Phyllis Jowell Pre-Primary School caters for children from 18 months until six years old.  In each class there is a trained teacher and a teacher assistant, while the playgroup class (18 months to three years old) has a teacher and two assistants.

The preschool and grade R classes start at 7h45 and run up until 13h00. The playschool class’ day ends at 12h00.

We offer an aftercare program until 15h30, Monday to Thursday and 14:15pm on a Friday. The aftercare is run by the teacher assistants and is a structured educational program focusing on skills development as well as free play. During this time we also offer a variety of extra murals. 

Once a week each class has music enrichment and a sports lesson run by a music teacher and trained coach. 

Phyllis Jowell School aims to provide an environment that is safe, supportive and caring.  When children feel safe and supported they are able to develop their self-regulatory skills, as well as grow and learn at their own pace. By nurturing a child’s self-esteem we enable them to feel safe and motivated to explore, be inquisitive and be creative. 

The school offers an integrated Kodesh and Secular curriculum that is child centered and age appropriate. The curriculum is an inquiry based, emergent curriculum which focuses on process and skill development.  

We offer a play based approach where children are active participants in their learning and have hands on experiences. Play is the way that young children learn and experience the world. 

Phyllis Jowell is an inclusive school and we cater for children with a variety of developmental needs. The teaching staff and children are supported by an in-house social worker, educational counsellor, Occupational therapist and Speech Therapist.  

Our Preschool children are learning to socialize and live in a world of continuous interaction with those around them. Good communication is an integral part of their development and lays the foundation for the way in which they behave towards others. Furthermore, they are learning the fundamentals of good problem solving and critical thinking.

With Kodesh in the preschool, the development of our children is underpinned by rich Torah stories and the Jewish calendar cycle. We educate through experiential learning so that a child can achieve a fuller and deeper understanding of their world, using the methodology of action and play. For example, in order to truly understand the learnings from Pesach, and to bring the story to life in a fun environment, we conduct a mock Pesach seder with all the symbolic food, acting out of the story, and singing.

Moreover, Kodesh and General Studies are fully integrated because we believe that Hashem’s wonder and creation can be experienced and fully actualised in every aspect of life. For example, understanding the life cycle of a tree enables us to comprehend why we should show our gratitude to Hashem when we conduct our blessing over fruit.

We also unpack the important life skills and good character traits (middot) from the weekly parsha and chaggim and endeavor to encourage those good middot to drive a child’s behaviour, teaching them important interpersonal skills such as empathy, respect and tolerance. This is achieved through role-playing and relating what they have learned to real world situations on the playground or in the classroom setting, essentially bringing the learnings to life through action.