Queen Bee Nursery & Pre-Primary School

General information

Queen Bee is a specialized exclusive nursery and preprimary school catering for all possible Knysna child-care requirements. We aim to promote a fun-filled interesting day where children are able to learn through play. Our school offers children the quality of care and education they deserve in a homely yet stimulating environment. Whether you require permanent or temporary care for your children, Queen Bee is a very well resourced nursery and preprimary school catering for children from 3 months to 6 years. We offer lessons taught in both English or Afrikaans in the Preprimary classes.

Belinda Ralph, founder of Queen Bee Nursery School taught at Oakhill School before deciding to open the school together with Lesley Ralph.
Queen Bee opened for enrolment in January 2008. Our vision is to teach your children through play and the older children will have a more structured day. Our dedicated staff members are qualified, experienced teachers and are fully trained in child-care and paediatric first aid and also understand the importance of laying the correct foundation for your children.

Our operating hours are from 07.30 to 17.30 Monday to Thursday and Fridays are from 07.30 to 17.00. Half day children finish at 14.00. We are open all year and close for four weeks in December/January. We do, however, close on Public Holidays.

Children are divided into groups according to their age and their development. In all the groups age appropriate activities are planned around weekly themes. In each room you will find a daily programme on the board as well as the weekly theme. The day is structured for each group.

Breakfast is served until 08.15. We provide a wholesome cooked meal every day which is served from 11.45. A mid-morning snack is given to both full and half day children with the full day children also getting an afternoon snack. Careful note is taken of any allergies or dietary restrictions as notified by parents. Liquid refreshments are supplied by Queen Bee with the exception of babies. Parents with babies are to supply Queen Bee with prepared bottles.

We encourage parents to be involved in your child’s school days. We have an exciting Easter Function, a Mother’s and Father’s Day Breakfast, Grandparents Tea and a wonderful Christmas Concert and Picnic.

We are able to offer your child the best possible care and attention in an educational environment.
Contact Lesley 0827873117

SAFETY AND SECURITY
Knowing your child is safe is one of the greatest concerns for any parent. It’s why we go further than most to ensure complete peace of mind.
Not only do we have CCTV in all common areas, but we also have cameras in all the classrooms.
The keypad on the entrance ensures that no one is ever admitted without permission, and only parents can collect their children unless we are notified in advance.
Finally, with two members of our team in every room, your child is never left alone and is always in safe hands.

FREE PLAY
Free play is essential for developing skills such as imagination and for enabling a child to follow their own natural learning instincts. By providing interesting opportunities for free play, we create a positive learning environment that gives children space to explore and express themselves.

More than anything, being at Queen Bee means fun. Learning while laughing, discovering while playing. Ensuring children can be children while also feeding their minds, rewarding their curiosity, sparking their wonderful imaginations.
But don’t just take our word for it. Why don’t you visit our school so that you can meet our team and see for yourself the reason why parents send their children to us for care and education.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Education is a triangle that involves the child, the parents and the teachers and we believe parents are the main teachers in children's lives. Our goal here at Queen Bee is to build a relationship with the child and with the family and we encourage moms and dads to get involved in the school activities.
We have a Family Easter Function, a Mothers Day Breakfast, a Fathers Day Breakfast, a Grandparents Tea, a Christmas Concert followed by a Family Picnic and it’s important that your child sees you showing an interest in his or her life at school.

BABIES
(16 weeks to 1 year)
We understand that choosing a childcare can be an emotional time for new parents. At Queen Bee we work together with parents to ensure that your child is happy and comfortable in their new surroundings.
As your child settles in and establishes a bond with their carer and gains confidence, we learn about your child’s daily routine, their mealtimes, sleeping patterns and all the other little things special to your child.
In our baby rooms there is constant interaction between the carers and the children to encourage their natural curiosity. The environment is safe, stimulating and nurturing to foster your child’s love of learning as they discover the world around them.

WOBBLERS
(1-2 years)

To you its play, to them it is learning. As a wobbler, your child takes their first steps and really begins to explore the world around them. At Queen Bee we’re there every step of the way to support and nurture their natural curiosity. Every day is packed with exciting activities designed to nurture their development.
There’s large movement activities that develop children’s balance and gross motor skills, there’s all types of art, there’s water and messy play, play time in the garden, singing, dancing and early language activities. All our fun activities all help to promote your child’s communication and social skills while encouraging sensory and language development. To them, it’s just lots of fun, and that’s because we believe that learning is literally, child’s play.
We keep individual diaries for every child that details their mealtimes, sleeping pattern, nappy changes, and any other additional information about your child’s day that may be helpful.

TODDLERS
(2-3 years)

The children are now ready for a little more structure and new fun challenges. As your child discovers their own independence, we encourage and guide them to further develop their confidence, their intellectual, social and emotional development as they explore their environment.
We encourage the development of your child’s speech and language through a range of fun and social activities such as songs, role play and storytelling. Other areas we focus on are music, arts and crafts, colours, numbers and fun messy play, where we encourage each child to express their personality through creative and imaginative play whilst promoting their self-esteem and concentration.

PREPRIMARY
(3-6 years)
We are aware that the preschool years of 3-6 are especially important and lay the foundations of your child’s primary education. Your child is introduced to the fundamentals of reading, writing and mathematics in preparation for school, all the while in a fun, exciting and colourful way.
In the Preprimary classes we have Co-operative Teaching or Team Teaching. We have three classes and four teachers sharing the responsibility for teaching the children. Another way of saying this is that team-teaching is a fun way for children to learn from two or more teachers who may have different ways of thinking or teaching. Team teaching is an advanced method of teaching and research shows that co-teachers not only teach more effectively but the children also learn more effectively as each co-teaching team member has a unique and needed expertise.
Here at Queen Bee we offer dual language classes, i.e. parents are able to choose whether they want their child taught in English or Afrikaans. The Afrikaans class will be a dual medium class, in other words, both languages will be spoken. Literacy and Numeracy will be taught in Afrikaans.
Children have their individual needs and we ensure that they have the opportunity to explore, question, communicate and create in a fun and supportive environment
Our curriculum consists of sensory activities, literacy, numeracy, art, science, music and movement, arts and crafts, dance and Physifun.

FOOD
Our cook provides delicious and nutritious cooked meals that encourage your�child to taste as many new things as possible and help introduce them to the wonderful world of food.
For babies and younger children who are being weaned, puréed and chopped meals will be given to your child and we’ll work closely with Mum and Dad during this time so to make it easy for you and your child.