Children arrive at the preschool and line up with their parents/carers and other families. When the doors open a member of staff welcomes each child into the setting and takes any messages from parents/carers.

Once inside, the children drop off their lunch bags and water bottles into the crate. They then go to the self registration board where they find their name card assisted by a photo for the younger children. The children are encouraged to build their independence by taking off and hanging their own coats, staff are there to offer support if needed. We also encourage peer on peer support where older/ more capable children help their friends. Children receive lots of specific praise for their achievements.

Children will feel happy to arrive at Preschool and families will feel welcomed and comfortable. Children being able to manage some of their own self care and understanding the need to support others is an important part of personal, social development and we find the children feel very proud of being able to do these tasks for themselves, building independence and confidence. 

• PSHE - Being able to be independent with age appropriate tasks. 
• Understanding the World - Learning the routine of preschool.
• Literacy - Name recognition and building an understanding of written words. 
• Communication - Modeling of polite happy greetings. Positive reinforcement from staff, using open ended questions. 
• Maths - Staff will introduce numbers / size conversation if the opportunity arises at this time
• Working in partnership with parents/carers.

Having registered, children will come straight into active learning and are encouraged to choose from the shelf activities on offer. The younger children are supported by two Practitioners with age appropriate resources supporting personal, social and communication development. 

• Shelf activities are based around Literacy, Maths, Science and Practical Life skills. The activities are a fun way to introduce important learning skills as well as fine motor skills and encourage children to make their own choices. They learn to choose and take a tray to a space on the carpet where they are free to explore the resource. Once finished, children prepare the activity again ready for others to use.  
• Whilst this takes place children are called to work individually or in small groups to work on a new or revise a skill from their Individual Learning plans, together with a trained member of staff. Ensuring school readiness by the time they transition to Primary School. 

• Also available every day are fun activities to encourage overall development in line with the Early Years curriculum. These include Home Corner/Role Play, Sand & Water play, Arts & Crafts, and Puzzles/Problem solving,  Small World and Construction areas and Physical equipment. Along with targeted sessions for cooking, science, forest school, sports and performing arts.  

Children learn independence and how to make choices, they learn how to look after resources and respect others through turn taking and allowing each other space and time to explore and inquire.  Children also learn to play collaboratively making strong friendships within the group. We want all of our children to be confident learners and to thrive within our setting. Experiencing lots of development opportunities both indoors and outside.

Early literacy, maths, speech language and communication. Understanding the world, expressive arts & design and physical and social development are included in some way within all of our fun activities.

Snacks are offered on a rolling basis and we encourage children to be independent with serving their own snack. We provide a healthy selection of snacks and have number cards to suggest the number of each item the children should take. Children can butter their own bread / crackers and pour their own milk or water.

• PSHE - encouraging independence in self care, making choices, understanding healthy foods.
• Physical - pouring, cutting, buttering and eating independently.
• Understanding of the World - routines, waiting turns, clearing plates away and exposure to different cultural foods. 

Free play is encouraged and the children access the decking area where activities are set up to encourage gross motor skills. This decking is off of the classroom and the children experience it as their outdoor classroom, which allows them a free flow between the indoor and outdoor classroom. We also spend time in the wider outdoor area of the cricket field and will set up sports activities within a boundary allowing children more freedom to really stretch their legs and run. 

• To close the session children will join in with tidying up together with the staff. 
• We will gather in the carpet area for some discussion about our session, we will look at the weather using an interactive calendar. This is the time where we will sing songs and also read stories. Songs and stories are based around the current topic. We endeavour to have the children learn several stories and songs per term. Stories and songs are often accompanied by props that encourage all children to feel involved. If we have birthdays or other celebrations/news we will talk about it in these carpet time sessions. 

• Goodbye song for children going home.

• Communication and Language - open discussions in the group supports learning around turn taking, listening to instructions and being confident communicators. They learn new vocabulary and attempt to put them into use as they follow along with conversations. Singing provides listening and following along opportunities.
• Understanding of the World - supported by looking at the weather and festivals and also discussing news.
• Literacy - children are shown books and supported to understand what is going on through questions, props, sequencing and being involved in the story telling. 
• Expressive Arts and Design - song choices and instrument use. 
• Mathematics -  counting songs and also throughout group discussions.
• Physical development - songs and instruments encourage physical development.   

• Children are encouraged to collect their own lunch boxes from their location and place them on the table. They will then wash their hands and take a seat to begin lunch.
• Children arriving for lunch club, will follow the self register routine above and join their friends to eat. 
• Staff sit with the children having a drink and a small snack, which shows examples to the children of good eating habits. This is also a time for the children to talk freely with their peers and adults. Often the discussions become quite funny and are normally based around the different things in our lunches. 
• Adults encourage independence but are there to support if needed. 
• Once children finish their food they will stay at the table for a short time before leaving to find a quiet activity to do on the rug until everyone has finished. 
• After lunch, some children will be released home or welcomed in for the afternoon session.
• Children will take part in one of our themed afternoon activities: Messy play, Forest School, Petite Productions, Topic and Sports.

• Communication and Language - open discussions in the group supports learning around turn taking, listening to instructions and being confident communicators. They learn new vocabulary and attempt to put them into use as they follow along with conversations.
• Mathematics -  counting songs and also throughout group discussions.
• Physical development - fine motor skills to open containers, peel fruit, and overall build coordination through self feeding.