CreaKids Early Learning Centre is located in the Akoya housing development in Damac Hills. The nursery is licensed by the KHDA to cater for children from birth to 6 years, making it a great option for parents who would like to wait before introducing their child to a ‘big school’ setting.

CreaKids Early Learning Centre in Damac Hills is housed in a very large, purpose-built building which comprises 10 classrooms, including infant and toddler rooms with conveniently attached sleeping rooms. Each classroom has access to an outdoor play area. There is also have a large open -air basement play area. The ELC is one of a group of three, with other CreaKids branches in Al Barsha 2 and The Sustainable City.

The Team

The Damac Hills branch is led by Principal, Sabrina Cooper. Working for Ms Cooper, there are 10 fully qualified (to Cache* Level 3 or equivalent) nursery teachers and 20 assistant teachers (all of whom either hold a Cache qualification or a degree in Education from their home country). In addition, all members of staff are paediatric first aid trained.

^{[*Cache qualifications are qualifications awarded by the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education - the UK's leading provider of vocational qualifications for those working in the care and education sectors. Cache qualifications are divided into five different levels, ranging from Level 1 (entry level) to Level 5 (for experienced professionals).]}

CreaKids place emphasis on training and skill development, with a group spokesperson commenting that,

“We do firmly believe in upskilling our tea, and supporting them with refresher courses as well as building on their existing qualifications. As part of our group, we have a team of Pedagogues that also support us with regular training opportunities. Six days are set aside each year, as minimum, for whole staff training”.

The nursery has an inclusive ethos, with one member of staff having Special Education Needs training. There is no additional charge to parents for SEN provision.

The Curriculum

The nursery describes its curriculum as Norwegian, with their website offering a little more detail on what this entails.

The curriculum is described by the team as being “truly play based and child centred”. Certain personal attributes and characteristics have been given special emphasis through seven “playful” characters who the children get to know as part of their daily lives.

These characters are:

• Rhyming Roger, who “revels in reading regularly”
• Counting Connie, who helps the children understand mathematical concepts and relationships
• Colour Paletta, who “draws on the children’s imagination, creative thinking and enthusiasm to use different techniques, materials, tools and mediums as a form of self-expression”
• Hearty Howard, who promotes positive relationships
  Jumping Jack, who is described as “a master of risky play…loves challenging the children to new and exciting play opportunities”
• Play Penny, who brings in focus the importance of play in early years
• Woody Woo, who “is always on the lookout for experiences and opportunities to explore nature in all its diversity”

In addition, the nursery offers Arabic classes twice a week and, outside of Covid restrictions, a range of extra-curricular activities including Soccer Tots, Ballet, Multi Sports and Karate. Again, outside of Covid restrictions, the day-to-day curriculum is augmented by a variety of trips. In the past these have been to places such as X-Park Junior, the theatre and the Dubai Miracle Garden.

The Environment and Facilities

Class groups are by age; 0-1, 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6. At the time of writing, 27 nationalities are represented in the student body. Covid restrictions have meant some changes to class and ‘bubble’ sizes, but in more normal times a class would typically have 18 children at any one time. The ELC has a maximum capacity of 180 children.

The purpose-built setting has a basement play area that is provided with natural light from a central open-air section. The entire setting is built around a tree, the focal point of the building. All classrooms have free flowing access to their own outdoor classrooms.

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