Daycare - The Playhouse - Child Centered Daycare in English

Child-centred daycare in English for 1-3 year olds in central Barcelona

OUR TEN CORE VALUES

Child-centred educational philosophy
Highly-qualified staff
Low ratio of children to staff, maximum of 1:7
Bilingualism
Cultural awareness
Mixed-age groupings

Organic food
Safety
Flexible adaptation process
Parental involvement
Breast-feeding support

Child-centred educational philosophy

Background

A good first experience of group activity in the early years provides a base for the whole of the child’s school years. The Playhouse believes in a gentle approach to daycare, in which the child’s first experience of being outside the family and home can be positive, enriching, fun and rewarding for the child and his/her family. We believe acceptance, love, approval and security are vital to the development of one- to three-year-olds. We are looking to develop the ‘whole child’ using a holistic approach to education, focusing on the social, physical and creative growth of the individual child, valuing the rich diversity of culture and experience each child brings to the classroom.

Montessori

Our educational philosophy is based on key aspects of Maria Montessori's theory including:

Scheduling of large blocks of open-ended time in which the children are surrounded by many interesting things and given the time and freedom to use them as they wish.
Constant observation of the children in order to see what they are interested in, how they are feeling and reacting to their environment, to schedule the day and manage behaviour.
Allowing children to take responsibility in order to gain competence, confidence and build self-esteem.

Child-centred environments which are well-organized, calm, cheerful, child-sized and orderly.
Child-friendly, accessible materials and equipment to encourage creativity.

The Importance of Play

In this age range play is the child’s right and is an essential part of the learning process. Play is the child’s work, and at The Playhouse play is taken very seriously. Our educational philosophy is child-centred rather than subject-centred and we firmly uphold the belief that children learn best through play. The children will be given unlimited opportunities for free play with big and small toys, for climbing, jumping, rolling, balancing and swinging, building with blocks and lego, playing in the sand-pit and symbolic play (dressing up, home corner, kitchen corner, dolls etc.), but will also be invited to join in teacher-led activities such as singing, drawing, painting, chalking, cutting and sticking, making collages, modelling with clay and plasticine, doing puzzles etc. They will learn about the natural world through observing the weather, planting and caring for flowers in the patio and caring for the school pets.

The Wider World

At this age the child is becoming aware that s/he is part of a larger fabric of society as a group, a school and the local neighbourhood. Discovering the world is tremendously exciting for the one to threes, and at The Playhouse they will participate in regular excursions to the local park, library, market and shops; they will also enjoy specially organised one-off visits to local artists’ workshops and other places of interest.

Highly Qualified Staff

High quality interaction with skilled, experienced, qualified and knowledgeable adults is crucial to the child’s learning. All our staff are qualified nursery teachers (NVQ level 3 minimum). In addition, they have been selected for their personal qualities of calmness, patience and kindness. We ask our staff to offer us a long-term commitment because high staff turnover is very destabilizing for children of this age, due to the strong bond of trust and affection that grows between child and teacher.

Low ratio of children to staff, maximum of 1:7

Children thrive on individual, personalized attention offered by a teacher who has the time and energy to listen, understand and act on that child’s specific needs. This can only be achieved when the ratio of children to staff is very low. At The Playhouse, the MAXIMUM number of children to each staff member is 7.

Bilingualism

The 18-month to 3-year-old period is when a ‘language explosion’ occurs: the child builds his/her future foundation for language, and it is said that the more languages the child learns at this age, the easier it will be for him/her to learn languages as an older child or adult. Learning two languages at this age helps the child form a much wider range of speech sounds, thus achieving native speaker pronunciation in both languages.

We make the most of this almost unlimited potential for learning to introduce a bilingual education in English (75%) and Catalan (25%). Based on the OPOL theory (one parent-one language), each teacher (three English-speakers and one Catalan-speaker) use their mother tongue in all interactions with the children.

The goal of OPOL is for children to learn both languages simultaneously and become balanced and happy bilinguals.

Cultural awareness

Families who come to The Playhouse come from very diverse backgrounds. We are proud of this multiculturalism and use it as an excuse to PARTY! Both traditional British celebrations (Christmas, Pancake Day, Easter, Halloween, etc.) and the main Catalan traditions (Caga Tió, carnaval, etc.) are celebrated. Through this the children acquire an understanding of their own culture and an appreciation of other cultures.

