The Overleigh Pre-school (3-5 years)
In this area your child will have access to a whole variety of activities within work and play structured themes. The following information describes all areas within our pre-school in order to provide you with a wide perspective on the work that we do. We hope that the ‘pre-school’ environment that we have created will help to make the transition from nursery to school a gentle and positive experience for both you and your child.

The pre-school cared for children from their third birthday until they leave for school. The children are supervised at all times within a staff ratio of 1:8. Your child will be cared for as an individual with their own personality, we will encourage your child to develop at their own pace, learning through fun and fascinating activities set out each day.

Various themes are adopted every few weeks throughout the year, these themes are integrated into many activities during the day and the children’s work is celebrated through attractive displays throughout the area.

While the majority of our activities focus around the integral part of children’s learning — play, we do also provide structured, learning activities within their play.

The craft room
This includes model making with play-dough, clay, plasticene, cardboard, paper and glue; experimenting with sand and water, marbling, painting, baking as well as table top activities such as drawing, colouring, chalking, tracing, cutting and much more!

The quiet room
This provides creature comforts, large comfy floor cushions, TV and video, music, board games and puzzles. The cosy corner is filled with a wide variety of story and reference books to encourage our children to explore the world of language and literature. The listening centre provides opportunities for children to share in stories and songs as a group. Our nature table helps to develop the children’s appreciation of their local environment.

The free-play room
This room provides the children with an abundance of play opportunities through direct experience. The home corner is a haven for imaginative play such as dressing up, puppet shows, and role-play in our pretend shop, dental hospital, doctors, hairdressers and many more fantastic role play area ideas.

The children can also engage in constructive play including bricks, Lego, Duplo, interstar, popoids and brio mecano. Social play is also an integral part of this rooms function, the children can join in with table top games and puzzles, share within various floor play activities and work in pairs on our child centred computer activities.

The early learning room
In here the children are provided with structured learning of reading, writing and numeracy. These skills are tailored to suit every child’s individual stage of development, through a wide range of activities each day, such as singing, games, stories and much more. Activities are developed in groups or on a one-to-one basis with their key worker.

Letters-colours-numbers-shapes board
This display board is found within the quiet room, every couple of weeks the focus items are changed and these are integrated within day-to-day activities. It is nice for parents to help their children to find links between the items on display; for example the child enjoy trying to find something that is the colour of the week and also begins with the sounds for the week. The children’s suggestions can then be displayed in the quiet room, which reinforces what the children are learning.

Name writing
As an extension to children recognising their name we also endeavour to help them to learn how to write their name correctly. Each child has their own name-writing folder within which they begin to write their name through tracing over yellow lines.

As the children progress, and practise regularly they will eventually be able to write their name independently. However, all children acquire skills at different ages and there is no specific age when they should be able to write their name.

Group times
Twice a day all of the children gather together for a shared learning session. Group times are an important social part of the day throughout which all of the children develop communication skills and self-esteem.

The list of activities used at group times is endless but here is a selection of some of our regulars; news time, tumble tots, alphabet work, number work, singing, stories, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, patterns, shapes, colours, measure, drama, role-play, P.E and topic work.

All activities are carefully planned in order to ensure the children reach the ‘stepping-stones’ as laid out by the ‘Early years and curriculum guidelines,’ we promote each individual child’s personal, social and emotional development not only at group times, but at every opportunity throughout the day.

Emergent writing
Whilst learning to control a pencil is a very difficult task, we provide opportunities for children to continually practise this skill. We have a writing table where the children can choose to complete activities such as tracing, drawing, writing and colouring.

We also set aside time each week for children to ‘write’ their news from the weekend, while the children may not actually be able to write words, simply ‘pretending’ to write is the start of early writing skills.

Our very own playground
At Overleigh we feel that outdoor play is just as important as indoor play. Space, fresh air, freedom and time are all essential for children’s emotional, social and personal well-being. Some children feel more comfortable when they are outside.

Outdoor play encourages each child to grow in confidence and self-esteem, providing opportunity for the child to be noisier and more boisterous. The outdoor area has fewer restrictions than indoors and the child will take risks in their play that they are comfortable, while allowing them the time to consolidate the skills they have learned.

The playground includes a grassed area for games and picnics and a large area equipped for providing lots of fun with bikes, prams, cars and ball games in the great outdoors all year round. There is also a fabulous wooden play area, with swings and slides and a look out tower.

During the sunnier months we also take our children out for various fun activities including sand and water play! As our weather never stays the same, we ask parents to provide their children with appropriate clothing for the time of year - Hats/coats/Wellington boots etc.

Indoor adventure play
For those really rainy days or as a special treat we have the full use of the under five section of the Amazon Play Experience. Let your children go APE on the bouncy castle, ball pool, slides, tubes, crawls and the spooky house with electronic sound effects.

P.E and movement to music
Every week the children in each area join in various activities that help to develop spatial awareness, balance, movement skills and throwing and catching skills. For P.E sessions with the 3-5’s your child bring a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and pumps.

Although these are optional, they will enable the children to practise getting dressed and undressed, buttoning clothes and fastening buckles, all of which helps your child to become more independent. P.E kit bags are kept in a separate P.E. box; please ensure that your child’s clothes are named inside a labelled bag.