Pre-primary education refers to the stage of education before primary school for children.
"Pre-primary is an important stage which lays the foundation for life-long learning and whole person development, and serves as the starting point of formal education. It articulates with primary, secondary and tertiary education to form an entire spectrum of education." (The Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum, endorsed by the Curriculum Development Council of Hong Kong).
You need a school that stimulates the mind of your child in a holistic and happy environment, you need a facility that can equip them with the basic skills to develop their bright future with focus directed at preparing children for ‘big school’.
But not all pre-primary schools are the same.
If you are struggling to wrap your head around the different kinds of child care facilities let us guide you through the four basic kinds of learning centres available to our children.
A creche, also known as a day care centre, usually accommodates toddlers from 18 months up to 2 years.
Creches in Cape Town focus on childcare rather than on academic development and the business operates as a full time child minding service.
Staff may have certificates in childcare but will not necessarily have qualifications in early childhood development.
Your child’s basic needs will be taken care of, there will be toys, entertainment, meals and naps with some providing potty training at an early age.
These facilities are usually more affordable and are able to care for children for around 12 hours.
Playschools usually focus on children age 2 and 3 however many also cater for baby development groups.
The emphasis is on play, socialisation and enjoyment. In the suburbs one often comes across small at-home playschools with one owner and teacher and perhaps a helper looking after a small group of children.
These smaller nursery schools may offer a mornings-only option, sometimes operating for less than a full week while bigger playschools may have longer hours and offer aftercare.
Nursery schools or playschools generally aren’t attached to a grade R class, and they do not methodically prepare your little one for ‘big school’.
A preprimary or preschool will offer half day programmes and extra mural activities at school for child developmental stages and may include Grade R.
A pre-primary or pre-school normally won't cater for baby development stages.
Pre-schools usually take on children in the year they turn 4, this may sometimes include children from ages 3 to 5.
The programme is formalised compared to a playschool.
In general, the teachers will have qualifications in early child hood development and the grade R class will be registered and follow the syllabus of government or private schools.
Fees tend to be more expensive and you pay for aftercare and holiday care. Meals usually aren’t provided and you’ll need to pack a snack for break time.
There is plenty of free play time and also plenty of supervised activity time. Older children are not usually given a sleep time, and the day usually doesn’t start until 8 or 9am.
Some nursery or preschools require that children are potty trained before they are admitted to the school, others allow children to potty-train when they’re ready to take that step.
An Edu-care facility is run on a similar basis to a playschool, but generally has a pre-primary class attached.
Kids are exposed to a plethora of stimulating activities geared towards helping them achieve developmental milestones while following a syllabus recognised by the Department of Education.
The Educare curriculum usually follows themes where the focus is on education and the teacher will have a qualification in early childhood development.
Some might offer aftercare and holiday facilities and others include baby groups as well as the option to continue to Grade R.
Many parents are comfortable with this child care option because their young one will not have to move again for a few years.
Kay-Dee Educare Centre educates and assists children in all aspects intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically. We cover all growth and developmental areas and we keep parents informed of all strengths and weaknesses in their children’s daily work and of any incidences happening during the day incurred by their children.
Kaydee Educare provides reasonably priced pre-school for ages 3 to R as well as crèche services for baby groups. They provide structured tuition through workbooks by qualified preprimary school teachers and in accordance with a recognised curriculum.
Kay-Dee ensures that all children participate in our gross and fine motor skills activities as well as our developmental play activities. Extra murals such as sports, ballet, music and dance are made available.
Progress reports are given for all our activities and computer lessons and some extra murals such as baking, karate and balls skills are included in the fees.
Kay-Dee accommodates special needs education whereby the teachers include physiotherapy, exercises and speech. Computer lessons are an attribute to their learning skills especially if they are visual learners / ADD or ADHD or Autistic. This also applies to the non special needs child.
Kay-Dee treats each child as a unique individual and assists each child in a one on one setting to overcome trouble areas. Homework is sent home pertaining to each individual child’s weaknesses and team work is expected from parents in assisting their children and the teachers in these areas.
Staff members are all trained in First Aid and attend seminars and training sessions to improve their knowledge and teaching skills.
In addition, Kay-Dee is located in Mowbray adjacent to many top Primary schools in Cape Town.
On top of this you want to make sure of the following:
And most of all, trust your instincts.
For more information about Kaydee Educare Centre, please contact us.
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