Ravenswood Prep offers our youngest RAVO girls an enriching and nurturing transition to school.
It’s a unique early-learning offering, with a curriculum that combines the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, the Reggio Emilia philosophy, and Ravenswood’s award-winning Positive Education approach.
The result is an ideal early-learning experience that is student-centred and inquiry-based.
Specialist early-learning teachers encourage wonder, empathy, creativity, independence and collaboration. Ravenswood Prep girls are eager explorers, engaged communicators and curious thinkers who love learning and are well prepared for the transition to Kindergarten.
An integral element of the Reggio Emilia philosophy is the learning environment. Ravenswood Prep is in a beautifully renovated space in Annesley House, across the road from our Junior School. The thoughtful design of both the indoor and outdoor learning spaces promotes discovery, experiential learning and an appreciation of the natural world.
Alongside the core curriculum, Prep girls enjoy regular lessons in subjects such as Languages, Music, Dance, Religious Education, Speech, Sport and Visual Arts. These are taught by specialist teachers in the Ravenswood Junior and Senior Schools.
Ravenswood’s Positive Education approach is integrated throughout the Prep day, as children learn to recognise and name strengths in themselves and others, and value acts of kindness and gratitude.
Prep aims to foster a smooth transition into Kindergarten and beyond by setting a firm foundation for future academic success. An intimate and nurturing experience, Ravenswood Prep is the best possible start to your daughter’s educational journey.
‘The wider the range of possibilities we offer children the more intense will be their motivations and the richer their experiences.’
Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia Approach
FAQ – Prep
The Prep program is inspired by Reggio Emilia principles. This approach values the rich potential and deep curiosity of each child and acknowledges that children are natural inquirers. It builds on children’s innate ability to construct meaning by interacting with their environment.
Sparking wonder, excitement and joy, the environment at Annesley House promotes exploration, risk-taking and learning. Both the indoor and outdoor learning spaces are designed to engage students in wondering, questioning and discovering.
An approach to teaching and learning that values inquiry, collaboration and active learning begins in Prep, with implementation of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP).
The PYP transdisciplinary framework is highly regarded worldwide and offers students authentic opportunities to focus on key developmental abilities in the early years. The most important aspect of the PYP is that students are encouraged to become engaged learners.
Explicit teaching of early literacy and numeracy concepts in Prep supports Kindergarten readiness. Instruction and activities are tailored for each child’s developmental needs. Students participate in core learning areas including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Art, Music, Drama and Physical Education (including Swimming and Tennis). Specialist staff teach these subjects and Prep students have access to world-class facilities on the main campus.
Positive Education at Ravenswood offers a range of empirically validated approaches from the field of Positive Psychology. These have been proven to promote and strengthen wellbeing, which is inseparable from successful learning.
At Ravenswood, Positive Education is delivered through interventions, programs and practices that promote the wellbeing of our students, staff and wider community.
Social and emotional development is a vital component of the Ravenswood Prep experience. Wellbeing practices to enhance resilience, social skills and optimism are woven into the Prep program.
Prep students are supported to build relationships with girls in Kindergarten to Year 6 through the Junior School Buddy Program, and by taking part in a range of Junior School events. This is another important component of the wellbeing program.
Research has shown that positive relationships between parents and teachers can improve children’s academic achievement, social competencies and emotional wellbeing.
A strong connection and partnership between parents and teachers is developed through regular communication and sharing of students’ learning. In addition to face-to-face communication, parents also receive regular learning updates through the educational app Seesaw and the School’s fortnightly newsletter.
Students must turn four by 30 April in the year of attendance.
The Prep program is full-time, operating from Monday to Friday during school term time. Students may, however, attend for four days a week, from Monday to Thursday, then increase to full-time no later than the start of Term 4, to assist with school readiness.
The Prep day starts at 8:45 am and concludes at 2:45 pm during term time. Ravenswood Prep follows the Junior School term dates.
Yes. In Terms 1 and 4, Prep students wear the Ravenswood summer dress or sports uniform that Kindergarten to Year 6 students wear.
In Terms 2 and 3, they wear the same uniform as the Kindergarten to Year 2 students: skivvy, fleece trackpants and jacket, white socks and sneakers.
Students wear the School sun hat when outside, including when moving between different areas of the School campus.
There are two full-time staff for the Prep class: a qualified teacher and a teaching assistant.
Ravenswood Prep is located in Annesley House, which is across the road from the Junior School in Cecil Street, Gordon.
The house has been renovated specifically for early learners and has a number of flexible learning spaces. Prep students have their own playground and outdoor learning space. They also have access to many of the facilities on the main campus.
Yes. Our provider is TheirCare; students must be registered with TheirCare to attend.
TheirCare staff collect Prep girls from Annesley House at 2:45 pm and walk them across to the Junior School for After-School Care. The hours during term time are 2:45 pm to 6.00 pm.
During school holidays, the service operates from 7 am until 6 pm.
Yes, all Prep students will move into Kindergarten at Ravenswood the following year. In Term 4, Prep students visit the Kindergarten classes and participate in a transition-to-Kindergarten program.
Prep students can enrol in a range of co-curricular activities, which are introduced gradually throughout the year. Activities include Gymnastics, Swimming and Dance.