Kindergarten

The Kindergarten department at TMS provides outstanding learning for children aged 4 and 5 years of age. Our curriculum is designed to recognize the prior learning by providing first-hand learning experiences and allowing children to develop interpersonal skills, build resilience and become creative, critical thinkers to enable them to challenge themselves. We ensure the content of the curriculum is differentiated to meet the needs of all learners and taught in a logical progression so that children build on prior learning. We plan through a topic-based approach, but these plans are adapted and amended to address the ever growing and changing needs and interests of all our children.

Teachers and Teaching Assistants in Kindergarten create an environment to match the needs and skill levels of our children, use their own continuous assessment processes, and observe to ensure students are making progress.

Learning Through Play

We believe that communication and language development are of paramount importance. We support children’s development by providing a rich language environment, where conversations, singing, and sharing stories become a regular part of the children’s day.

Our children are immersed in many practical, first-hand learning experiences through which they are encouraged to explore, experiment and develop their language. The children use both the indoor and outdoor classroom during teacher-directed and child-initiated times. We have a particular love for outdoor learning and each day we go outdoors to learn about our outdoor environment. Additionally, throughout the year we organize several exciting activities, outings and visits to enhance the children’s learning.

We believe learning through play is vital; we use the environment to ensure the children’s needs are met through continuous provision, enhanced provision and following their interests. Staff teach an objective through whole class, small group teaching and going into provision to observe children’s play and move learning forward at that point. They record ‘snapshot’ evidence of children’s learning to build an overall picture and set next steps for learning. Continuous assessment helps staff to identify any children that need more support to achieve the objective and those that need challenge.

The Reggio Approach

At The Millennium School, the methodology used at Kindergarten interweaves the curriculum of Little GEMS with support from the EYFS framework and the very creative approach of Reggio Emilia. We intend that it educates all the children in knowledge, skills and understanding, to be effective, inquisitive, curious, independent learners and influence their wider thinking across all areas of the curriculum. We believe that the Reggio approach is successful because of its powerful image and deep respect for childhood culture. For its strong belief that children, teachers and parents all work together for the process of building knowledge. We are passionate about creating opportunities for children to communicate more efficiently through developing language and communication skills and specifically teaching vocabulary. We wish our children to believe in themselves and their abilities and capabilities, belong to the school learning community and the wider community, and become successful in their academic careers and beyond. 

We intend that children experience the six learning areas through a balance of whole class/group teaching and play-based learning. This is through the children’s interests, topics, themes, continuous provision activities, and phonics. The staff to support communication and language development; personal, social and emotional development; and physical development as well as literacy, mathematics, understanding of the world and creative arts, carefully plan learning.