3 ½ – 4 ½ years
Children join Queen’s Minis, our Pre-School year group, to establish the foundations for their educational journey. The highly qualified and experienced Queen’s Minis staff work closely with parents and the wider team to share individual developmental insights, ensuring a smooth transition into the next stage of education and growth.
At Queen’s Minis, a nurturing and supportive environment is provided to help children develop the skills needed for academic learning. The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to offer a wide range of activities that promote learning and encourage each child to reach their full potential. Alongside free play, the programme includes Forest School, Dough Gym, Sticky Kids, Write Dance, Kitchen Garden, Music, and foreign language lessons in French, German, and Spanish.
As children progress through their pre-school year, they are guided by staff to further develop key skills through play while also adapting to the routines of school life. The day becomes more structured, with activities focused on enhancing cognitive and motor skills, social development, confidence, independence, and flexible thinking. Queen’s Minis is located within the Pre-Prep, ensuring a seamless transition into Reception.
The Queen’s Minis environment is bright, welcoming, and supported by well-qualified staff who provide attentive care and interaction. The main activity room offers group activities and free play with construction toys, craft materials, and a computer. The Home Corner serves as a dynamic role-play space, transforming into a shop, travel agency, hospital, or other imaginative scenarios. A separate area for water, sand, paint, and clay allows for creative exploration.
A second room features a cosy book corner with books and puzzles, alongside a conservatory area for registration, story time, and circle time. This quieter space encourages listening, early reading, and number work, while the carpeted area provides space for music, movement sessions, and large construction play.
Outside, Queen’s Minis boasts a secluded, enclosed garden that children and parents alike cherish. The spacious safety surface allows for trike and bicycle play, balancing activities, and year-round outdoor fun. The climbing frame and two-storey playhouse encourage imaginative play, while the adjoining grass area, complete with the Gruffalo’s footsteps and ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ bridge, offers opportunities for nature exploration. Children can also make dens, roll down hills, or engage with the sensory circle and kitchen garden, where they grow fruit and vegetables.
Curriculum
The Queen’s Minis curriculum is designed to enrich and extend each child’s learning experience, fostering growth through a blend of educational activities, including foreign languages (French, German, Spanish), Forest School, Music, P.E., ballet, dance, kitchen club, and phonics. These activities align with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), which promotes learning through play and encompasses seven key areas: communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design.
The curriculum is further underpinned by three characteristics of effective teaching and learning: ‘playing and exploring’, ‘active learning’, and ‘creating and thinking critically’. Children at Queen’s Minis engage with these areas through both staff-led and self-directed activities, ensuring a personalised learning experience tailored to each child’s individual needs. Regular updates on each child’s progress and achievements are shared with parents to keep them informed and involved in their child’s educational journey.
