Link to Nursery Home Learning Page

In the Early Years, children relish learning. They have a wealth of interesting experiences that provide well for their social, emotional and learning needs. Ofsted January 2020

Welcome to St Edmund’s Nursery!

We are a warm and friendly Nursery class and we offer flexible provision to suit your family’s needs.  We accept children into our Nursery from the term after their 3^rd birthday and have intakes in September, January and April.

All 3-year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free Nursery provision, and in our setting those hours can be taken as morning or afternoon sessions, full days or a combination of full and half days. We offer the full 30 hours of funded sessions to those who are entitled (usually if you work for 16 hours a week or more), but parents also have the option to pay for extra sessions if they wish (£15 for a morning or afternoon session).

The Nursery class morning session runs from 8.50 to 11.50a.m., and the afternoon session from 12.00-3.00p.m. Many children stay for a full day from 8.50-3.00p.m. Children and parents come straight to the classroom door under the canopy when they are dropped off. The children are also collected from this door at the end of the session.

A Nursery day

During a typical Nursery session, the children come in independently, saying goodbye to families at the door. Lunch boxes are put in the red box and coats and bags are hung up. We have a short group time to do the register and find out which adult-led activities will be taking place on that day. The children are then free to access the activities and resources in the Nursery classroom, the Middle room, the Reception classroom and the outdoor area. As the children play and develop their friendships they are observed by our experienced staff who watch the children and play with them, and extend their thinking and learning through careful questioning, explanation and modelling language. There are 7 areas of the Early Years curriculum- Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED), Communication and Language (CL), Physical Development (PD), Literacy (L), Mathematics (M), Understanding the World (UW) and Expressive Arts and Design (EAD). Resources and activities which develop learning in all of these areas are always available throughout our setting. As a Catholic school we also teach RE and help the children learn that they are all special and all loved by God. During the course of the morning the children may choose to come and have a snack of fresh fruit and vegetables. Every morning session ends with a group time which includes a story.

During lunch the children are supervised by our experienced Foundation Stage staff. They go into the Hall with the Reception class to eat their lunch- either a healthy packed lunch from home or a hot school lunch or brunch bag (available to order for £2.20 per day). The children then go and play in the outdoor area with their Reception class friends until 12.45p.m. The afternoon follows a similar format to the mornings, with independent play and learning, a snack time, tidy up time, and a story before going home.

How we assess your child’s development and progress

We record and assess the children’s learning using the ‘Tapestry’ online learning journal. Parents are able to view what their child has been doing at Nursery through observations, photos and videos. You are also able to upload your own photos and videos of what your child has been learning at home, and we always enjoy being able to share in those special moments!

Practical information

Children can come to school in their own clothes, but please make sure that their clothes are easy for them to manage independently when they go to the toilet- trousers or skirts with elasticated waists are ideal and skinny jeans and dungarees are not! Some children like to have a school Foundation Stage sweatshirt- these are available for sale from the school office. It is helpful for each child to have a named pair of wellington boots that they can leave at school to wear for outside play in wet or cold weather, although we do have some spare pairs of our own. Please also make sure that your child has a named coat with them at school if the weather is cold or wet, and a named sunhat if it is hot. We will always try to spend some time outside every day, even if it is raining.   It is also important that each child has a bag they can leave at school containing some spare clothes just in case of accidents!

We accept that although most 3-year olds are able to use the toilet when they start Nursery, some children are still not quite ready and may come to Nursery in pull-ups or nappies. We will work with you to support your child at whatever stage they are at, so please let us know to enable us to work together to meet your child’s individual needs.

In line with our whole school policy, children are not permitted to wear jewellery, including earrings, to school.

The children are offered fruit and vegetables for snack during the morning and the afternoon. Please could you provide a named water bottle for drinks during the day, and a healthy packed lunch if they are staying at school for a full day and not having a school lunch. If you would like to see the school lunch menu and order lunches, then please let me know- the current menu is also available on the school website.

If you have any questions or would like to come and visit us, then please contact the school office or check our school website for information about our ‘Stay and Play’ sessions.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Mrs Semple, Nursery Teacher                  Miss Stokes, Early Years Assistant.