At St. John’s College Early Years Department we believe that choosing your child's first experience of nursery and school is a very big decision in their young life.  Our ethos is, in the first place, to provide a very caring and stimulating environment in which children feel happy and secure with lots of new, enriching experiences.

The nursery offers hands-on activities where children learn through taking part in purposeful, structured and spontaneous play.  Young children develop at different rates and in different ways. We know that children learn best from first-hand experiences and aim to provide activities appropiate to each child's stage of development.  We introduce children to an early years curriculum which encompasses the eight key areas of learning.

The nursery at St. Johns College, Cardiff, is situated within The Mews.  It has two areas:

1) Creative Activities Area, used for art, waterplay, sandplay and a home-corner
2) The Quiet Room, used for storytelling, computer skills, circletime and group activities.

Children attend nursery from the age of 3 years and the day begins at 8.30am and finishes at 3.15pm.  After a short play break we then offer an afterschool club until 5.30pm.  Children who attend the nursery are automatically allocated a reception place for the September in which they are 4 years old, subject to parental support for the school's ethos.

Early Years & Key Stage 1

Introductory Statement

Learning to read is hard work for children.  Becoming a reader involves the development
of important skills.

•    using language in conversation
•    listening and responding to stories read aloud
•    recognizing and naming the letters of the alphabet
•    listening to the sounds of spoken language
•    connecting sounds to letters and decoding
•    reading often so that recognizing words becomes easy and automatic
•    learning and using new words
•    understanding what is read

At St. John’s College, Cardiff we aim to develop these skills so that every child becomes a fluent, confident reader who reads with enjoyment and understanding.

Organisation of Reading

Every child is continually assessed so that the books they are given are matched to their needs.  Records and notes are kept to record progress and areas of difficulty.  Comments are made by parents and teachers in reading diaries.

Nursery  - Children take a ‘Bedtime Reading’ book home on a Friday to encourage parents to read to their children.  Children who are already reading read aloud to a teacher at least twice a week and take a book home on Wednesdays and at the weekend.

R5 -  Children read aloud to a teacher at least twice a week and take a book home on Wednesdays and at the weekend.

R6 and R7 - Children read aloud to a teacher at least twice a week and take a book home every day.

Library – All classes have a time to visit the department library where there is a wide range of good quality fiction and non–fiction books. Children are encouraged to change their books each week.

How to Help with Reading Homework

Please 'click' on the link below to read suggestions on how to assist your child's reading at home:
www.stjohnscollegecardiff.macwebsitebuilder.com/f/Reading_Homework.pdf