Everyday activities, indoors and out, at each child's own pace
In the Early Years, children learn through play and creativity. Everyday activities build language, coordination and independence at each child's own pace. Our curriculum follows the Early Years Foundation Stage across its seven areas.
We watch children closely during their play to understand what they can do and what comes next, and we share those observations with parents through conversations, reports and our online learning platform. When children move into Reception, they step up to a more structured programme for reading and writing, ready for it because the early foundations are secure.
What the Early Years Foundation Stage covers
Language, listening and the confidence to be understood.
Coordination, strength and control, indoors and outdoors.
Friendships, feelings and the beginnings of independence.
Stories, mark-making and early reading and writing.
Number, pattern and shape, found in play.
People, places, living things and the seasons.
Music, movement, art and imaginative play.
Shaped by a Hygge ethos
Our Early Years is a calm, homely and natural environment where children feel at ease. Rooms are warm and unhurried, with soft, natural materials and space to settle.
Every child has a key person, one familiar adult who knows them well and helps them form a secure attachment from their very first days. That steady relationship is what lets a young child feel confident enough to explore, ask questions and try something new.
A rich, varied week from the earliest years
Children learn with specialist teachers alongside their key person and class team, discovering what they enjoy long before it becomes formal study.
PE, taught by specialist staff
Swimming lessons with specialist teachers
French and Music with specialist teachers, from the earliest years
Judo, IT and Earth Centre topics added as children move into Pre Prep
Real time outside, whatever the weather
Our Outdoor Classroom is shaped by the philosophy of our Earth Centre, using the school's own gardens, fields and Ecology Zone to teach children about the natural world through their own hands and senses.
Digging, growing, watching the seasons change and caring for living things builds curiosity, patience and a sense of responsibility that stays with them.
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Comfortable in the water as part of ordinary school life
Life close to the North Devon coast shapes how our youngest children learn. Swimming is taught by specialist staff from the Early Years, so children grow comfortable and confident in the water long before they are old enough to surf.
That early confidence is the first step towards surfing. Kingsley was the first school in Europe to fully integrate surfing into education, and older pupils take it further through our Surf Academy.
Support is part of how we teach every child
Kingsley Prep is proudly non-selective and truly inclusive. High-quality SEND provision is embedded in everyday classroom practice, rather than being something separate. For children with more complex or neurodiverse profiles, including autism, our purpose-built Connect Centre offers specialist expertise in a nurturing setting.
Kingsley is Devon and Cornwall's only CReSTeD-accredited school, recognised for the quality of its specialist provision. Children with additional needs and their classmates learn side by side, with and from one another, from their very first year.
We aim to give every child a thirst for life-long learning, through a stimulating and innovative curriculum inspired by our amazing grounds.
A small, warm setting where every face is known
Small classes and wraparound care give children time and attention, and build the sense of belonging that sits underneath everything they go on to achieve.
The best way to feel it is to see it. Come and visit our Nursery and Pre Prep, meet the team, and look ahead to the wider Prep School journey your child will grow into.
Nursery
A calm, homely start from age two, where play, curiosity and a trusted key person help each child settle and grow.
Pre Prep
Growing independence in reading, writing and number, with specialist teaching in French, Music, Judo and IT.
Prep School
The next chapter, where small, supportive classes carry children on through the end of Year 6.
Frequently asked questions
What age can my child start?
Children are welcomed into our Nursery from age two. They move up into Reception, then Pre Prep in Years 1 and 2, and on to the Prep School from Year 3.
What is the EYFS and how do you follow it?
The Early Years Foundation Stage is the national framework for children from birth to five. We follow it in full across its seven areas of learning, mostly through play, and share what we observe with parents as your child moves through it.
Do you offer wraparound care?
Yes. Breakfast and tea can be added to your child's Nursery day for a small daily charge, and our Holiday Club runs outside term time. Current charges are on our Fees page, and the admissions team can talk you through the hours that would suit your family.
Northdown Road, Bideford