Between the ages of 3 and 5, your child’s independence and self-help grows and they develop a stronger sense of their own identity and place in the world. The relationships they build with adult carers and, in particular, their key worker, will form the basis of much of their learning at this age. As before, you will receive a weekly diary which will tell you what your child has done during the week, their achievements and next steps. Your comments and suggestions are always welcomed in the diary.
Older children have a more structured programme of play and learning, which is based on pre-school activities in preparation for their transition from nursery to school. They have increased independence and are encouraged to do more for themselves, including choosing and carrying out activities and tasks, with a variety of interesting materials and toys available. Playrooms are set out into different learning areas including maths, discovery, environment, role play, construction, creative play and ICT.
Children are encouraged to choose toys from different areas and have continual access to ICT toys, sand, water, home and cosy corners and books. We also support and encourage children in areas such as eating, dressing and toileting and helping adults in everyday tasks such as preparing tables at meal times and helping to clear up after meals.
We recognise the importance of your child’s all-round development and concentrate on building their social, emotional, intellectual, physical and language skills. A physical education session is planned each week to develop their strength and co-ordination and several group sessions are integrated into the daily routine to develop social and communications skills, with a focus on letter and sound activities.
Children’s language is now much more complex and we encourage them to join in conversations to learn to use longer sentences and to begin to think about the past, present and future. We also introduce children to the concepts of dangers and safe limits. An increased interest in joint play, such as make-believe, construction and puzzles helps to develop comprehension and planning and reinforces the important social skills of sharing and co-operation