Nursery (Foundation Stage 1) for ages 3-4 years
We recognise that this is a very important stage in your child's development as it helps your child to get ready for school as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. We provide a safe and caring environment, where children can gain a positive approach to school life. Our curriculum, as outlined below, ensures that your child's early years experience is happy, active and fun.
Our school Nursery places great emphasis upon learning through play. Our indoor and outdoor spaces serve as blank canvases, enabling teachers to create and recreate the physical space to meet each child’s individual needs. These changes offer new and unique challenges that allow children to grow across all areas of learning through interaction with others and the world around them. Each day is well structured to provide a variety of learning opportunities through both structured and unstructured play, sensory play, gross and fine motor development, dramatic play, exploratory learning, literacy, early maths, science, technology and the arts. The children are introduced to new concepts and skills through group time sessions with a particular focus on maths and literacy. These often provide the stimulus for further exploration during free choice play. This helps to ensure that children are as well prepared as they can be for when the big day comes for starting school- academically, socially and emotionally. An example of the Nursery routine can be found below along with the Nursery Welcome Booklet.
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Nursery Booklet 2022-2023 | [pdf 427KB] |
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Nursery Routine | [pdf 527KB] |
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What does the curriculum look like?
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework which promotes active play based learning. The 7 areas of learning and development are broken down into Prime and Specific Areas. The 3 Prime Areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As your child grows, the Prime Areas will help him/her to develop skills in the 4 Specific Areas. ;
Prime Areas
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
Specific Areas
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. Your child’s teacher will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. This is a little bit like a curriculum in primary and secondary schools, but it's suitable for very young children, and it's designed to be really flexible so that staff can follow your child's individual needs and interests. The children are introduced to these areas gradually and shown how to safely use the resources provided. Click on the links below to access the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework and view our EYFS progression map.
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EYFS Policy | [pdf 220KB] |
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Statutory Framework for the EYFS from September 2021 | [pdf 371KB] |
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EYFS Skills Progression | [pdf 182KB] |
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Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Staff support your child’s emotional well-being, ensuring that he/she is confident to take part in new activities and work with others. We provide your child with experiences that lead him/her to develop a positive sense of him/herself, as well as respect for others, social skills, and a positive disposition to learn. This is a vital part of our work to ensure that your child is emotional ready for school.
Communication and Language
We support and extend your child's competence in communicating, speaking, and listening. Your child is provided with opportunities and encouragement to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves, and speaking and listening in a range of situations. If you have concerns about your child's speech and language development, we can offer advice, strategies and resources that may help your child. We can also complete a screening checklist and make a referral before your child starts school for more specialist help if needed. If your child speaks English as an additional language, he/she will be supported to master the English language rapidly, and will gain the ability to communicate with both children and adults fluently.
Physical Development
We encourage your child's physical development through a variety of opportunities to be active, to improve their co-ordination, and to control both their fine and gross motor skills. Your child is supported in developing an understanding of the importance of physical activity and making healthy choices in relation to food and lifestyle. To develop his/her fine motor skills (co-ordination of hands and fingers with the eyes) your child explores activities such as pegging, spooning, and cutting; and to develop his/her gross motor skills (abilities that involve the large muscles of the arms, legs and torso) your child explores activities such as sweeping, balancing and riding a bike.
Literacy
We follow both the "Letters and Sounds" and "Read, Write Inc" programmes to introduce your child to early phonics. Your child will also enjoy the learning process through a variety of games and open-ended mark making activities. The children have access to a wide range of reading materials at school to ignite their interest in books. Your child will take part in a number of reading activities to help instill a life-long love of reading, such as themed dressing up and story days.
Mathematics
Your child is supported in developing his/her understanding of mathematics in a broad range of contexts through which he/she can begin to develop a strong understanding of numbers, shape, space, and measure. He/she is provided with a wide range of opportunities to practice his/her mathematical skills, and to gain confidence in using mathematical language and concepts.
Understanding the World
We help your child to make sense of a growing and technological world. Our nursery class takes an active part in our school community and supports a variety of charities. We promote British values within our nursery, as well as broadening your child’s understanding of other countries and cultures. Parents and carers play an integral part in this and are encouraged to come into the school and contribute to the children’s understanding. Our curriculum includes a variety of activities that provide opportunities for your child to learn about the features of the environment around them and to care for the natural world, for example, during excursions to our Forest School and our gardening sessions.
Expressive Arts and Design
Your child’s creativity is supported through a wide range of materials and equipment. He/she is encouraged to explore and share his/her thoughts, ideas, and feelings through a variety of mediums, such as art, music, movement, dance, design technology, and imaginative role-play activities. Your child has access to the large school hall for musical experiences and joins in with whole school special days, such as our “aeroplane journey” to Spain.
