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BET W EEN THE LINES Being able to read is an essential skill for lifelong learning, says Oliver Snowball, Head of Eaton House The Manor Girls’ School If we want our children to have a lifelong love of learning, then it’s vital we equip them at an early age with the skills required. One of the most fundamental skills is undoubtedly the ability to read. To limit the development and practising of this skill to school is almost to suggest to a child that reading is primarily an experience to be enjoyed by the teacher and pupil. While reading will, of course, be of great value to our children in their future workplaces, it is first and foremost a life skill. In short, reading will enable our children to access the world. At a recent event I hosted for some of my prospective parents, I encouraged them to view the time that they spent reading at home with their daughters as a hugely powerful gesture of love. Thus, for a parent to press the pause button and take the time to share in 15 minutes of reading is a most precious gift and, when done regularly, can have a significant impact both on a child’s learning and on their relationship with their mother or father. On a more academic level, not only will a child’s vocabulary be broadened by reading at home and their understanding of grammar, syntax and idiom extended, but it’s also likely that their knowledge of historical periods, geographical settings and political issues will all be developed. Reading takes us everywhere, from the real to the fantastical, and all genres have their value in stretching a young person’s mind. When narratives are discussed, children quickly start to think, to enquire and to express their own opinions. Crucially, through the use of some relatively simple questions, parents can encourage their children to analyse a character’s feelings by exploring their words and actions. In turn, this can lead to the development of, in my view, one of life’s most important character traits: empathy. For those parents whose children are still in
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ENCOURAGING CHILDREN TO BUILD POSITIVE READING HABITS INTO THEIR DAILY ROUTINE MAY WELL SUPPORT THEIR WELLBEING AS MUCH AS THEIR INTELLECTUAL GROWTH the early days of learning to read, I have three brief but important top tips: Firstly, try to focus on your child’s progress rather than comparing them to any of their peers. If you have any concerns, do approach your child’s teacher to ask for feedback and guidance, but resist the urge to enter into a Reading Scheme race with other pupils in their class. Secondly, while listening to a child learning to read can often require the patience of a saint, I can assure you that it’s worth it in the end. The pleasure derived from having a book read independently to you by your child is truly magical. Thus, even when you’re tired and itching to step in and finish the book off for them, do try and allow your child to do the work themselves. Thirdly, wordless books and audio books can be tremendously empowering as well as entertaining. While the former encourages
children to become authors of their own stories, the latter enables them to enjoy their favourite books even when an adult isn’t able to read it themselves. Finally, and possibly most importantly, the act of reading at home should certainly not stop once a child has become a free reader. Encouraging children to build positive reading habits into their daily routine is something that may well support their wellbeing as much as their intellectual growth. However, this doesn’t mean it always needs to be quiet reading. In my opinion, the longer parents can read to their children and, indeed, listen to their children reading to them, the better. If this shared experience can be sustained until the child is aged 10 or even older, not only will some great texts have been encountered together, but I suspect, a genuine, and hopefully lifelong, interest in the written word will have been instilled.
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HOW TO M A K E LE A R NING FUN Playtime has never been more beneficial for children, says David Wingfield, Headmaster of Eaton House The Manor Pre-Prep What is play? The Oxford English Dictionary defines play as ‘engaging in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose’. In what follows, I hope to extend this definition to include the benefits of play for children who are in the earliest stages of their education.
The power of a jigsaw puzzle In order to begin exploring the benefits of play, let’s consider the example of two children completing a jigsaw puzzle. Is this activity merely enjoyable and recreational, or is there more to it? I would argue that by engaging in this act of play, the two children are also benefiting from the quiet development of a wealth of skills, including: • Communication and language, for example: “Do you think this is the right piece?”; “I can’t find that corner piece, can you?” • Collaboration: “It’s your turn next.”; “Could you look for the edges and I’ll look for the corner pieces?” • Problem-solving: “These two pieces look the same, let’s try them out in this space to see which one fits.” • Critical thinking: “That piece doesn’t fit because it does not match the image of the other pieces.” • Imagination: projecting the completed jigsaw puzzle in the mind’s eye and aligning each step along the way with this goal. • Strategic planning: “Let’s spread out the pieces so that we can see them all”; “Let’s find the corner and edges to start with.” • Visual perception: looking for congruence between different jigsaw pieces and the images on them. The example above demonstrates the rich
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EDUCATORS WORKING IN THE FORMATIVE YEARS OF CHILDREN’S EDUCATION ARE KEENLY ALIVE TO THE DIFFERENT BENEFITS ARISING FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLAY benefits contained within the simple task of two children completing a jigsaw puzzle. Namely, the cumulative development of particular social, cognitive, organisational, physical, and emotional skills, including problem-solving and creativity. There’s more to playing than meets the eye.
