3-4 year olds
Welcome to the staff in The Ladybird room: Miss Lucie (Room Leader), Miss Jess (Key Person), Miss Marie (Deputy Room Leader), Miss Hollie (key person) and Miss Sharon (Key Person).
At the age of about 3 years the children can move into the Ladybird Room. There are no hard rules here as all children develop at different rates, so transitions can begin earlier or later depending on personal requirements. In the Ladybird room great emphasis is still placed on supporting children with their personal care needs, as we recognise that some children will still be in the process of toilet training or may need support settling in or at meal times. Upon arrival, each child is assigned to a ‘key person’ who will work closely with parents to ensure that each child is treated as an individual in their learning and development. Parents are asked to supply adequate nappies, wipes, clothing and food for the day. Staff ratios in this room are 1:8
The Ladybird room is organised so that children can access resources independently. There are various areas in the room including a book area, a role play room, a self-select snack bar, a creative development area, a writing area, a number area, a water tray. This room also has free-flow indoor/outdoor access so that children may choose to play outside if they prefer. We aim to encourage children to be creative, independent thinkers by allowing them to choose the activities they wish to play with whilst at the same time presenting them with new ideas to extend their learning and confidence.
All areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage are covered in The Ladybird Room. As children’s confidence increase they enjoy a stronger emphasis on exploration and investigation and are encouraged to use all their senses to begin finding out about the world around them. There also continues to be a strong emphasis on supporting Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Language skills. We believe that to be competent learners children should be able to speak, listen and get along well with others. Nursery nurses in the Ladybird Room use Makaton signing in a language rich programme of stories, rhymes and songs in order to help children with their communication and language development.
Daily plans are displayed in the room so that parents can see which activities are planned for the week ahead. This planning has been developed by ‘key persons’ in The Ladybird room and are based on the children’s current interests. Medium term planning is also incorporated to ensure that all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum have been covered throughout the year.
The Ladybird Class have regular Show and Tell days, which provide the children with the opportunity to develop their self-confidence along with their communication skills. Show and Tell is held on a Wednesday in the Ladybird room and follows weekly themes which are displayed along with the planning. The Ladybirds also attend our onsite Forest School area on Monday mornings and Thursday afternoons.