Fromnursery to big school without tears

IT IS a moment so often captured on camera: a smiling five-year-old, dressed in that slightly too big uniform, lunch box in hand, ready for the first day at primary school. Most children now have some form of education — however informal — in the years before that important day. A nursery school can do much to prepare little ones for this major venture into the big wide world.

Emer Pateman is nursery manager at Keren’s Nursery Holland Park, newly opened at Holland Park Synagogue. She says there is great focus on developing the children’s independence and social skills in the run-up to “big school”.

“This can be done primarily by rolemodelling appropriate behaviour,” she says. “We also make sure that as much as possible is at the child’s height and is child- sized, to give them the best chance to succeed at being as independent as possible.

“Social skills, too, are enhanced by modelling behaviour. The children are treated by staff as we would wish them to treat us. They daily witness their carers using kind and friendly language. We model what we want with our own behaviour and praise a job well done. We talk about consequences and repercussions with the children.

“The children eat together, nap together and are involved in group tasks daily. The staff eat with them, demonstrating good table manners, staying in their chairs and the willingness to try out different foods.

“Children have the opportunity to join group activities but it is not forced. Sometimes they need to observe from a distance for a while before feeling confident enough to approach and join in.

“To prepare the children for school, we focus on ensuring the basic physical skills are in place, so that they can be independent and confident. We focus on the interests of the children and also use these for numeracy and literacy. School readiness is important to staff and parents alike, as it is a big

We want children to go to big school with confidence’