Supporting Children’s Independence Skills

Children at the age of two start developing a strong drive for independence and determination. They begin to want to do things for themselves. Most of the time this drive does not coincide with their actual abilities to do things in a timely or effective way. For example, children might not have the specific coordination skills required to put on their clothes by themselves. So, quite often, parents or teachers decide to step in to help them. However, this is not the most effective approach. Children need to be offered opportunities to master new skills in order to feel capable of taking on new responsibilities. They need to learn through trial and error.

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Alphablocks Nursery School Brochure

You can download and print our nursery school’s brochure here: Brochure 2018-19

If you haven’t visited us to meet our outstanding teachers, then you can get in touch to arrange this. Otherwise, you may want to find out some more information through the following posts:

‘Pumpkin Soup’ & ‘Room on the Broom’

We continued this Term with our “Bringing Stories to Life” project, in which children come up with various props to support story-telling, assume responsibilities and become immersed in stories that energise and fascinate them. This is what “active learning” is all about, and it is learning at its best.

Previous instances have included, for example:

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Rated Outstanding by Ofsted

Alphablocks Nursery School & Pre-Prep in Hadley Wood provides outstanding early education to children aged two to five years old. We empower children to become confident learners in a safe and stimulating environment, which adapts according to the skills that we want our children to develop.

This school year is coming to a close with an outstanding Ofsted rating, which validates the efforts of our children, parents or carers, and brilliant teachers.

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Observing Children: the crucial role of purposeful observation in our nursery

About purposeful observation

Observation of children’s activities, interests, and interactions by our early years teachers is an integral part of our daily routine. It is a crucial responsibility of every practitioner to ensure that accurate, purposeful observations are recorded on all children, not just their key children. Observations are as important as every other part of the practitioners’ role. Time is made to discuss and evaluate observations as a team so as to inform children’s individual profiles accordingly and to set targets for learning, which in turn inform all future planning.

Why is it important?

Observation for us is the key to effective planning and assessment. Here are some of the reasons why we observe children, and why it’s important to do so consistently and with due care:

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