FRS Kindergarten
In the Kindergarten’s rich history, 2021 will most certainly be known as ‘The Rubens House Era’! It will also be remembered for being the year we proved to ourselves that despite the enormous challenges facing us on all fronts in remaining open during a pandemic, we could not only adapt, but indeed flourish, creating a learning environment which truly reflects our child-centred ethos, values and aspirations.
Seeing the children skipping into Rubens House at the start of the Spring Term, following the move, was truly heart-warming and a genuine affirmation that we had created a learning environment which they wanted to call their own. With all other aspects of Synagogue life back on zoom at that time, we had the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of the generous space which Rubens Houses offered us and, for the first time, were able to create ‘continuous provision’ activity areas in our learning environment, resourced sympathetically with real artefacts and natural materials.
Our ‘secret garden’ at Rubens House, became the perfect environment in which to nurture the children’s love of nature as we experienced the seasons changing before our eyes. We were also able to incorporate risk management into the children’s physical play, developing their strength, stamina and self-belief. After all, who needs a climbing frame when you’ve got a climbing tree?
(Climbing tree photo).
We ignited the children’s love of photography buy investing in two SLR cameras, valuing each child’s unique perspective on the world with this creative outlet. When the Swans Class visited the busy building site at Fallow Court Avenue in the Spring they brought their class camera with them to document what they saw. One of their photos was published in Nursery World magazine and this led to a fantastic article being published later in their December 2021 issue, titled ‘A Building Site’, focussing on the teaching and learning inspired by the visit.
As well as making
the most of the ‘new’ opportunities, we were also keen to continue to offer some of our ‘old favourites’ – those experiences which bring the children’s learning to life. And so Rubens House welcomed ducklings in the Spring Term and a menagerie of small farm animals in the Summer Term. And with both the fire brigade and police force taking the time to visit us, our curriculum continued to provide ‘awe and wonder’ in abundance.
The start of the new academic year in September has certainly come with its challenges as the pandemic has continued to evolve, but we are all spurred on with the excitement of the now imminent move to our purpose-built space and are itching to start this exciting next chapter. We are determined to continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of our community. Our new ‘Extended Afternoon’ hours until 4.45pm on Mondays to Thursdays are an example of this commitment. Watch this space!
My thanks, as ever, goes to my amazing and dedicated team of teachers, our endlessly supportive and caring parents and Class Reps and who have raised incredible amounts of money across the year despite the challenges, and our fantastic Management Committee chaired by Ben Noah.
Admission to our fantastic Kindergarten is now open for the academic year 2022-23 and year. For further information, please click here. You can contact the team on 020 8445-6807 or email kindergarten@frs.org.uk.
Emma Wohl