Channelling the ‘play-drive’ Educators working in the formative years of children’s education are keenly alive to the different benefits arising from different types of play. They seek to harness children’s ‘play-drive’ - the term I give to children’s natural and irrepressible desire to play – and to channel it towards the enjoyment of certain benefits, the nature of which will depend on each child’s unique learning journey. For example, a child whose next step is to develop turn-taking may be provided
with a turn-by-turn construction game to complete with other children. The child who would benefit from strengthening fine motor control might be given the opportunity to remove buried treasure from a sand tray using tweezers. A classroom in which the benefits of play are prioritised in this way is a magical place to be. You’ll find an atmosphere filled with the enthusiasm of children playing and the buzz of learning. The teachers’ craft ensures that learning through play occurs covertly, the sum total of the benefits of play, imperceptible to the children.
The benefits of play for the adults of tomorrow Children commencing their education today may, when they grow up, undertake jobs that are yet to exist in a society that we won’t recognise. As parents and educators,
how may we best prepare children for this unknown future? One answer is by championing the benefits of play. Far from being confined to early years classrooms, the benefits of play – skills with timeless relevance – continue to bear fruit in adulthood. Problem-solving, critical thinking, imagination and strategic planning are as valuable to adults in the workplace – past, present and future – as they are to children sitting down to solve a puzzle together. Returning to a definition of play, we might now consider play as ‘engaging in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose, giving rise to cognitive, emotional, physical and social benefits.’ That’s rather a mouthful. Maria Montessori, the renowned educationalist, puts it rather more pithily: ‘Play is the work of the child’ and, I would add, it pays handsomely in benefits.
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MAKING A CONNECTION COMMUNICATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT, SAYS ROOSHA SUE, E ATON HOUSE'S HE AD OF E ARLY YE ARS
From when your child is born, you communicate with them. You look at them, sing to them, cuddle them, talk to them. All these elements help connect and build your child’s emotional wellbeing and resilience. As your baby grows, your communication changes to reflect the age and stage your child is at. We should never underestimate the value of communicating and connecting. You’re sending such a strong and vital message to your child. You’re saying, ‘I love you, I want to be with you, I want to spend time with you.’ As a result, their self-worth and confidence will build and grow. Modelling communication in the home and nursery is vital. All our teachers make sure we
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stop, make eye contact and listen to our pupils when they’re talking. These are key social skills, learning how to communicate, socialise, listen and respect each other as individuals.
Key areas of communication Communication and Language is one of the three Prime Areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. To help your child communicate, they need to be surrounded by a variety of rich language. In nursery and at home, there should be various books, fiction, non-fiction, poems, rhymes, and podcasts. Exposing your child to this variety of language will aid their communication.
Children also need to listen, pay attention and understand. These are other areas of Communication and Language. Children need to build their attention and focus through short-focus activities, then building on the length of time spent on them. Instructions communicated to them will need to be increased in complexity over time as well. Nursery activities will range from one-toone work to large group work. This helps build focus and attention using a variety of approaches. Children learn to communicate to peers, for example, sharing News and Show and Tell, standing up and using a clear, loud voice. We use drama to build on our storytelling skills, communicating creativity
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EVEN WHEN WE DON’T THINK WE’RE COMMUNICATING, WE MUST REMEMBER THAT OUR GESTURES, TONE OF VOICE, EYE CONTACT AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS WILL COMMUNICATE OUR EMOTIONS and imaginative ideas through the arts. Another key area of communication is finding the words to communicate when you or your child are upset. The Emotions Book by Laura Humphrey is an excellent way to talk about our “big” emotions. Children must have emotional literacy. This is the ability to understand and express your emotions. Naming emotions is important for your child. This is recognised in The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. Even when we don’t think we’re communicating, we must remember that our gestures, tone of voice, eye contact and facial expressions will often communicate our emotions. Children are incredibly aware of this, even if they can’t yet find the words to describe it.
