Early Years Booklet

Dolphin School

incorporating Noah's Ark Nurseries

The Early Years experience from ages 2 - 5

dolphinschool.london

Our Locations Noah's Ark Nursery, West Side Nursery 2-4 Years Wandsworth Common Station

Outdoor Learning

Melody Road, SW18 Wandsworth Common West side

Wandsworth Common

Outdoor Learning

Bolingbrook Grove da o R tsruh eka W

School Garden

Northcote Road

Dolphin Nursery & Reception Playground

Noah's Ark Nursery, Dolphin School

Nursery 2-4 Years & Reception to Year 6

Clapham Junction Station

Head to Head

Why choose Dolphin School or Noah's Ark Nursery?

Located on the Northcote Road, Dolphin School is a small, independent co-educational Christian school, which thrives on our motto: Love, Wisdom and Truth.

At the heart of our ethos, these values embody our approach to develop meaningful, authentic and powerful relationships with the children and each other in the school. All our children know each other and their teachers extremely well, enveloepd in a family environment which supports their educational and personal development, whether joining us in our nurseries or leaving at the end of Year 6. We make it our first priority to get to know your child and encourage them to feel that Dolphin School & Noah’s Ark is their ‘second home’.

So that each child feels safe and cared for and that they belong, we nurture secure attachments with loving, skilled teachers in order to foster independent, positive and creative learners.

By having small group sizes this allows all children to be fully known and encouraged, supported and challenged at their own level. Their individual strengths are nurtured and developed.

Our learning environment balances aspiration with warmth, kindness and praise.

Children are at the heart of the curriculum which provokes a high level of engagement for critical thinking and a creative approach to finding depth in our learning. We give children strong foundations and positive attitudes to learning by helping them develop the necessary skills and knowledge they need for a life-long love of learning. They have a very local and global understanding of their worlds, navigating pitfalls and pressures with resilience and confidence.

Building Character and being yourself

Between the age of 2 to 5, a child’s personal development takes on an enormous change where personalities flourish, character strengths start to form and children begin the process of the discovering who they are, what they are interested in and which values they hold dear. Small classes and attentive staff give our Dolphin School & Noah’s Ark pupils security and time to explore their interests - make mistakes, and start the long journey of developing their personalities and emotional intelligence.

Visual aids, song, poetry and literature, verbalising or painting our feelings are key to children understanding their thought processes and as we know well, they develop at very different speeds which allows them to grow at their own pace, securely under the canopy of Dolphin School & Noah’s Ark's care. Individual nourishment of each child's character is essential to us as we celebrate and promote the uniqueness of every child.

The unique ethos of Dolphin School and Noah’s Ark provides a greater framework for character development than meets the eye, where children see positive and excellent behaviour modelled at every turn - being kind, supportive to one another and communicating with grace and confidence. Positive interaction with peers and adults is key to the school and nursery. Dolphin School & Noah’s Ark children are immersed in a world of wonder for each other and respect for their community.

Keeping Active For healthy minds

Being physically active gives our Dolphin School & Noah’s Ark pupils the release they need to burn off energy! With sports staff visiting the nurseries from Dolphin School, the children all enjoy specialist physical activities each week, developing their hand to eye coordination, core strength and skills such as throwing and catching.

In reception, our Dolphin children hone their physical skills during our exciting and varied PE lessons, taught by our subject specialists on Wandsworth Common or in our junior sports hall.

However, physical activity isn’t just about preparing for sports. Trips to Wandsworth Common allow our nursery and reception children to explore the great outdoors collecting leaves, visiting the ducks, finding bugs and playing in the playground all support their knowledge of their local and wider worlds, whilst also developing communication, negotiation and friendship skills. Even the short walk to the common is a learning experience.

We know that exercise and the great outdoors are brilliant ways to keep our focus, improve mental health and keep physically healthy. We pay for a dedicated space on Wandsworth Common which allows us to make full use of our outside learning curriculum - in all weathers! Our playground has no walls or concrete, but it does have trees, mud, sticks and bugs!

Creative Play Developing early vision

In our Nursery and Early Years curriculum, children discover their world through creativity. Imaginative play creates a comforting and rich environment for a child to explore their nursery and reception years through a world of exploration, wonder and excitement. Activities are carefully designed to provide stimulation of imaginative play which develops language and literacy, communication, sharing, and physical development.

Children learn to sing, to dance, to act, and to paint. This helps to grow their confidence and speaking skills - whether in front of the class or in small groups, their creative journey begins from the very beginning.

Art materials are plentiful and well placed to develop creative flare, nurturing artistic imagination as part of the free flow environment in our settings and children explore art at their own pace. Group art work is also essential at our nurseries to begin the process of developing listening skills, learning from others and understanding simple elements such as tone, shape and colour.