We are privileged to live in a multicultural, multilingual and cosmopolitan city. This diversity and richness is celebrated at The Playhouse through our language policy and cultural awareness programme.

Mixed Age Groupings

Maria Montessori sees children as competent beings who should be encouraged to make small and large decisions and to teach other children the skills they already possess. We believe children really benefit from mixed-age groupings. The younger children learn a lot from the older ones, and find them absolutely fascinating, while the older children rediscover the pleasure of seeing things through baby eyes, and are given the opportunity to develop their own nurturing and caring skills. In addition, it is a more accurate reflection of what occurs naturally at home with older/younger siblings and in the wider world.

Organic Food

Breakfast (9-10am): In the morning children participate in the fruit hour: each child brings a piece of fruit from home to share with the others in the group, giving them the chance to try a wide variety of fresh, tasty flavours.

Lunch (12pm): We are pleased to be able to offer an organic lunch based on fresh seasonal vegetables, pulses, cereals, olive oil and a variety of protein sources, from tofu to fish, free-range chicken and other organic meat.

Snack (4pm): Organic wholemeal breadsticks, natural yoghurt and juice.

We believe that meal-times should be a stress-free and enjoyable moment of the day for children. Children usually adapt very happily to group lunches, imitating older children and becoming more adventurous in their eating habits. Staff make sure that children eat regularly and enjoy healthy meals in 'a pleasant, sociable environment free from other distractions' and staff eat with the children (as recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK).

Birthdays: children love celebrating their birthdays at The Playhouse. For your child’s birthday, please bring in a cake and candles so we can all sing ‘Happy Birthday’ after lunch (or at snack time for the afternoon session). We have a ‘no sweets’ policy, so if you want to bring little presents for the other children please bring raisins, a small toy, balloons or something similar.

To read about our catering, click here.

To view a sample menu, click here.

Safety

Safety is, of course, a top priority at The Playhouse, and Ajuntament safety regulations are followed to the letter.

All staff are trained in first aid, including CPR.

Flexible adaptation process

For your child starting nursery is a very intense experience. In his/her first step outside the home environment the child is exposed to thousands of new, exciting, frightening and unfamiliar experiences, and you need to be there in the beginning to make it easier. Take as long as you and your child need: the more time you invest now, the more happy and settled your child will be at The Playhouse.

How to have a succesful adaptation process:

Talk to your child about what it means to go to nursery, what s/he will do there and what will happen.
Take the adaptation process slowly: the first time you leave your child be away for just 10 minutes, then 20, then 30, then an hour, etc.
Always say goodbye to your child and explain you will be back soon (use a concrete reference point, for example ‘when you’ve had your lunch, Mummy will come and get you’).
Stay calm and firm, and try not to pass on any worries and insecurities you may have about leaving the child.
Don’t worry! Your child is in the hands of trained, caring professionals. You can be reassured that if the teachers judge the child is too upset to stay, they will phone you immediately to come and pick him/her up.
Never compare your child with others. It is normal to take one day to adapt to group life, or to take six months. Every child is different.

Parental involvement

Parental involvement is a vital part of the educational process. As a parent, you are actively encouraged to participate in the life of The Playhouse. After the adaptation period, parents are welcome to stay with their child until 10am (morning session) or 2.30pm for the afternoon session. Outside these times parents do not normally stay, in order to facilitate the smooth running of the group.

Nursing mums are always welcome in the breast-feeding space, of course.

Communication between parents and teachers is actively encouraged in the following ways:

Every day the teacher will provide a written record for each child to let the parents know if child has eaten, slept and been to the toilet.
Three-monthly parents evenings.
Individual meetings with your child's teacher as often as you feel necessary.

Please, come with us on outings, attend the termly parents’ evenings, ask for meeetings with the teacher to discuss you child’s experience in The Playhouse. Become an active parent! Your child will thank you for it and you will find it very rewarding.

Breast-feeding support

Would you like to continue breast-feeding even though your child is starting nursery, or need to feed baby sister or brother while you are here? No problem! We have a quiet area for feeding, and can offer additional support, such as advice on managing breastfeeding and work, and our staff is trained in the storage and heating of bottled breast-milk. We can also provide access to professional breastfeeding guidance in Catalan, Spanish and English.