Pre-Prep (4-6 years)

Whilst many of our pupils spend time in Little Elms and the transition to Reception is an easy one, we are also delighted to welcome new pupils to join our Reception class and are very used to supporting the transition to school for first-time attendees. With full-time teaching assistant support and spacious learning rooms, the Reception classrooms offer a welcoming environment for all. Parents are welcome at the front door each morning and afternoon, giving the opportunity for informal updates on the day and creating strong foundations to the parent partnership we value throughout the school.

Learning in Reception continues to focus on early learning goals and tracking of development is shared with parents through our online learning log. We also spend time working with parents to ensure they are well placed to support their son at home with phonics, reading and writing workshops, all annual calendar events.

Formal learning is introduced gradually with the teacher responding to the individual learner’s needs. Regular reading is embedded with older pupils being invited to share reading with their young buddies on a weekly basis. Through our Reading Aunties and Uncles programme parents from other years also willingly pop in and read alongside teaching staff to ensure great progress is made across the group.

Throughout the pre-prep phonics classes are taught daily with pupils working in small ability groups to maximise progression. Specialist teachers continue to work with pupils in Reception and pupils are able to choose from a range of enrichment activities at the end of the school day.

A uniform change in Year 1 signals the start of the more formal school day, although plenty of informal and active learning opportunities continue to be provided. In key stage 1, the pupils are taught through an integrated curriculum which has been designed to engage them in their learning. Uniting subjects in a common theme provides a deeper learning opportunity and is one which children particularly respond to.

Great learning habits continue to be built with reflection time, a key skill that teachers focus on. The parent partnership remains important for our pupils as reading habits, spelling and mathematical understanding is all developed. The schemes and approaches used in this first key stage, largely continue through the school which ensures a smooth learning journey and builds confidence.

Small class sizes where teachers can really know and nurture their pupils are key and additional adult support with teaching assistants remains a feature of our older pre-prep classes. We firmly believe that investment in building strong and successful habits and knowledge at this early stage is key to enabling each child’s brilliance to shine.