Playology beach school - an official u.k. first

beach school at Seaham Marina

In September 2020, Playology opened a beach school programme of education; consisting of full and sessional attendance options for children aged from 2 to 5, Monday to Friday during term time

Playology is officially the first OFSTED registered beach school; and we are proud to say that all regulations and requirements are fully met. We opened a register of interest, and already operate a waiting list. Priority of places will be given based on date of registration, and number of attendances required

The commitment to Playology Beach School will be long term; with one full term notice required for cancellation

You will have the choice of a minimum of two (8 hour) days

During this time, we will follow the Playology Philosophy in our approach to learning. Read more about the holistic benefits to creative playful learning and those of learning immersed in nature

Your child’s beach school days will include extras such as Spanish & yoga as well as nature-based beach school activities such as den building, rock pooling, authentic, huge-scale sand & water play, campfire cooking and many more rich, unique experiences

Read our latest OFSTED inspection report here

Playology beach school is perfect for…

Children who are at home with a new sibling or being cared for by relatives

Children who are currently/have previously attended Playology clubs and are already familiar with the space and teachers

Children who attend another part time preschool or other childcare and would benefit from a different learning environment, a child-led approach & enquiry led learning

Parents who are not ready to send their child to full-time nursery and would prefer to gradually introduce them to a group setting and educational experience

Parents who are flexi-schooling or home-schooling their child

Parents who would like nature-based, child-led education for their child

Further clarity

approach

As far as labelling our approach; it is a rich tapestry of ideas and beliefs drawn from worldwide leaders in early education, woven together to form the Playology Philosophy. From a practical perspective, our planning and delivery of teaching happens predominantly ‘in the moment’, and we have an unshakable play-based approach. We take a great deal of inspiration from Denmark and the Froebellian outdoor kindergartens with their nature-based approach to early childhood education and care. We are influenced by and draw inspiration from some of the values of Reggio Emilia preschools in northern Italy; in that we believe in child-centred and experiential learning. We value children as strong, capable, resilient and wise. We refer to children as “little and brave” and we believe that relationships drive learning when educators are warm and responsive to children. We work too with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, which covers seven areas of learning and development from birth to five.

included

All sessions are fully inclusive of Playology outerwear use, all care, nappies, trips and outings, spanish and yoga. with their full day attendance, children will also have mid-session snacks and refreshments, as well as lunch included courtesy of flamingo café

payment

Payable as an equal monthly amount over 11 months (excluding August) for your convenience. Unfortunately we can not refund sick days or holidays

staff:child ratios

In order to provide the highest quality provision, and to ensure safety in this unique learning environment we operate with 1 adult to 4 children of all ages - which is higher than traditional settings, as this is not a traditional setting!

bento box

Your child’s meals will be freshly made at flamingo café and locally sourced, with plant-based options available, and provided by Flamingo Café. Your child will receive snacks for their session, and a nutritious lunch will also be provided. Any specific dietary requirements can be catered for.

places

There are 16 places, and places will be extremely limited as you can appreciate at this exclusive, nature-based preschool

waiting list

Places will be allocated by date of registration, with priority given to parents requesting higher weekly attendance. Siblings of children already attending will also take priority. Please also consider, there may be place availability for certain attendance patterns over others

faqs

 Do children need to be toilet trained before starting?

There is no expectation of children to be toilet trained before attending Playology.

Would it be possible to come and have a visit before we fully commit?

Absolutely. We plan to host ‘walkabout’ open days for parents, including a ‘meet the teacher talk’ & opportunities to attend The Fresh Air Club: Mini Division too.

Will you be able to accept funded childcare hours?

Yes, we are a registered provider and can support you to access this funding. Your funding will be deducted from your fees and invoiced accordingly. At the moment, 15 hours (universal) funding and 30 hours (extended) funding can be applied at Playology. Funded not free: all funded places incur a daily sustainability fee.

What is the plan for days when the weather is particularly bad?

We believe that there is no such thing as bad weather; only inappropriate clothing. That said, your child’s comfort and safety are our absolute priority and we have two beautiful spaces available on Seaham Marina site in which to retreat daily; the learning studio and the workspace. Both spaces are set up meticulously to meet the full requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We carry out dynamic risk assessments ‘in the moment’ and adjust our beach school activities accordingly; having shorter outdoor education sessions if it is deemed appropriate

Please feel free to use the beach school Enquiry form below with any further questions you might have, to register your interest or to plan the next stage of your child’s registration process. All parents registered will be invited along for a ‘walkabout’ including an Information Session at Playology in the near future, prior to registration and the commencement of the programme.

register your interest Here…

Please click this link to fill out this form

and we will be in touch with you to discuss joining the waiting list