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Oakley’s Explorers
– 3½-5 years
Staff
ratio 1:8
Our play
room is welcoming, spacious, bright and
stimulating and takes account of
children’s interests. Our environment
is planned to encourage children to move
around and explore freely. There are
opportunities for children to make
purposeful choices and develop
independence both in new experiences and
in activities which build on those they
have experienced in our 3-4 room.
Resources are selected to ensure
children are challenged appropriately
and that there is progression in their
learning.
When
choosing a new name for our room we
decided to call our room mascot
‘Oakley’, his name was inspired by the
beautiful oak trees surrounding us in
the Ninewells area. We believe
‘Explorers’ captures the essence of
children’s curiosity at this stage.
Our staff team is made up
of caring, friendly and dedicated Early
Years Practitioners and Support Workers
who enjoy the challenges of providing
enriched,
fun, learning experiences which help
children’s development and learning
through adult interaction, support and
encouragement enhancing each individual
child’s development and enabling them to
reach their full potential.
In Oakley’s
Explorers we acknowledge that pre-school
education is a crucial stage of your
child’s development. We will provide
responsive and stimulating interactions
and experiences encouraging inquisitive
and curious minds which will help your
child leave us a happy, confident and
enthusiastic learner, ready for the
challenges school and life will bring.
Developing a
positive attitude to learning is a
fundamental step to children becoming
successful learners. When encouraging
children in this journey we provide
activities for children to develop
skills in independence, creativity, self
motivation and resilience. As children
begin to show more curiosity and
interest in the world around them we
encourage participation in activities
such as mind mapping and group
discussions to help them to become more
involved in the planning and taking
forward of their own learning.
"Curriculum
for Excellence" identifies eight
curriculum areas which are: Expressive
arts, Health and wellbeing, Languages,
Mathematics, Religious and moral
education, Sciences, Social studies and
Technologies. We have a range of
activities which promote these
curriculum areas on an ongoing basis
such as our home corner and role play,
construction, large and small block
play, small world, ICT, writing
activities, junk modelling and art and
crafts.
We value an
active approach to learning. Our daily
routine provides opportunities for
learning which are promoted through a
balance of planned, purposeful and
spontaneous play. Children’s thinking
is engaged and challenged using events
and life experiences which are relevant
to them. Children’s skills of decision
making, investigating, exploring and
problem solving are encouraged through a
range of imaginary and real life
learning situations. Children also have
opportunities where they can develop
processes like repeating, practising,
revisiting, exploring, discovering and
trial and error. For more information
regarding our learning approaches please
read our policies on “Learning Together
in Dundee” and “Curriculum for
Excellence”.
Children
enjoy regular walks out and about in the
hospital’s landscaped
environs and
other
surrounding areas close by.
We also visit the local library and
botanic gardens which are within walking
distance of the nursery. The
community library bus visits us on a
regular basis and we have fun,
informative talks from visiting
professionals to support our projects
including police, fire brigade, hospital
staff, opticians and dentists.
Our play
room has direct access to a beautiful,
large enclosed garden. We have
excellent secure outdoor play facilities
including a large climbing frame and a
paved area for bikes and wheeled toys
which the children can enjoy on a daily
basis. We encourage the children to
explore the natural world whether it’s
digging and planting, observing the
changing seasons or investigating the
wildlife of the garden. We have open
door procedures to promote health and
wellbeing which means children can
choose to access the garden in all
weathers.
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