Dragonflies Digest

Dragonflies Blog

Welcome to the Ditcham Dragonflies Blog!

A bit about us:

Welcome to the Ditcham Dragonflies Blog! Let us begin by introducing ourselves! We are Kylie Harding and Claire Falla, and together we make up the pre-school team!

Kylie is the pre school manager and she also has two small children of her own. Kylie is creative, curious, patient and kind. Having been a secondary science teacher in a previous career, Kylie really enjoys bringing awe and wonder into the pre-school. Kylie is a huge advocate for making learning accessible to everyone and encouraging children to develop a love for learning that they will take through their education journey.

Claire is the pre school deputy. Claire is kind, nurturing and has the most wonderful ideas for the pre-school classroom. Claire’s priorities are ensuring the children are happy and safe. Claire brings positivity and fun to Dragonflies and the children all love her. Claire is most often reading, baking, playing ‘monsters’, laughing, reassuring and connecting with the children.

We absolutely adore working with young children. We love to spark their curiosity, develop their understanding of the world around them and nurture our Dragonflies interests and ideas so that they have a caring, accepting and supportive environment in which to flourish.

A bit about Dragonflies Pre-School:

In our Early Years stage, the children all work towards the same six aspirations with clear, age-appropriate milestones set throughout the year to ensure they are making good progress.  The aspirations are:

  • Aspiration 1: Deepen and widen vocabulary when interacting with others and when writing and performing simple narratives
  • Aspiration 2: Create and explain patterns of colour, shape and number
  • Aspiration 3: Invest in and appreciate our local environment
  • Aspiration 4: Develop into independent individuals in the classroom and when performing simple tasks
  • Aspiration 5: Demonstrate resilience when tackling challenges and show empathy when resolving conflict in a positive way
  • Aspiration 6: Understand and celebrate differences

Our small class sizes throughout Early Years (and beyond) mean we are then able to work with any children who are at risk of falling behind, or who need further extension work to deepen their understanding of concepts.

The EYFS and KS1 team work very closely together at Ditcham Park School, and while in Pre-School, the children are very familiar with the teachers they will encounter as they move into Reception and further up the school. We arrange many events where the Pre-School children are able to perform for parents with the Reception and KS1 children (such as the Nativity, Pancake Races, Country Dancing) and this builds their confidence when performing for an audience.  They are also taught PE, Music and Drama by specialist teachers. We have a clear vision for all our children and we are passionate about making sure the transition from Pre-School to Reception is seamless.

If you’d like to get in touch with us you can contact Kylie Harding at kylie.harding@ditchampark.com

If you’d like to book a tour of the school, please click here

Kylie Harding and Claire Falla

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