Who We Are
The Best Pre-school
Welcome to Jacob’s Ladder Early Childhood Development (ECD) Pre-primary School and Little Seeds Aftercare.
Children at this age are usually very impressionable and often this is their very first school experience. We, as dedicated and passionate educators, see this as an enormous responsibility. We aim to ensure that this first experience is a positive and happy one. Only when the children are happy, confident and secure, can learning take place. We offer a relevant and inclusive education to the children attending our preschool. We endeavor to provide a safe, secure, and stimulating environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all contributions are valued.
Our goal is to allow each child to develop and learn at their own pace while encouraging and extending them to reach their own potential both in and out of the classroom. We strive to cover all developmental and learning areas, with particular focus on social skills, gross motor and fine motor development, cognitive Skills and pre-literacy Development, while working towards school readiness. We adopt a learning through play approach- including free play, guided play and hands on experience, group play and fantasy play.
We believe that education does not happen at school in an isolated environment, but that it is indeed a cooperative endeavour between home and school. We therefor encourage parent and family participation in all aspects of the school. We hold many social family events to encourage the development of a supportive culture amongst the parents. We share our programmes and learning areas with the parents so that all skills development can be supported at home.
Children learn by playing, by making their own decisions, solving their own problems, and making their own judgments. Creativity is the cornerstone of preschool education. It is to this end that we offer a stimulating and creative program for 3-6-year-old children. We have qualified and experienced ECD staff who evaluate children’s progress on an ongoing basis. Parents receive feedback and reports twice a year.
As educators and care providers with the privilege of laying down the foundations of learning in the most formative years of a child’s life, we are committed to serving the school community with integrity and dedication. In our rapidly transforming world, we undertake to remain ever aware of modern-day pressures placed on both parents and children and the ongoing need for a pro-active approach in education, enabling our school to continue offering excellent preschool education and care well into the future.
We focus on social and emotional skills and well-being, actively teaching coping skills and cooperative skills and encouraging children to practice these in the classroom and on the playground.
Jacob’s Ladder is administered by a Parent Management Committee selected from the parents of the learners. The committee also includes the principal, the aftercare supervisor, and representatives from the Bergvliet Methodist Church. Administrative duties include the handling of finances, maintenance, fundraising and employment of privately paid staff.
We have a resident Occupational Therapist. Each child receives small group skills development sessions with the Occupational Therapist twice a week. One session of fine motor skill development and one session of gross motor skills development per week. The OT also meets with the teachers regularly in order to support the children in the classroom and advise the teachers of any extra support or focus that should be carried through to the classrooms. This is included as a part of our school programme- no extra fees.
