to think nursery should know about Jolly Phonics?

[auntieem]

My dd is 3.5years and will start nursery school in September. At present she attends a nursery for children aged 2.5 to 5 years, split into two rooms. My dd says she is bored and has asked to learn her letters at nursery,she already knows all her sounds. I have spoken to the nursery manager about this but the response was less than enthusiastic and she looked completely blank when I said that Letterland had been superseeded by Jolly Phonics. She knew absolutely nothing about it and wasn't interested. AIBU to be annoyed?

Yes.

I would expect them to be aware, but TBH I wouldn't particular want a nursery to be doing things like Jolly Phonics. They will have the things for the Foundation stage, preschool, abnd that does cover pre reading stuff.

IMO a nursery should be about playing and learning social skills, and not about sitting down learning proper. Plenty of time for that when they get to school.

Children learn really well through just playing, and IMO that is exactly what a nursery should be doing adn not dealing with the other stuff.

I'm suprised to hear this. Ds had done huge amounts of letter land by the time he left nursey. (The funny thing is he was so not ready for it, and it all went over his head)

As she will be leaving the nursery soon, I wouldn't get too worked up about it.

What type of nursey is it (Montessori or any thing?)

The DC's nursery used to teach the children JP in pre-school and then by the last year DS2 was there they stopped, and the manager told me that they had been advised that it was 'not recommended' as it interfered with the children's learning once they started school.

I wasn't too bothered either way - 3-4 is still very young. That said, DS1's reading was FANTASTIC (and still is) but DS2 (who didn't get JF at nursery) is only average.

Don't think it's the nursery's responsibility really, so yes... you ABU !

I would expect them to be aware of what it was, but I don't want my child to learn numnbers and letters in nursery. Children who start learning early doesn't achieve anything more than children who start when they go to school anyway. Let them play! If she is so keen, you can teach her at home.

My dc's preschool (3+) was using Jolly phonics when my DS started there 9 years ago!

What everyone else said basically!

And I think maybe this is why the teacher 'blanked' you.

My ds is at nursery school and they don't use JP yet.

btw it's superceded

I admit that I don't really know what I'm talking about, but I thought that synthetic phonics (i.e. Jolly Phonics) was on the government's proposed pre-school curriculum? I didn't think they were supposed to be able to read, just start to identify letters and letter sounds?

Having said that, as far as I know many schools aren't using synthetic phonics to teach reading, so I am completely confused.

I don;t understand how or why a 3.5yo is bored at nursery. How does a 3y get bored of playing with friends, painting, playing outside, modelling, dressing up, playing games, etc?

Yes you are - it's a nursery!

If she says she's bored then I would be talking to the nursery about the directed play they do, and whether they rotate activities and toys enough. I would also be mindful that a 3.5 year old may not actually fully understand what bored means, and she may actually mean that she didn't have as much fun as usual one day, or she was waiting for her turn at a particular activity longer than she wanted to.

YABU. They do not need to learn thier letters at nursery.

YABU

dd1+2 school doesnt use jolly phonics.

nursery is about fun,supported explorative play and forging relationships with adult carers and peers - not phhonics

Jolly Phonics is a scheme that can be bought into, it is Letters and Sounds that they should follow. Jolly Phonics is one (optional) way of delivering the curriculum, not the curriculum itself. And at 3.5, I would be unhappy if my child was being force-fed phonics when they should be playing and socialising.

Wow, am that a 3.5 year old would tell her nursery workers that she is bored and wants to learn letters??

FWIW i think YABU - there is no proven benefit (in fact research suggests the oppposite) in formally teach young children how to read. It is not the nursery's job to do this. Your dd should be playing and not worrying about formal teaching!

Of course, there is nothing stopping you from teaching your child yourself at home it that is what she will enjoy

opposite

Also, although I have a very hazy knowledge of the under 5's curriculum (which I thought hadn't been introduced yet anyway?), I imagined that the letter learning bit was aimed at older 4 year olds, not 3 year olds? There is obviously a cross over point where some children are still at pre-school when they are almost 5 and some children start reception at just 4.

AFAIK the phonics system is becoming standard across the board, the pre-school dd attends is sending staff to be trained so that they can help prepared the children for this method of learning..... not to teach the phonics but also not confuse (IYSWIM)

For a nursery teacher to have no knowledge of the system is worrying as it would suggest she is not keeping abreast of a major change in her profesional sphere.

Has letterland been superseded? I didn't think so. They still teach letterland in the local primary school at Reception (as well as in the pre-school/nursery there). My dd goes to a different school and has moved from the letterland that she learned at pre-school to Jolly Phonics with no ill-effect or difficulty whatsoever.