Curro Hillcrest has a preschool in Hillcrest, Durban, that provides high-quality early childhood development for children from 2 years (turning 3) to Grade R. Our classes are divided by age, and we carefully control the number of children per class to ensure that they are all cared for and entertained. Our internally developed preschool programme engages inherent curiosity and love of play, while supporting their well-being all-round. We also have aftercare and an early drop-off time.

View our fact sheet to discover our school times, preschool approach, and Grade R subjects.

Our children learn through play

Children learn by discovering the world around them – and anything learned while playing at a young age is remembered much faster and more efficiently compared to anything learned while sitting at a table in a forced learning environment.

As part of the Curro school group, our children enjoy a programme that supports their physical, social, emotional and cognitive well-being. This approach to early childhood development is built around learning and developing through play rather than strict milestones. This means that children feel supported and encouraged instead of anxious and pressured to develop at someone else’s pace.

With us, learning during childhood starts with young toddlers learning the basics of mathematics by playing with building blocks, balls, manipulating objects around their bodies, and other ways. Older toddlers learn the basics of writing and reading with comprehension by drawing, painting, singing, and generally discovering objects that centre around a specific theme.

Here are some examples of the areas that are developed by learning through play:

• Mathematics: shapes, size, time, counting, adding, subtracting
• Communication: speech, listening, reading, understanding
• Creativity: drawing, painting, correct pinching of a pencil, dancing
• Physical well-being: balance, movement, safety
• Identity and belonging: personality, morals, caring, friendship, sharing

We accommodate Grade R

We help your child get ready for the formal learning that starts in Grade 1. By accommodating them in our preschool building, they have more time to grow accustomed to more formal learning while feeling safe in familiar surroundings. They learn the basic foundations on which all further learning is based:

• Language (read, spell, understand, speak, listen)
• Mathematics (count, understand numbers, addition, subtraction and multiplication)
• Life skills (physical education, real-life experiences, problem-solving, creativity)

Activities at our school

As a Curro School, we believe that participation in extramural activities plays an important role in early childhood development. Therefore, our daily programme is packed with a variety of physical and cognitive activities where children play while they learn, which are included in our school fees.

Extramural activities are offered as additional opportunities to strengthen focus areas or hone certain skills. Many of these are designed to help children gain valuable skills that require more time for development than can be provided during the daily programme. Our extramural activities are offered by external tutors or coaches at an additional cost, and generally take place on the school’s premises.

See which activities we offer on our fact sheet (see Downloads).