Normalising emotions is important for children It’s so important that we normalise emotions for children. We need to communicate and let them know that we all feel, sad, angry, happy, disappointed. You can give examples of when you were sad and why to help them understand. Feelings will always pass; they don’t last forever. One of my favourite mindfulness exercises is ‘Be the pond’. The delightful video for this on YouTube communicates a clear message that we all have emotions, and they may be strong and sometimes overwhelming, but we can feel them and watch them wash over us; we are the water of the pond, and the fish are our emotions swimming by. Before your child’s born, you talk to them and play music to them; as soon as they’re born, this communication and connection continues to build. To connect is to communicate; to communicate is to connect. So never stop connecting and communicating with your child, no matter how old they are.
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A PAT H WAY TO SUCCESS E ATON HOUSE SCHOOLS OFFER BOYS AND GIRLS AN EXCEPTIONAL ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL FOUNDATION Eaton House Schools comprises five single-sex schools for boys and girls aged four to 13, and two co-educational nurseries for boys and girls aged two to four, based in Belgravia and Clapham in South West London. The school is immensely proud of its heritage and well-known alumni. Eaton House Belgravia is the oldest of the group’s schools, founded in 1897. One of Eaton House’s first pupils was Harold Macmillan, the 1st Earl of Stockton, who went on to become Prime Minister. Academy award-winning actors Sir Laurence Olivier and Eddie Redmayne OBE, together with children’s writer Philip Pullman CBE FRSL, adventurer Bear Grylls OBE, and many more highly accomplished individuals can also be counted amongst the schools’ high-achieving alumni.
Eaton House Belgravia Eaton House Belgravia is housed in a large white five-storey Georgian townhouse. It’s a Westminster and St Paul’s ‘feeder’ school, with some 30 per cent of boys receiving offers, from a non-selective entry, following 7+ and 8+ examinations. Boys can also take their exams at 11+ in Eaton House Belgravia Prep School. The school has a flexible system, allowing for the fact that boys blossom academically at different rates.
Eaton House The Manor Eaton House The Manor is set on a 1.5-acre site opposite leafy Clapham Common. The campus consists of Eaton House The Manor Prep (boys aged eight to 13), Pre-Prep (boys aged four to eight), Girls’ (girls aged four to 11) Schools, alongside the Nursery School (co-ed aged two to four). Boys move from the Pre-Prep to the Prep and take leaving examinations at 13+. Girls take examinations at 11+. Both girls and boys win many prestigious scholarships annually.
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THE SCHOOL GROUP BELIEVES PASSIONATELY IN THE BENEFITS OF SINGLE-SEX EDUCATION. THIS VIEW IS BACKED UP BY EVIDENCE AT EVERY LEVEL – FROM PRE-SCHOOL TO PISA
The benefits of a single-sex education All of the Eaton House Schools are founded on a common culture of academic excellence and personal wellbeing. The schools have non-selective, single-sex entry at four-plus, because its known that certain forms of higher intelligence don’t come into being before the age of five. This caring culture of wellbeing allows children to blossom academically and emotionally. The school group believes passionately in the benefits of single-sex education. This view is backed up by evidence at every level – from pre-school to PISA (the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment) – that boys and girls have different learning styles and arrive at school with very different social skills, fine and gross motor skills and communication skills. By offering a curriculum to fit the individual developmental stages, interests and strengths of boys and girls, the schools have created the very best start to your child’s education.
Admissions For all admissions information, visit eatonhouseschools.com/admissions where you’ll find a number of films from Head of Admissions, Sam Feilding, such as The Admissions Process and Boys’ and Girls’ Destinations. If you’d like to discuss registration and admission to Eaton House Schools, please contact Sam for an informal initial conversation on 020 3917 5050.
Visiting Us Eaton House Schools greatly enjoy welcoming visitors, and offer regular opportunities for parents to visit through Open House events. Dates are added each term and slots can be booked at: eatonhouseschools.com/admissions/visit-us
ADMISSIONS TIMELINE: • Registrations are accepted from birth (all schools) • Arrange a visit to the school (before or after birth) • Formal Nursery Place Offers (15 months before two-plus entry) • Head Teacher Tour for Reception Entry (small group tours 18 months before four-plus entry) Nursery Entry (September following your child’s second birthday) • Formal Reception Place Offers (12 months before four-plus entry) • Reception Welcome Event (summer term before entry) • School entry (September following your child’s fourth birthday) • Late Entry into our Reception class and other year groups may be available – please contact the Admissions Office
OCCASIONAL PLACES The school regularly welcomes children into year groups above Kindergarten Class (Reception/four-plus). These are called Occasional Places, and are subject to availability and assessment. Please contact the Admission Office to discuss availability and the assessment process before registering your child.
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