Northcote Baptist Community Preschool – Best Practice

Northcote Baptist Community Preschool (NBCP) is dedicated to nurturing and inspiring learners from a young age, and preparing them for primary education. The school is also keen to support the training and professional development of its teachers and identified that developing a digital curriculum would benefit the staff and students. Digital skills not often being taught in preschools, NBCP set about pioneering age-appropriate activities for the children.

Elizabeth Lupton, the Lead Teacher at NBCP, talked about how parents helped clue them in to Promethean technology: “We had heard about Promethean through parents who had been to a school where they had ActivPanels. Because they knew that we were looking at digital technologies, they helped put Promethean onto our radar.”

Elizabeth, alongside the teaching team at NBCP, wanted a device which would bring clarity to teaching at the preschool and provide a more engaging platform to share feedback whether it be from the teacher or from one child to another. Up to that point, working together involved crowding around one small screen, and the children would often work alone on iPads. The school recognised that an ActivPanel would enable them to introduce a truly digital curriculum, and support their collaborative values.

“Having access to a big screen gives clarity to our teaching, as well as providing the children with the opportunity to talk to their peers, share ideas, understand and hear each other’s input,” commented Elizabeth.

“We have really got into the rhythm of using it more frequently,” Elizabeth explained, “We have been doing a lot of artwork. We have started using an app where we can screenshot pictures then put them up next to one another, allowing the children to critique and compare their artwork. It’s an amazing thing for 3 and 4 year olds to be engaged with.”

The ActivPanel has also been a brilliant tool for teacher training. Elizabeth described how the staff have been using the technology to learn and implement new skills: “It is so much better to run training sessions on the panel rather than on individual laptops. This is in addition to using it to learn sign language for activities based around singing, where we pull up videos and visuals.”

With children and teachers alike building digital skills and working more collaboratively than ever, the ActivPanel has enriched the teaching and learning experience at Northcote Baptist Community Preschool. The school has crafted a digital curriculum focused around the ActivPanel which supports its values and delivers a high quality, nurturing environment for all.