The Head of Pre-Prep at Fulham School Joanna Copland on a whole-child approach to early years education to ensure strong beginnings
What is your teaching background and what attracted you to working with the early years age group?
I have been teaching for over 30 years from ages 2 ½ up to 13 in a range of subjects and for the past 14 years in leadership roles. My original interest and degree in the early years of education and this role offered the opportunity to re-engage fully with this age group.
How does Fulham School support the transition from nursery to pre-prep?
The Nursery is an integral part of the Pre-Prep, with the Nursery classroom being next door to the Reception classrooms. As such, children are seen as part of the school from the very beginning, taking part in assemblies and all activities. For pupils who will transition to another school, support is available, but it is fully expected that from day one in the Nursery the children are part of Fulham School and will move up the year groups seamlessly.
What is the approach to SEND support?
Due to small class sizes children are very well known by all the staff, who are quick to pick up on any concerns with learning. We have a full time SENDCo and a number of support teachers, each with specialisms with a wide range of needs (SEND, EAL, OT, etc). Personalised learning plans are set up to support the children.
You teach the early years ‘essentials’, but with additions such as French – what does early language learning give to young people?
Learning an additional language at an early age has a number of advantages. It has been shown that the earlier a child learns a foreign language, the quicker they can pick it up as their brain are naturally more malleable. Linguistic studies have also shown that learning a foreign language supports a child’s command of their mother tongue, so it is of double benefit. Furthermore, it creates an awareness of other cultures, and also supports cognitive abilities. Finally, it is fun! Our children love their French lessons which are dynamic and offer a range of activities within each session.
You have an enormous number of clubs and extracurricular ‘adventures’ – what do these elements bring to pupils’ learning and to school life?
Children are generally very open-minded, eager to learn and enjoy new experiences within a safe and supportive environment. By offering a wide range of clubs and other activities, we can offer a breadth of opportunities that may help children discover new interests and uncover hidden passions.
Fulham School Pre-Prep pupils have a Wraparound Care Club and now a breakfast club – how do these work for pupils and families?
We are aware that many parents have a very busy life and may find it hard to juggle the needs of home and work. Offering wraparound care means that the children can attend the school site between 7.30am and 5.30pm. This hopefully eases the pressures of the work/life balance. Parents sign up for these sessions on either a regular or ad hoc basis according to their needs and the children are supervised by our regular teaching staff, so they are with familiar faces.
Fulham School fulham.school
Further reading: Teaching tomorrow’s skills
You may also like...
