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| About Us |
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 It is now widely recognised that a nursery education is of great
value to the child. The Government in recent years implemented
a Pre-school Expansion Programme and more spaces became
available for pre-school aged children.
Ballyclare Nursery School caters for 156 children each day
and is therefore one of the largest Nursery Schools in the
Province.
Although we are so large, we are aware of the development
of each individual child, and we cater accordingly by providing
an attractive variety of play materials. This, coupled with the
expertise and training of both the qualified School Teachers and
qualified Nursery Assistants ensures that we meet the needs of
the children in our care. We are an extension of the stimulation
and care of a good home.
The Nursery School is purpose built and designed
especially for the pre-school aged child. The school is
financed and maintained by the North Eastern Education and
Library Board.
Parents are involved in their child's education by
settling their child into the Nursery School and a partnership
develops between the school and the parents. As a consequence
of this, the child feels happy and secure in his new
surroundings.
The Nursery Teacher gives each child learning situations
that enable him, at levels appropriate to his stage of
development and level of understanding, to communicate, make
rational choices, relate to other children, control his emotions
and develop a set of values for life. We aim that all our
children adopt a positive attitude to learning.
The staff here help your child to form relationships with
other children and adults outside the family circle. They will
encourage and help develop your child's confidence and self
esteem. They will stimulate his imagination and appreciation of
the world around him. They will teach him how to share and take
turns. They will teach him that play is his work here. As
Froebel (1782 - 1852) said "Play is the highest level of
development. It is the spontaneous expression of thought and
feeling. Play is never trivial - it is serious and clearly
significant."
The Nursery School programme is based around developing
basic skills through physical activities, readiness skills for
mathematics, reading, writing and computer work etc. We do not
teach the children to read and write, we leave that to the
primary schools. We do, however, help the children to become
ready for these activities by encouraging listening skills,
looking at and discussing books and pictures, enjoying the
written word and ordering and sequencing events. We teach songs
and rhymes and the children love these and participate fully.
 Learning to communicate is a basic need in life and we not
only encourage children to express themselves but we aim to
extend their vocabulary.
We want you to see that Nursery School is your child's
first step in his journey through school life. We will do our
best to create a safe, stimulating and enjoyable environment in
this your child's first experience of school. |
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