The Academy building was completed in 2001 designed and built specifically to accomodate our three and four year old children.
Our staff to child ratio is 1:8
The Academy children take part in a variety of activities, based on their own individual development & interests. All equipment & resources are accessible to the children. Our staff ensure that all children have a variety of learning opportunities & plan activities according to a childs interests & development stage.
The children who are due to start school in September, take part in our Jolly Phonics programme. This programme gives the children the skills to recognise the letters of the alphabet, their sounds and how to form them correctly.
Every morning the children take part in an adult-led learning session. This short session covers topics such as shapes, colours, numbers, seasons, months of the year, days of the week, the alphabet, letter sounds & the weather. The children are encouraged to also spend some time talking to each other to develop their social skills.
The register is taken each morning in a variety of languages.
The children in the Academy are actively encouraged to learn skills that they will need for the future. Each morning the children are encouraged to volunteer for jobs such as receptionist & lunchtime helper. The children tidy up after each play session, dancing to Mary Poppins’ Spoonful of sugar as they put away the toys & equipment. These roles & responsibilities help the children to develop good communication skills & become independent.
The children are encouraged by warm, friendly & motivated staff who are good role models. The children have an opportunity twice a day to evaluate their own behaviour through our star chart. The children receive certificates to take home & share their positive behaviour with their families. The children also have the opportunity to be star of the week; where they take home Rookie Bear & write about their adventures with Rookie & can take photographs if they wish. The other children are encouraged to shake hands with the star of the week & congratulate them.
Our Academy children wear a uniform, which is purchased from Rookwood for your convenience.
The Academy children are also offered the opportunity to take part in French Club on a Thursday morning & a sports session on a Friday afternoon. Please speak to a member of staff for further information.
The Academy learning areas are set up in a way that enables the children to move around freely & to move around our resources. The Academy areas include a role-play area, book area, quiet area, creative area, writing area, maths area, ICT area, small-world area, sand & water area & construction area.In addition we also now offer a new ICT room to allow the children greater access to develop their confidence and skills with ICT.