Welcome to Reignhead Primary School Nursery
As a nursery we offer a variety of 15 hour sessions as well as 30 hour places. Children are offered a choice of the following 15 hour sessions (availability dependent)
- 5 x morning sessions- 5 x afternoon sessions- Monday full day, Tuesday full day and Wednesday am (additional lunch charges)- Wednesday pm, Thursday full day and Friday full day (additional lunch charges)
Our day starts at 8:40am when our door will be open for children to come in until 8:50am. Our day ends at 3:20pm. For children attending our morning sessions, the gate opens at 11:30am for children to be collected. The gate opens at 12:20pm for our afternoon children to join us. For children who attend wrap around sessions, Mrs. Cox, one of our teaching assistants, runs a lunch club from 11:30am until 12:20pm - at an additional cost to parents/carers.
Intent
At Reignhead we want our children to develop a sense of pride in themselves and respect for others both at school and within their community. We aim to foster partnerships with families and engage them in their child’s learning journey. We work in partnership with parents and carers to encourage independent, happy learners who thrive in school and reach their full potential from their various starting points. We support our children to develop a sense of citizenship in line with British Values.
We plan to provide an ambitious curriculum which enables children to develop their curiosity and problem solving, sowing the seeds for a love of lifelong learning. We will develop our children to speak with confidence and fluency in a variety of situations. We want them to develop an enriched vocabulary and a love for reading.
We understand and follow children’s interests and for these to be nurtured to ignite their enthusiasm for learning. Through developing learning behaviours such as playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically, we want children to be autonomous with their own learning. We want them to plan, implement, consolidate and deepen knowledge and ensure children meet their next steps.
We will create an engaging and stimulating environment, both inside and outdoors, which supports and challenges learning. It will stimulate the children physically and mentally developing the health and wellbeing of our children. Giving the encouragement to manage risk and develop resilience.
By the end of the Reception year, our intent is to ensure that all children make at least good progress from their starting points and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to have a smooth transition into Year 1.
Implementation
Our curriculum practice has been shaped with respect to the four overarching principles:
- every child is a unique child, who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured
- children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships
- children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and/or carers
Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates.
Our EYFS curriculum follows the statutory guidance EYFS Framework 2021 and is supported by the Development Matters guidance 2021. The Characteristics of effective teaching and learning are also central to all planned learning experiences in our EYFS curriculum. Emphasis is on learning through play, direct practical experience and led by the interests of our children. There is a combination of adult-led, teacher taught sessions as well as engaging continuous provision opportunities encouraging children to develop their learning independently through discovery, exploration, curiosity and challenge. Adults scaffold learning through skilful interactions and effective questioning.
Our learning environments are stimulating and exciting but most importantly relevant to the needs and age/stage of our children. The internal and external environments are designed to allow children to access resources and the curriculum independently, making their own choices. All environments are adapted regularly to meet the developing needs of the children, providing support and challenge to all.
Each half term, we use a thematic approach to inspire and bring the seven key curriculum areas to life:-
Prime Areas of learning
Communication and Language – developing a love of language through conversation, story telling and role play and providing extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development – managing emotions, developing a positive sense of self, positive interactions and conflict resolution.
Physical development – developing core strength, gross and fine motor skills developing proficiency, control and confidence.
These are complimented by the four Specific Areas of learning
Literacy -developing language comprehension and auditory processing skills are the focus in the Nursery year. This prepares the children for formal daily phonics teaching using ‘RWI’ in the Reception year.
Maths – using ‘White Rose’ to develop a deep understanding of numbers and developing spatial reasoning skills across all areas of maths including shape, space and measures.
Understanding the World – developing understanding of our culturally, socially, technologically and ecologically diverse world.
Expressive arts and Design – developing artistic and cultural awareness to support imagination and creativity.
EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s feed into the National Curriculum and children are exposed to purposeful activities to build on their natural curiosity.
Our inclusive approach means that all children learn together, but we have a range of additional intervention and support for children who may not be reaching their potential, or are showing a greater depth of understanding and need further challenge. This includes,
Assessment is ongoing throughout the year. Pupil progress meetings every half term ensure consistency in assessment and planning for all children, identifying those in need of further intervention to accelerate progress.
Ongoing observations are used to inform weekly planning and identify children’s next steps. This formative assessment does not involve prolonged periods of time away from the children and excessive paper work. Practitioners draw on their knowledge of the child and their own expert professional judgements through discussions with other practitioners, photographs and physical examples such as a child’s drawing/creation. ’Wow’ moments are recorded on our online learning journal – Tapestry.
Prior to children starting, staff spend time speaking to the child’s parents, previous settings and read previous learning journey’s to gain an understanding of the whole child and where they are at. During the first half term in Nursery or Reception, all staff use ongoing assessments, observations and conversations with the child to develop a baseline assessment. This identifies each individual’s starting points in all areas so we can plan experiences to ensure progress. This includes the RBA (Statutory Reception Baseline Assessment) This assessment focuses on ‘Language, Communication and Literacy,’ and ‘Mathematics.’ The purpose of this is to show the progress children make from Reception until the end of KS2. This is completed within the first 6 weeks of beginning the Reception year.
Impact
By the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, all children will have reached their personal best and have achieved at least good progress across all areas of learning, aiming for a good level of development (GLD).
Impact is also evident through our successful transitions into Year 1. EYFS staff have a good understanding of how ELG’s link to the National Curriculum, and through our robust planning and delivery across the spectrum of subjects – both core and foundation - children leave the EYFS stage with the skills, knowledge and confidence to continue their journey as scientists, historians, artists and geographers.
