Heading off to primary school can be both an exciting – and a challenging – time for children and parents alike. Our Explorers group eases that transition by introducing pre-schoolers to many of the skills and activities they’ll encounter the following autumn, and by encouraging a readiness to learn.
Download the Explorers Welcome Pack
Explorers takes up to 26 children who will be entering primary school the following September and reinforces those skills – listening, communicating, sharing, manual dexterity, and number and letter recognition – that will stand them in good stead as they begin formal education.
Each eligible child receives an equal number of weekly Explorers sessions. Activities are based around the seven areas of learning and development. For example, there’s ‘Sound of the Week’ to help with the letters of the alphabet, and a self-registration tree to encourage independence and enable children to see which of their friends have arrived. A parents’ noticeboard positioned outside the Explorers room displays information on the day’s events.
The Explorers room itself takes up most of the modern extension that overlooks the playground, and is a space that particularly lends itself to creative expression, being large and filled with light. There’s a bathroom with low-level toilets and urinals, and places for reading, drawing, ICT, and sand and water play. Toys and activities are of course stored at children’s eye-level to encourage them to select things independently and return them to their correct place once they’ve been used, with text and picture labels to help.