Our Vision

‘Grow, Explore and Discover’

Cygnets Preschool is committed to providing outstanding quality childcare that supports individual needs, promotes self-esteem, curiosity, cultural diversity, and equal opportunity, while promoting individual growth to its highest potential. Cygnets Preschool believe that learning should be fun to be successful. When children are provided a safe, secure, and stimulating environment and given the opportunity to learn through self-initiated and some directed activities in small/large groups, they learn through experimentation, enquiry and exploration by actively discovering concepts at their own pace. Our themes/topics, coupled with children’s interests, support a child’s intellectual, social, emotional, and physical growth and encourage the continued growth and education of families and staff. Our personalised and tailored curriculum is what we want our children to learn in the time they are with us. Our curriculum is ambitious, coherently planned, sequenced and progressive. It provides all children with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to be confident, inquisitive, curious, independent learners and will influence their wider thinking across all areas of our curriculum. We believe that providing an early education that does all of this gives children the best chance to become well-rounded, happy individuals, ready to succeed in an ever-changing world. We will make a positive difference to every child’s life as we recognise the importance of giving our children the best possible start to their early education by planning and implementing teaching and learning opportunities that supports them in reaching their full potential and fulfilling their dreams.

Grow

Grow: Through the experiences our curriculum offers, our children’s ambitions and aspirations are unlocked. These experiences allow them as individuals to develop their own passions and interests and become invested in their learning leading to a sense of drive and motivation which allows them to grow, reach their potential and achieve their dreams.

Your physical potential is limitless

Knowledge of own body and what shapes a healthy lifestyle

Enjoying being physically active

Using a variety of tools to develop muscle growth

You have a voice

To confidently, communicate needs, interests, thoughts, and ideas

Be an active contributor within our setting

Show an appreciation for the voice of others

Have a strong sense of self and well-being

Be a kind and caring member of the community

Be able to recognise and manage a range of emotions

Being responsible and independent with our own self-care

Many things inform our curriculum to ensure that it is broad, balanced and engaging!

Grow, Explore and Discover drive our creative curriculum and underpin all that we do throughout preschool.

Explore

Explore: Children learn to explore their surroundings and be proud of their local community. They understand the importance of their actions and the part they play in the diverse wider world.

Through a strong self-belief leading to a positive physical and mental well-being our children are equipped to take risks and overcome any challenges they may face. Children will leave Cygnets as compassionate individuals with a developing understanding that everyone should be valued and respected therefore preparing them for life in modern Britain.

Embrace a love of the outdoors

Understanding growth, change and the effects on the environment

Be able to follow and understand rules and boundaries

Being able to initiate and lead our own learning with open ended resources

Being an advocate for your own learning

Taking and managing risks

Take on challenges, new experiences and be proud of accomplishments

Be a reflective learner

An appreciation of your senses

To use our senses to widen opportunities and curiosity about the
world around us

Be open to experience a variety of textures, materials, sounds, tastes, and smells

Understand how to use our senses to support self-regulation

Discover

Discover: Children are taught to be responsible, resilient young people who embrace challenge and feel success. Memorable learning experiences allow our children to retain knowledge, apply skills and develop links in their understanding. In turn, children leave Cygnets with a developing independence.

Develop a love of literature

Enjoy listening to, reading and retelling favourite stories, songs, and rhymes

Embrace and explore real life experiences

Express ourselves through a range of media

Experience your creative potential

Use a variety of resources to create and explore

Engage independently on imaginative play in a range of contexts

Being independent in accessing opportunities within a range of environments

Begin to understand you are part of a wider world

Join in with and embrace other cultures and beliefs

Know what is important to us, our family and what makes us unique

How I can make a difference in the world

A fundamental part of our beliefs is communication, primarily strong links between home and preschool and the communication between staff and parents/carers. This relationship is facilitated through a steady stream of information from our management, staff, and administrator to parents/carers via e-mail, daily/weekly journals, newsletters, closed Facebook group updates, and an open-door policy for any and all questions and concerns.

Our philosophy is built around identifying strengths in every child and developing those preferences at whatever level that is right for the child. At the same time, the child will be encouraged to undertake activities, which will develop skills that they are less confident in but will give them a sense that they are ‘all-rounders’ – able to do anything and able to enjoy everything.

We will:

Provide a safe, secure, and stimulating environment where each child will feel relaxed and happy
Provide high standards of learning and teaching offering a high-quality preschool education with a broad balanced curriculum building on and extending the children’s interests through play, encouraging them to be successful learners
Provide a safe and nurturing environment that encourages individual, social, emotional, cognitive, and physical growth in children from two years to four and a half years
Participation in consistent teamwork between staff and parents/carers
Respect individual needs and differences, responding appropriately to the needs of its children, parents/carers, staff, and the community
Encourage independence, perseverance, and concentration
Ensure a smooth transition from one stage to the next
Ensure each child is equally valued and to value childhood as a stage of life
Develop an awareness, understanding and respect for the rich diversity of the local community, celebrating each other’s differences

We recognise the huge and significant developmental journey a child undertakes through this very important part of their life, and we wish that each and every child in our care, feels loved, safe and valued for who they are and who they aspire to be.

To this aim, every child is known by their key person at a level where there is a special connection – where communication is verbal and non-verbal and where we will strive to constantly anticipate the child’s development and learning needs and continue to recognise and value the impact of positive input at this early stage of their life.

Hayley Durbin
Preschool Manager