Hey! Thank you for deciding to read our blog! This is our first blog ever so please bare with me… Hopefully, our future blogs will keep you up to date with Kind Hearts Preschool and give you lots of insight in to our day to day role and some helpful tips about our children. I wanted to start with some information about Kind Hearts Preschool and the rollercoaster ride we have been on over the last 2 years.
Kind Hearts Preschool was opened in 2016 by myself, Megan and my wonderful Mum, Jayne. It was something we had wanted to do for several years but there were so many obstacles we had to overcome… Finding the perfect premises, getting the right permission on that premises and then registering with OFSTED which is a feat in itself! So after 5 years of searching and applying to all different councils our luck changed and as Jayne was having her nails done, the technician mentioned that her child’s preschool was closing down and that was it! Our little bit of good timing and luck to go along with our hard work. I got in touch with the building manager seconds later and the rest is history!
We opened in the September after lots of lessons in organising over 50 children and their parents and lots of policy writing and rewriting, but all the paperwork and experience of the industry in the world couldn't prepare us for what our day to day jobs would actually entail. Our highest priority was doing the best we could for the children in our care and as we opened after an existing preschool, we wanted the transition to be as smooth as possible, so we continued to run in a similar manner to our predecessors.
We were, and still are, caring for children from 2 years old to 4 years and 10 months old so we spent ALOT of time planning set activities to cater for these ages (if you check out our first photos on our facebook page you will see just how much we have grown and adapted over the past two years) as well as trying to incorporate routines and boundaries to help prepare these children for school whilst ticking all the boxes for OFSTED. We had registration, desktop activities and circle times and it was all very regimented and no matter how many visuals we provided for the children to help them understand they had to sit quietly at registration time or how many times we changed the activities we were providing we found that the children would only engage for a few minutes at a time. After changing procedures and training staff time and time again and lots of practice reviews, we started to implement change.
I observed our children and what they seemed to enjoy doing and reviewed our equipment and toys, there was lots of plastic and lots of very singular use toys. I researched other theories surrounding child development and the first thing I came across that really piqued my interest was a study carried out in Italian preschools… They didn't have any plastic toys and used only ‘natural’ textures or objects found in the real world and the levels of engagement they found with their children was exceptional.
My first concern was giving two to four year olds access to china, glass, nuts and bolts and all these other items that had been deemed as ‘dangerous’ for children for as long as I could remember and the health and safety minefield I was about to walk in to but actually, it was nowhere near as ‘dangerous’ as I first expected! Our children are so much more resilient and aware than we give them credit for and of course, we didn't just free them in to an environment filled with sharp edges and choking hazards, we introduced the new items slowly and carefully ensuring the children knew and understood the hazards.
Our first step was to change the set up of our environment, we ditched the tables and lairy colours and plastic toys and replaced them with natural colours and cabinets that were accessible to everyone. We made sure a little bit of every resource was available so the children could choose what they wanted to play with/ learn about that day. Every item we have available covers every aspect of the EYFS so we are providing all the learning opportunities we need to everyday. We attended training course on Free choice and in the moment planning so very swiftly ditched the registration time after that as two to four year olds are not built to sit still and changed it to self-registration. This helps with name recognition, routines and independence ready for school… all of the things we were so conscious about providing done in one easy step!
Once the children settled in to the new environment, we started introducing the fun stuff.. China, glass, metal knives and forks for eating etc and we were amazed at how the children instinctively knew to be careful. We asked them to think about and explore the new items and almost all of them knew they would break if they were dropped without us even having to tell them! It has been nearly two years since the children have been using china and glass in their play and we have had only a handful of breakages and these were due to them being left on the edge of the table and accidentally being knocked off!
When we had plastic toys, they would get thrown, put in mouths, bashed over their friends head and much, much more everyday but now we are using ‘real life’ materials, the children are so respectful, careful and productive with them that I will never purchase another plastic toy for them again!
If you are looking for a preschool for your little one that provides countless learning opportunities in an environment that is stimulating and full of age appropriate risks, then please give us a call or come and see us! Our door is always open!
Kind Hearts Preschool,
Bishops Hall Park,
Elizabeth Road,
Brentwood,
CM15 9NP
01277 525 644
Facebook: Kind Hearts Preschool
Insta: KindHeartsPreschool
Info@kindheartspreschool.co.uk
Thank you for reading and our next blog will cover our expansion and plans moving forward :) Speak soon!! Megan and Jayne.
01277 525644