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St Margaret’s Pre-Prep rated as Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas
Freya Lucas
Mar 15, 2023
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St Margaret’s Pre-Prep, the early learning arm of St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School in Ascot, Queensland, has been rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard under the National Quality Framework (NQF).
“We are very proud to receive this rating across all seven quality areas that are important outcomes for children,” said St Margaret’s Head of Primary Angela Drysdale.St Margaret’s Pre-Prep program was recognised for strengths including educational practice that enhances children’s learning and growth, its social and emotional wellbeing program and the respectful relationships between children and educators.
“At St Margaret’s, we recognise the importance of a strong foundation in literacy and numeracy in the early years,” added Early Childhood Teacher Belinda Knowles.
“In Pre-Prep, our literacy and numeracy learning is delivered through a balance of hands-on learning experiences, cultivated from the children’s interests, and intentional teaching. Families support this delivery, and it contributes to each child’s success in their foundation year of schooling.”
One of the key strengths recognised by the authorised officers was the way in which the Pre-Prep team nurtures a safe culture of care and support, something which Ms Knowles said “is of great importance at St Margaret’s and it is testament to this tenant that the Pre-Prep wellbeing program was identified as a key strength”.
She has introduced Kimochis, learning tools that assist children in managing difficult feelings and challenging behaviours to support the emotional and social development of the school’s youngest learners.
“Four- and five-year-olds find it very difficult to be able to express their big feelings and the Kimochi learning tools help them learn how to identify and articulate their feelings which in turn helps them to develop positive social and communication skills.
“We introduced the students to the eight Kimochi characters, each of whom comes with its own name and personality traits, and the mixed bag of feelings including happy, mad, sad, brave, disappointed, embarrassed, scared, etc. While the program is primarily focused on social emotional development, it does have the added benefit of expanding students’ vocabulary which in turn supports their literacy development,” Ms Knowles added.
A dedicated Kimochi room provides the children with a safe, quiet, dimly lit retreat where they can sit, draw, engage with the listening station and interact with the Kimochi characters and feelings.
The program, Ms Knowles continued, was also introduced to families who were seeking tips on supporting their child with their emotions in the context of home.
“We are committed to working in partnership with our families and so we introduced the Kimochis to Pre-Prep parents as a tool they can use at home to support their child, helping to make it more consistent for the children as well.”
St Margaret’s Pre-Prep program was also recognised for the depth of the context and concepts within the curriculum and its personalised approach to teaching and learning as well as the children’s access to the big school’s facilities and specialist teachers, offerings quite unique to St Margaret’s Pre-Prep program.
The Prep transition program was also highlighted as a key strength with all 19 girls of the 2022 cohort moving up to St Margaret’s Prep.
Learn more about St Margaret’s here. For more information on the Exceeding rating, see here. Image credit: Victoria Nikolova
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