Language & Communication For meaningful relationships The ability to express oneself in a way that others understand is a fundamental life skill that young children love ‘growing into’. We take the time to listen to each child and allow them the space to make their thoughts, ideas and feelings known. We know that young children’s conversations often jump from topic to topic and understand that sometimes they just need a bit more time to think! Pretend play is a great way to develop language skills and that can be in the home corner while preparing a meal, during small world play while making up a story or in the role play area while finding the right tool to repair a car.

Making mistakes in speech might mean that some words get pronounced incorrectly, but we know it helps to reply using the right words and sounds. Children learn from positive models without losing confidence to speak. Children become experts at reading the pictures and can tell quite detailed stories and make informed predictions when they have become familiar with a story.

Maths & Numeracy Developing a love of learning Stacking blocks, finger rhymes and counting cars that go into a garage are some of the many ways that Early Years maths takes place at Dolphin & Noah’s Ark. Our creative approach to developing early maths skills allows our children to subtly build and refine their maths knowledge during any particular task.

Comparing sizes, arranging things in patterns and asking about how many pieces left are also everyday maths opportunities. It is amazing how many maths conversations take place at tidy up time.

During our parent advice sessions, we encourage families to talk about maths around the house, perhaps counting the eggs when baking, recoginising numbers at the bus stop, or counting houses in the car on the way to school. Whatever the activity, there's always an option to talk about counting!

5 EASY STEPS

THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS

om 2 years at fr s ce la p er ff o We rseries, and at Noah's Ark Nu ol. t Dolphin Scho reception age a

Book a visit by completing our online enquiry form or contact our Admissions Registrar, Mrs Benson.

For entry beyond Reception, children are invited to the school for a Trial Day. (We are non-selective for children joining us in Reception.)

After your initial visit, complete an application form and return it with the registration fee and a copy of the booking conditions.

The school will be in contact with regard to an offer of a place.

Home and nursery visits may take place before the start of term. We also organise a range of transition meetings for both children and parents. admissions@dolphinschool.org.uk www.dolphinschool.org.uk 020 7924 3472

Vivienne Benson, our Admissions Registrar

What do the parents say?

Our care.

Wonderful school that genuinely cares about bringing out the best in each and every individual pupil. The teachers and staff are incredibly kind and nurturing and the smaller class size means each child gets the support they need.

Our experience.

An exceptional school in the heart of Northcote road. Staff who genuinely care about creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment. Initially, I was concerned about the lack of outdoor space, but the children are taken to Wandsworth common twice a day to run around, which is far better than a typical urban school playground.

Our community.

Our approach.

I'm a parent of children at Dolphin School and can't rate it highly enough. The school consistently turns out happy, considerate, thoughtful and engaged children. The entire school staff are unfailingly lovely - as evidenced by the huge smiles on the children's faces as they go into school each day! If only Dolphin did a secondary school as well...

My children have absolutely thrived here; excellent teaching and amazing pastoral care from a caring and very experienced team of teachers. I cannot recommend Dolphin School highly enough.

Q&A

What size are the classes?

In reception we aim for about 16 children.

The nurseries have much smaller classes of about 6-8 children.

at Dolphin School & Noah's Ark

How many hours a week can my child attend your nursery?

We have the option of five half days a week, five full days or any combination in between. We would welcome a conversation with you to check what is right for your child.

What time does school start and finish?

Noah's Ark, Dolphin Nursery: 09.00 - 12.30 or 09.00 - 15.00 Noah's Ark, West Side Nursery: 09.00 - 12.30 Dolphin School Reception: 08.30 - 15.30

How do the Early Years team communicate with parents?

We love to talk! Our team of staff will always welcome your child at the front door at both arrival and collection times. In Reception, senior leaders greet the children and their parents every day at the school door.

Your family will also be assigned a key worker for your child's 1:1 support at Nursery.

You are always welcome to ask for an appointment to speak to our staff and have email addresses for the nurseries. In Reception, you can make an appointment with the teacher through the school office.

We also have a host of teacher parent evenings, informal and formal sessions, reports and weekly newsletters to keep you fully involved in your child's learning.

You will also have access to the Tapestry app for important updates on your child's progress with photos and videos, which you can also add to!

When can my child join Dolphin School and Noah's Ark?

Providing we have spaces, we offer spaces in our nurseries from 2-4 yrs old and in Reception from the age of 5 years old.

Where do they have their playtimes and how often do they go outside?

All children have regular or daily sessions on Wandsworth Common, a short walk from the school. Nursery and Reception classes have extended outdoor learning activities, come rain or shine in our playground or on the common itself.

106 Northcote Road London, SW11 6QW 02079243472 ext 2 admissions@dolphinschool.org.uk DOLPHINSCHOOL. ORG. UK