Head Start Programme

In 2008, Henderson Valley School introduced a Head Start Programme designed to give children the best possible transition from pre-school to school.

All our five-year olds enter a Head Start class when they first begin school. Head Start is a programme specially designed to give children the best possible transition from pre-school to school.Children's readiness for formal learning is developed through a comprehensive literacy and numeracy programme, and a range of developmental play activities such as playdough, sand and puzzles. These activities enable children to develop relationships with others, to be involved in problem solving and turn taking, and improve language acquisition.

The play activities are planned by the teacher to focus on specific skills.As all five-year olds are at different developmental stages, individual needs are catered for by varying the amount of time each child spends in this class. Children will be assessed against social, reading, writing and maths guidelines.

When children have demonstrated they have acquired most of the skills they will transfer to a Year One class where they will stay for the rest of the year. When children move on to this next stage of their schooling, it is a continuation of the programme, not a new beginning.

An integral part of the success of the Head Start is the importance of prior visits. These visits have been carefully planned to give maximum encouragement to children and give our littlies and their parents an opportunity to get to know the school and the teacher.

The partnership between home and school is very important. Throughout the year we will host Parent information sessions on various curriculum areas e.g. Reading, Maths. These sessions will be aimed at teaching parents how to help their child at home.