Why Children Are Never Too Young to Make a Difference

KES Blog  - Adventurous learning

As Greta Thunberg demonstrates, the younger generation is never too young to make an impact on the world and society.  At King Edward’s Pre-Prep and Nursery children are actively encouraged to help shape their learning and make a difference to the world.  Stuart Boydell, a Year 1 teacher at KES, explains.

King Edward’s Pre-Prep School embraces and nurtures the unique qualities of each child in its care. One way the school achieves this, whether the child is just starting in Nursery or coming to the end of Year 2, is to continuously encourage and nurture each child’s personal passions and interests. This sense of empowerment gives the children important opportunities to shape their learning and steer the curriculum in some of the most important directions.

Whether it is gathering children’s designs for the school gardens; contributing ideas to help inform teachers’ planning or rallying the whole school with fantastic ideas for charitable events, the children are at the centre of all key developments and initiatives within the Pre-Prep. 

One of the remarkable aspects of the children in the Pre-Prep is their desire to help other children, animals and the environment. This year, following the heart-rending images of the terrible Australian bush fires in January a number of children in Year 2 encouraged the whole of Pre-Prep to help the plight of the millions of animals affected by the terrible conditions. Through their leadership and the generosity of their parents, the school was able to raise over £400 for the WWF. Prior to that, a Year 1 child who had been so engaged in his learning about penguins during the Year 1 topic based on the Oliver Jeffers story “Lost & Found” that he donated part of his birthday money to sponsor a penguin in Bristol Zoo.

Encouraged by their own successes and sense of purpose in helping to improve the world around them, the children were also instrumental in setting the topic for the school’s Book Week & Arts’ Week which was dedicated to learning about the importance of trees within the environment. 

The children are very much at the heart of everything that the Pre-Prep strives to achieve. Each child has become a wonderful ambassador for their futures and their knowledge and passions never cease to amaze the staff.  No one in King Edward’s Pre-Prep is too young to make a difference.