Truro School Pre-Prep: A Leading Light in Early Literacy

At Truro School Pre-Prep, we firmly believe that the journey towards a lifelong love of literacy begins in Nursery. By placing children, creativity and development at the heart of our approach, our Early Years team has created an exceptional foundation for writing, storytelling and communication from the very earliest stages.

Recently, Mrs Banks attended a professional development course alongside colleagues from local independent schools to review the latest government writing framework. Nationally, the writing Early Learning Goal has historically had the highest proportion of pupils not achieving the expected standard, with almost 30% of children failing to meet this milestone. At Truro School, however, nearly 97% of our pupils achieve the writing Early Learning Goal,  a testament to our thoughtful, child-centred approach and strong network of teaching support.

A key strength of our Pre-Prep provision is early identification. Our extensive support network enables staff to spot gaps in development at the earliest possible stage and put targeted strategies in place quickly, ensuring every child receives the support they need to thrive.

Central to our ethos is the belief that formal handwriting is not the right pathway for most children in Early Years. At ages three and four, fine motor skills are still developing, and pushing formal writing too early can be counterproductive. Instead, our team focuses on building the physical foundations that underpin writing. This is not a new approach for our staff, but one we have been refining for almost a decade.

Initiatives such as Dough Disco and Squiggle While You Wiggle, alongside an after-school fine and gross motor skills club, help children to develop strength, coordination and control in a fun, confidence-building way. These activities support both physical development and self-esteem, preparing children naturally for writing when they are developmentally ready.

In Early Years, our pupils are often unaware that they are “writing” at all. At Truro School Pre-Prep, we call this ‘mark making’ instead, and it is an essential, playful stage where children explore movement, shapes and patterns without pressure or expectation.

In September 2025, our EYFS team introduced Drawing Club, an exciting initiative designed to balance transcription and composition. Based around a story or animation, Drawing Club introduces new vocabulary before encouraging children to think creatively across the week.

Pupils begin by drawing a character and giving it a ‘magic code’. In the early weeks, this may be a simple squiggle, later developing into numbers, words or sentences as confidence grows. When the magic code is ‘pressed’, the character and story evolve.

As the week progresses, children develop the setting and adventure, gradually innovating the story themselves. Crucially, the direction is entirely child-led, making the experience deeply engaging and meaningful.

Alongside this, there has been an increased focus on Tummy Time to build core strength, which is vital for both fine and gross motor development. Activities such as Squiggle While You Wiggle are now often carried out while children lie on their tummies, encouraging mark making with their dominant hand while strengthening central muscles.

As the photos of our pupils’ work show, the progress made so far this year has been outstanding. Development is clear, confidence is growing, and creativity is flourishing. Most importantly, we are nurturing happy, imaginative children whose self-esteem and love of storytelling are being actively supported, all of which gives them a genuine head start.

We are incredibly proud of our teacher-led EYFS provision and of how the Truro School Pre-Prep team builds thoughtful, child-focused support around every child from Nursery onwards.