Learning and play
Pre-school children learn and make sense of the world around them through play. In fact, for a child of this age, play is the avenue for learning, the vehicle for a child's own discovery.

The challenge for pre-primary teachers is to plan activities that will attract children and stimulate them to play and therefore learn, at the same time. In the Pre-Primary Department at St Mary's teachers are, in the best sense of the word, facilitators to the children's own learning through play. Whatever outcomes we want the children to achieve, we have to ensure that these are achieved through play.

As a Department, our holistic, child-centred approach caters for a child's physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development.  We believe that every child has the right to be viewed as strong, capable and as having enormous potential. Our philosophy is that play should be the cornerstone of our programme since it is the most effective avenue for learning for pre-school children.

In the words of Friedrich Froebel, "Play is the serious business of childhood"