Our Building and Groups
Educare Small School is equipped for up to 50 children. The building consists of two main rooms, the Hall for Kindergarten, Butterflies and Dolphins (Y1,2,3,4)and the Classroom for Ladybirds and Starfish(Y4,5,6). These main teaching rooms are connected by our library, office and cloakrooms.
Children can join the Kindergarten from age three starting in the Hall. The hours are flexible so that children can integrate into the school at their own pace. Children sometimes begin with two or three sessions (either mornings or full days) and build up gradually until they are ready to be with us full time. Others attend full time from early on, depending on their readiness and family circumstances.
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At around the age of five, Kindergarten children become Butterflies, beginning the transition through to Dolphins. They can move freely between the groups. At around the age of 7, Dolphins begin to transition through to the Classroom where the Starfish learn.
Decisions about when to move a child from one group to another are based on their individual readiness, both emotionally and educationally.
Starfish are subdivided into smaller groups according to need.
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A typical day at Educare
Every day at Educare is different, but we always start the day with a Movement Circle as a whole school and then move to our groups for focus time. A morning break of fifteen minutes is followed by more activities and fun! After an hour for lunch and play we do Quiet Time before we start the afternoon which has a 15 minute break. Forest School and PE take place off site with specialist teachers. The school is open at 9am and finishes at 3.30pm.