Understanding Daycare
The term ‘day care’ is an umbrella term often used to describe a range of child – care options such as nurseries, crèche’s, and kindergartens: a place where parents drop their kids during the day for play, socialization and learning. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, daycare is described as, ‘when babies or young children, are looked after during the day, especially while their family members are at work’.
Let’s be honest though, this varying terminology can make the search for childcare very confusing for parents, so we would like to shed a little light on the topic:
Daycare is an American term, but in the United Kingdom and Australia, the service is known as childcare, and in Ireland, a crèche. Here in the UAE, more specifically Dubai, the term Early Childhood Center or Early Learning Center, covers those settings providing an early learning provision for 45 days to 6 years which are not part of ‘big schools’, except for those Emirates outside Dubai, who still use the term ‘nursery’ for early learners under 4 years of age.
Typically, in Early Childhood Centers, children attend settings for the morning academic programme and often remain in the facility for the afternoon where they then take part in ‘after school activities’, or if you like – ‘daycare’. Even babies and toddlers under 2 years take part in afternoon activities designed to promote learning and development such as cooking, STEM, Zumba and interactive story times.
Here at Oakfield Early Learning Center, from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm we focus on the Early Years Foundation Stage, which is the UK curriculum from birth to 5 years. For our youngest learners in the ‘nursery’ section, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the ‘care of the child’ and ‘individualized learning’ at this young age. Children over 3 years move on to the FS1 or FS2 where they are prepared for a smooth transition into Year 1 in any curriculum or school.
From 1 pm – 2:30 pm, it’s time for lunch and quiet time before children are grouped ready for the afternoon activities. Because we believe learning and development doesn’t stop after 1:00 pm, we make sure that our qualified teaching staff are on hand right until the end of the day to supervise our enrichment programme.
To conclude, whatever you wish to call it, rest assured that Oakfield Early Learning Center ensures that the academic learning and every day ‘care needs’ are taken care of for all ages.
