The world around a young child shapes their brain development, impacting the person they become in the future.
As adults our ability to form positive relationships, overcome challenges and learn effectively all stem from the foundations developed during our earliest childhood experiences, which show just how important these early years are.
There are a range of factors that can influence and support healthy brain development in children including relationships, environment and experiences.
Here at Westbourne, we understand the importance of Early Years development to help pave the way to a better and brighter future for our children. Our Early Years experts have shared their knowledge on the key areas to support your child develop a healthy brain.
Strong, nurturing relationships
Decades of research shows that a healthy attachment between a child and the caregivers in their life is beneficial for their future development. Children learn so much from adults, which can help to build their social, emotional and communication skills which are vital as they grow older.
Westbourne is a private school setting which provides a safe, secure and nurturing environment for all of our nursery children. This caring environment ensures that children can trust their caregivers and develop a healthy emotional wellbeing.
We place great importance on developing these key relationships from an early age, which helps to ease the transition from home to nursery and nursery through to Reception, which supports other key areas of learning and early brain development.
Happy experiences
When children enjoy a variety of positive experiences it allows them to develop their skills, knowledge and independence, which in turn supports their development across a range of topics.
Through activities such as outdoor learning, imaginative play and reading, children develop skills including how to interact in a group, supported risk taking and exploration. Focusing on learning new skills such as these ensures emotional, intellectual and behavioural development is vastly improved.
As one of the top independent schools in the UK, all of our Prep pupils take part in a weekly immersive outdoors Forest and Beach School, which opens up their imaginations and supports their inquisitive minds to flourish, whilst allowing them to develop core practical and problem-solving skills. Based in Penarth, one of the best places to live in Wales for health and wellbeing, our unique setting allows our pupils to discover new sights, sounds and smells which are key for children’s sensory awareness and emotional development and provide longlasting, happy memories for our pupils.
Stimulating environments
Creating a stimulating nursery environment, whether that be at home, nursery or school, is important to support children’s brain development and cognitive development. Children have an innate desire to play and interact with people, so it’s vital to provide the resources and space for your child to learn and practice with their peers.
Through independent education and a diverse Early Years curriculum, we encourage our Early Years pupils to take part in imaginative play whenever possible to allow them to explore, move freely and to think, connect and communicate with others. This approach to learning can help children to achieve key developmental milestones at a quicker pace.
It’s important to remember that all children develop and learn differently. As one of the best independent schools, we provide a personalised teaching approach to ensure each and every child succeeds and reaches their full potential.
Visit our Penarth day nursery to learn more about how we can help your child develop. Book a personalised tour at www.westbourneschool.com/apply