City Kids Preschool

City Kids was established in 1984. Our educational philosophy is based on the UK Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) and incorporates 7 key areas of learning.

Through play, children feel confident to behave in many different ways, experiment with their physical, emotional and cognitive selves and develop their imagination and creativity. This curriculum guides adults to understand and support each child's development pathway. With progression to the older preschool class, the curriculum becomes more structured, preparing children for entry into primary school. The children’s play becomes more rule-oriented and develops autonomy and cooperation.

Throughout their journey at City Kids, our children are encouraged to explore at their own pace, to make choices and discoveries and to develop a lifelong love for learning. We value the precious time of childhood and believe that children who have the opportunity to develop strong self-concepts and social and emotional skills are most successful both in school and later in life. Teachers, children, and parents all play important roles in the educational process.

Our children leave us as confident achievers, well prepared to tackle the next steps in their education.

Our wonderful staff are nurturing, caring, experienced and community focused. They are well trained to prepare the sessions and help the children have their first experiences in a very positive way.

In the preschool we have qualified, registered and early years teachers in every classroom. City Kids is committed to recruiting and retaining experienced teachers. Supporting our teachers in the classrooms are educational assistants. Our teachers and assistants are supported with in-house training and professional development. We have a maximum adult to child ratio of 1:8 in each classroom. The staff comes from different nationalities which makes it an interesting place to work!

As a small non-profit school we rely highly on the involvement of parents to help make us a success. This is the foundation upon which City Kids began many decades ago, and a tradition that continues today. While City Kids is run by a small team of dedicated staff, our parents still play a vital role in the school. From attending sessions, helping in the classroom as duty parents, organising or supporting fundraisers and by joining the parent board, our parents all contribute to the success of City Kids. City Kids has a strong sense of community, through the active involvement of parents in the school.

Parent Helpers are a fundamental part of City Kids and we offer 5 morning and 5 afternoon sessions per week each school term. During a session you will assist in all 3 pre-school classes, as well as in the office preparing craft materials or other assistance the teachers may need. There is also a small amount of time in the Library helping to keep it organised. Just one session per week is a huge help for us! It is however a commitment and once you sign up we do rely on you to show up each week as teachers plan their lessons accordingly. To find out more about becoming a parent helper please email our Preschool Principal.

Our wonderful little library needs lots of care and a few helpers each year to ensure it's upkeep, from covering new books, updating the catalogue or helping to keep it tidy. If you can spare a little time please email the Office Manager. The beautiful building we call home is very old and as part of our lease we are responsible for it's upkeep to a very high standard. Occassionaly we form a working bee of parents to do small jobs around the school to help keep our maintenance costs low.