplement this income in order to buy better equipment and meet all our running costs. We hope that all parents/carers will support us in taking part in the fund-raising programme organised by the Committee each year. All of these events are intended to be sociable and fun, please join in!
The Pre-School is very fortunate to have a team of highly qualified, experienced and dedicated staff. We are limited to a maximum of 18 children per session and are proud of the high ratio of adults to children in our group. This ensures individual attention to the needs and development of each child.
Aims
Our aims are:
- To allow children to develop through play and learn at their own pace to help build their confidence and independence
- To enhance the development and education of children under statutory school age in a parent-involving, community based group
- To offer a Montessori based education whilst meeting the needs of today's children by working closely towards Early learning Goals within the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage
- To provide self initiated activities for the children at all times
- To provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment
- To work within a framework which ensures equality of opportunity for all children and families
- To develop language and listening skills by talking and listening and by reading and writing
- To develop early Maths concepts and the basics of using numbers
- To develop physical control, mobility (different ways of moving around), awareness of space and manipulative skills (ability to handle a range of objects) both indoors and outdoors
- To develop creativity by focusing on how children's imagination develops and their ability to communicate and express ideas and feelings in creative ways
- To develop personal and social development by learning how to work, play and co-operate with others and mix in a group other than their family
- To encourage the children to develop knowledge and understanding of their environment, other people and the features of the world and above all to ensure that the children are happy and have fun!
For those children who start at our Pre-School prior to their third birthday, we work within the Birth to Three Matters framework issued by the DfES.
In September 2000, the Government introduced a new 'Foundation Stage' in the education of all young children. The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage starts with a child's third birthday and continues until the completion of reception year at primary school (sometime after his or her fifth birthday). The aim of the Foundation Stage is to prepare children for learning when they embark on the National Curriculum in Key Stage 1 (Year 1 at primary school). Further details will be given in an information pack when your child starts Pre-School.
At Luckington Pre-School we are committed to offering your child a specially tailored curriculum as part of this vital Foundation Stage, combined with individual care and attention. This is made possible by; the high ratio of adults to children, fun and friendship with children and other adults, and opportunities for you to be directly involved in the activities of the Pre-School and in your own child’s progress.
The Foundation Stage curriculum is organised into six 'areas of learning' and these are set out in the appendix to this booklet. This does not, of course, mean that Pre-School activities are rigidly compartmentalised. Individual activities will often be carefully planned to ensure that they involve elements of three or four different 'areas', stimulating and challenging each child to develop further their interests, skills and enthusiasm. The Government's Early Learning Goals establish expectations for most children to reach by the end of the Foundation Stage. At Pre-School, we aim to set children happily and safely on the path towards attaining these goals.
If you have any queries about the Foundation Stage curriculum in general, or about how we implement it at Pre-School, please do not hesitate to raise them with the Pre-School leader who will be happy to discuss them with you.
Approach
Luckington Pre-School is one of the few schools in the area offering Montessori based learning. The basic principle of Montessori, which was developed at the turn of the last Century, is to provide freedom to learn within a structured environment. One of the aims is to teach the whole child physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually through the senses. Evidence shows that it helps each child gain in the self-confidence and independence that is particularly important in the year running up to full time school, which is why Luckington Pre-School has moved over to this teaching method.
Montessori based teaching believes in a holistic approach, teaching children about the whole World and bringing that knowledge down to aid their understanding of their immediate environment. The Montessori prepared environment is divided into six main areas of learning: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, The Humanities and Creative. Equipment in the classroom is displayed on open shelving so that each child has the freedom to use what s/he wishes to work upon. All exercises are graded in difficulty so that when a child has mastered one skill s/he can proceed with encouragement to the next.
Research has shown that children who experience this teaching method do not only gain in self confidence because they are learning at their own pace but also gain many practical skills and improved hand and eye coordination which all help children achieve a smoother transition between Pre-School and full time school. Each year we add more Montessori activities to our repertoire to enable us to cover more of the Foundation Stage Curriculum through the Montessori Method.
