Nursery

Hello and Welcome to the Nursery web page!

A Day in the Life of our Nursery

Whitehouse Common Nursery offers;

Fulltime sessions 9:00am until 3:00pm
Morning session: 8:45am until 11:45pm
Afternoon session: 12.00pm until 3.00pm

Once all the children are settled into Nursery the sessions will take on a regular daily routine:

9.00am

Start of Session Activity – children will be welcomed into nursery and will access activities on our outdoor deck.

9.15am

Family Group Time –this is where the children will be split into two family groups and registered. During this 10 minute session the children will practise recognising their name, talking about the weather, singing the day of the week song, developing phonics or maths basic skills through games and songs.

9.30am

Outdoor Play – weather permitting the children will be able to use the climbing frames or bikes, trikes, cars and scooters, explore our field and woodland area or will take part in circle songs and games.

10.00am

Washing hands – the children will go to the toilet and wash their hands ready for snack.

Snack Time – the children will sit in their family small groups around a picnic mat to eat their snack and socialise. Nursery provide fruit and milk for one snack time a day. Full time children will need to bring one extra snack each day.

10.15am

Morning Focus – during this time the children will be introduced to the session’s theme and activities on offer during the morning session.

10.30am

Activity Time – the children will be able to access a variety of both child and teacher directed activities based around the daily focus and weekly theme.

Tidy Up Time – the children will be alerted to tidy up time by the tambourine and then will tidy up to music.

11.15am
Story and Singing – The children enjoy stories and songs related to the theme of the week.

11.30am -12: 30am

Lunch for the fulltime children – fulltime children are looked after by two dinner supervisors. They will eat their packed lunch brought from home at tables set up in the nursery room. They will then join the afternoon part time children in outdoor play areas.

11:30am Goodbye to the morning part time children – sing goodbye song, pack bags and go on deck to chat and reflect on the morning session.

11:45am - All morning part time children go home.

12.00pm

Afternoon part-time children arrive

Start of Session Activity – children will be welcomed into nursery and will access a activities on our outdoor deck.

12.15pm

Outdoor Play – weather permitting the children will be able to use the climbing frames or bikes, trikes, cars and scooters or will take part in circle songs and games.

12.45pm

1.00pm

Afternoon Focus – during this time the children will be introduced to the day’s theme and activities on offer during the session.

1.15pm

Activity Time – the children will be able to access a variety of both child and teacher directed activities based around the daily focus and weekly theme.

Tidy Up Time – the children will be alerted to tidy up time by the tambourine and then will tidy up to music.

2.10pm

Quiet Time – the children have a quiet time whilst listening to quiet calming music, we call this Sleepy Lion time.

2.20pm

Washing hands – the children will go to the toilet and wash their hands ready for snack.

2.40pm

Story and Singing – The children enjoy stories and songs related to the theme of the week.

Group Goodbye – the children will have the opportunity to sing songs, read stories and talk about what they have enjoyed during the session. The session will end with the children sitting in a circle singing the ‘goodbye song’

3.00pm

Pick-Up Time – a member of staff will be monitoring the door and will send children out as carers arrive in the playground.

The only alterations made to this routine takes place on the day that the children visit the library, one Friday Forest School session, focused PSED circle time and hall time for P.D.

Useful Information

What your child will need to wear to Nursery

All clothing worn to Nursery must be easily accessible for the children and all removable items need to be clearly labelled with your child’s full name. We request a pair Wellington boots be kept at Nursery so that they are still able to access the outdoor areas during wet weather. Please do not send your child to Nursery in anything you are not happy to get messy!

School uniform is not compulsory in Nursery but some parents do prefer this option. Please speak to office staff to obtain details of suppliers.

What your child will need to bring to Nursery

You will need to send your child each day with a clearly labelled drinks bottle containing only water. We ask that your child bring a small (labelled) backpack to Nursery daily, as a day does not go by without them needing to bring something home! If you are worried that your child may need a change of clothing during the session, please be assured that we have spare clothes to hand.

