LITTLE PEOPLE & PRE-SCHOOL DEPARTMENTS
AT SUTTON COLDFIELD
Our little people and preschool department is on the ground floor and has an open plan layout, the room has been designed to promote the independence of the older children to prepare them for the next step in life. The downstairs department also has a large garden surrounded by trees, this means the children have free flow access to the outdoors and the many wonders of nature.
LITTLE PEOPLE
At this stage your little persons’ vocabulary will grow rapidly, improving communication skills and enabling your child to build positive relationships, understand the need for boundaries and begin to apply problem solving skills to day to day life. In nursery your little person will enjoy listening to favourite stories and re-enacting them with friends as they use their own imagination to explore different aspects of life. Favourite activities will include small world play, sensory experiences, exploring different materials and textures such as: jelly, gloop, water and sand.
In craft; painting, gluing and cutting will develop fine motor and fine manipulation skills, improving the ability to handle tools, including mark making pencils and crayons. Little people are also very energetic, and we encourage them to run, jump and dance to strengthen balance and improve gross motor skills. Physical play in our garden or soft playroom is very popular.
“My daughter has been going to Play & Learn Nursery Sutton Coldfield since she was eleven months, now three and a half years old and she absolutely loves nursery and every single member of staff. She has grown and developed so much and I can see her learning new things every day. I feel like the stafflisten when I have any kind of comment to make and they really make sure the children have a variety of activities and crafts to do every day. I loved the care she received while in the baby room and now in preschool. I love the attention and daily activities. Thank you, everyone!”– Melissa A (2021)
PRE-SCHOOL
Here our focus is on ensuring your pre-schooler has the confidence, skills and positive attitudes to make the transition to school smooth and successful. Staff will consolidate self-help skills, increase independence and ensure your child is confident in familiar situations. Activities are still interest based, but designed to extend concentration and cover the Foundation Stage Curriculum’s seven areas of learning, which are:
• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the world
• Expressive arts and design
The flow of the day is more structured and staff will use a range of methods and resources including ‘Beat Baby’, letters and sounds, and phonics time. Pre-schoolers will work in groups to develop new concepts, learning to recognise numbers, symbols and amounts in the environment or words that are important to them personally. Favourite activities include physical play in the garden, intricate craft work and more complex imaginative play alongside the use of the large interactive tablet.