ECCE Morning Sessions – Garden Room

In September 2016 we opened our new Garden Room and we now offer free 3-hour ECCE sessions here under the Government’s pre-school scheme for children aged 2 years and 8 months until school-going age.

In our ECCE sessions we offer a wide range of activities and the curriculum is very much child-led. This allows the children to develop confidence and freedom to express their needs. We follow a mixture of Montessori and play-based curriculae taking the best of both with a strong emphasis on fun.

Our aim is to provide a rich learning environment which is happy, fun, safe and meets each child’s needs at a pace that suits them. We wish to give every child a positive learning experience which will foster a love of learning for the rest of their lives, giving each child the very best start.

Our goals are that the children are stimulated throughout their morning, learning through fun activities such as art and crafts, circle time, music and dance, dress up and story time. We have a large outdoor area which the children have daily access to and we take local walks to the park, seafront and library.

Our busy mornings start with free play which gives the children time to adjust and settle into their morning routine and for us to catch up on what we have missed in their lives while they were at home. This is followed by a Montessori sessions where the children are guided through the Montessori materials with the freedom to choose their activity which they have been individually introduced to.

The Montessori method of teaching offers each child the opportunity to reach their potential at the pace that suits them. It is made up of several sections including practical life, sensorial nature, culture, movement, numeracy and literacy skills.

No one day is the same for our children. We are open and flexible and follow the children’s lead as far as possible. We believe that this approach will help promote the children’s independence, confidence and good social interaction with their peers. We include lots of creative play which is essential to the development of children. Through play, children acquire skills and abilities that can be learned in no other way.