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Programme description

Educare Small School is equipped for up to fifty children.  The building consists of two main rooms, the Kindergarten for children aged 3-5 and the Hall for the 5-11 year olds. These main teaching rooms are connected by the library and the IT area.

The Kindergarten is equipped for up to sixteen children at any one session, staffed by a full time teacher and teaching assistant. The hours are flexible so that children can integrate into the school at their own pace. Children sometimes begin with two or three sessions (either morning or afternoon) and build up gradually till they are ready to do full time. Others attend full time from early on, depending on their readiness and family circumstances.

At around the age of five, children begin the transition through to the Hall, where the 5-11 years olds are taught. Children moving from the Kindergarten will often work in the Hall in the morning and then return to the Kindergarten in the afternoon so that the transition is smooth and tailored to their development.

The Hall is a large room with several tables around which different groups can work. At the beginnin of each day the children all assemble (joined by the Kindergarten on a Wednesday) for movement circle, and will then split into their working groups.

The Hall children are broadly divided into three main teaching groups:
  • The Butterflies - those children making the transition from Kindergarten and establishing themselves in the Hall.
  • The Dolphins - children aged between 5/6 - 7/8
  • The Starfish - children aged between 7/8 - 11
Dolphins and Starfish will be subdivided into smaller groups according to need.

The decision on when to move a child from one group to another is based on their individual readiness, emotionally and educationally.

Based around three large tables and some smaller groupings, the children work on separate activities within the same environment. The arrangement works very successfully, with children and staff concentrating on their own topics and allowing others to do the same.

Educare Small School broadly follows the Royal Borough of Kingston term dates and holidays.

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