Settling the children in

To ensure a successful start to Nursery we operate a staggered intake at the start of the Nursery year. Over the first two to three weeks all the children will attend nursery for reduced hours whilst they are getting used to their new surroundings, teachers and daily routines. Each child is provided with an individual induction plan so please refer to this for specific dates and times.

Start and end of sessions

Please drop off and pick up your child via the Nursery playground using the outdoor deck on wet days. It is important that you have your child at Nursery by 9:15am (12:15pm afternoon part-timers) for the start of the session as late arrival can upset your child and disrupt Family Group time. Additionally all children will dismissed at 3pm (11:45am morning part timers).

Please ensure a parent/carer is waiting in the Nursery playground before these times. Consistent late pick-ups will not be tolerated and is very upsetting for the child waiting.

In order to safe guard all children in our care you must inform us if someone different is collecting your child at the end of a session.

Absences

Ring the school in case of absence prior to the start of the session where possible. Please note if your child has a tummy bug they must remain off Nursery until 48 hours after the last bout of sickness or diarrhoea. In cases of taking holiday during term time please ensure to let staff know in advance and fill in a holiday request form from the office.

Medication

Staff must be made aware of any medical needs that your child may have including any allergies. If your child is prescribed medicines regularly for an ongoing medical need, such as asthma, it is important that you obtain additional medication to be kept in Nursery, the doctor must prescribe this as we cannot keep medication in school that has been bought over the counter. When bringing such medication into Nursery you will also need to complete a medication form from the office.

Partnership with parents

Building a strong partnership with parents is a very important part of our ethos. You will receive a half-termly newsletter letting you know what is going on in the Nursery and an essential learning poster that provides key learning focus for home. We also provide a weekly parent planner of focus activities linked to our theme and key events for that week. We hold a Curriculum Evening in the autumn term and three further parent consultation evenings throughout. We also use a digital platform called Class Dojo. We Class Dojo to share daily photos/videos of activities the children have enjoyed that day and to share important updates and messages. This app also provides a use private messaging between parent and teacher.

Parents are always invited to celebrate key events during the school year with us including: the Easter Bonnet Parade, Christmas Performance and Sports’ Day, not forgetting the grand finale of the year – The Nursery Celebration!

We are very fortunate in the Nursery as we get daily contact with most of our parents at the start and end of each session. We ask that any worries or concerns that you may have be brought to our attention immediately no matter how small. You are welcome to speak to any member of staff at the end of the session or request to see us at a more convenient time.

Assessment procedures

Your child will be continually assessed throughout their time in Nursery in many different informal ways, such as observation of play, interactive play, games, focused tasks. We use these assessments to help us make judgements about how your child is progressing, how your child needs to be supported and challenged next and to inform our planning and
teaching. We share our evaluations with you at parent consultation evenings and ask for your opinions on how you feel your child is progressing. If at any time you would like to know how your child is progressing or would like advice on ways in which you can support your child’s learning at home, then please get in contact.

Ways in which to help your child prepare for Nursery

We are always being asked about ways in which parents can help to support their children in coming to Nursery. Please find a list below of ideas of activities you can help your child to practise at home:

Practising putting on and taking off a coat, shoes and socks including doing up and undoing the fastenings
Managing their own personal hygiene regarding toileting including hand washing
Using scissors to cut straight and curved lines
Holding a pencil correctly to follow different lines, trace pictures and draw
Recognising letters in their name
Recognising colours and simple shapes
Practising counting to ten
Singing familiar rhymes and songs from memory
Looking at pictures in stories and talking about what is happening
Asking and answering questions about what they see in sentences/phrases

Whitehouse Common Nursery offers;
Fulltime sessions 9:00am until 3:00pm
Morning session: 8:45am until 11:45pm
Afternoon session: 12.00pm until 3.00pm