Nursery

Wraparound Care

Wraparound care is also available for before and after school hours.

The charges for Wraparound Care are;

• Before School Club – 7.45am to 8.20am – £1.75 (children will be taken to Magic Breakfast for 8.20am)
• After School Club – 3.10pm to 4.30pm – £3.50 until 4.30pm, or £5.00 until 5.00pm (staff will collect children from Nursery at 3.10pm)

Funded hours can be used towards the cost of Wraparound Care.

All nursery children will be eligible to attend our Before and After School Clubs.

Our Wraparound Care team are;

• Mrs Willison
• Mrs Kirk

If you require your child to attend Wraparound Care please contact the School Office.  All places must be booked in advance.

Nursery Opening Times

The nursery will be open in line with the rest of the school.  The term dates for the 2024/25 academic year are as follow;

Plus bank holiday Monday 5th May

Inset Days – School Closed to Pupils

Wednesday 4^th September

Friday 29^th November

Monday 24^th February

Monday 30^th June

Thursday 24^th July

Lunch and Snacks

Snacks

All Nursery children will be offered FREE fruit and milk every day. 

Children are given the opportunity to prepare their own snack and gain an understanding of having a balanced diet and food hygiene. We provide balanced, healthy meals at lunch time.

Lunch

If your child stays for lunch, they will eat in the school dining hall with their Nursery peers and will be supported by our staff team.

Your child can either pay for a school dinner, or bring their own packed lunch. Please ensure this contains healthy food choices.

You will be provided with forms to inform staff members of any particular dietary requirements or allergies your child may have.

For more details click on the button below

Uniform

Our Nursery children have a polo t-shirt which they are required to wear on the days they attend Nursery.  There are also matching Nursery sweatshirts and cardigans.

Our full Uniform Policy can be found here.

When children return to school in September, they are allowed to wear either Summer or Winter Uniform up until October half term due to the unpredictable nature of the weather in the early Autumn.

Please can all children bring with them a small bag containing a full change of clothes, a hat, a waterproof coat and a pair of wellies (which can stay in the school).  If your child has specific intimate care needs, please speak to a member of the EYFS team.

How to Purchase School Uniform

We currently use our local provider for all our branded uniform items as follows:

Kick Off Sports: please visit their store in Matlock or visit their online shop by pressing this link Parade Schoolwear

Intent

At St Joseph’s Nursery, we have created a safe, happy and inclusive environment where all children feel a strong sense of belonging and develop into confident, curious and independent learners.

Our priority is developing positive, trusting relationships with children. We support children in recognising and regulating their emotions, developing their resilience when faced with challenge.

We work in partnership with parents in a nurturing environment to help extend knowledge, skills and confidence to support children in achieving their full potential.

We aim to provide opportunities to develop children’s communication and language skills. We ensure early intervention to help children to confidently communicate their needs and interests.
High quality play is a vital part of children’s development and helps them to make sense of the world. We aim to provide high quality, open-ended learning experiences within the provision which are led by the children’s imagination, interests and next steps.

We aim to develop children’s cultural capital by providing opportunities to build on their knowledge and understanding of our diverse world. We celebrate the uniqueness of our pupils and encourage children to express themselves creatively.

We understand the importance of children connecting with and experiencing nature. We wish to create awareness and appreciation of the magic of the changing seasons, within our beautiful school grounds.

Implementation

The Nursery provision is overseen by Miss Montgomery, a qualified teacher, and a team of experienced EYFS practitioners. Staff are kind and caring and put the needs of the children first.

We work closely with parents to learn about their child’s individual needs, likes and dislikes to support their transition into their new learning environment. When children first start Nursery, we support them at their own pace to help them to feel safe and comfortable.

We regularly communicate with parents through face-to-face conversations and Class Dojo, which allows for messaging and the sharing and celebration of children’s learning. A weekly summary is sent out to parents with suggestions of how they continue their child’s learning at home.

We have carefully developed a thorough curriculum which builds on children’s learning and prepares the foundations for starting Reception. The curriculum covers the ‘7 Areas of Learning’ outlined in The Early Years Framework.

Communication and Language

We work hard to develop children’s early communication and language skills. Staff are trained in maintaining high quality, positive interactions with children- introducing new vocabulary and asking carefully constructed questions to promote thinking and extend curiosity.  Staff take time to listen to children, sensitively rephrase what children have said and model correct language and sentence structure.

We use the Wellcomm Toolkit to assess individual needs and target early intervention. We also use Widgit symbols and Makaton to support children’s communication and understanding.

Personal, Social, Emotional Development

We recognise that children’s behaviour is reflective of how they are feeling. We approach children’s emotions with empathy, calmly supporting children in understanding and processing their emotions. We model using words and meanings to name and express emotions and practice them together as they arise.

It is important for children to feel a sense of self, we take time to learn about the child, their family and experiences in life to helped them feel cared for and loved. We work hard to develop positive relationships with children and their families so that children feel safe and ready to learn.

We also support children in meeting their personal hygiene needs such as going to the toilet, washing hands and recognising a healthy, balanced diet. We have a changing area for children who wear nappies and support children and parents in the transition to toilet training.

Physical Development

Children have regular opportunities to developing their fine and gross motor strength and coordination. We offer hand and finger strengthening through playdough, small world play, finger gym and crafting, for example.

We develop gross motor strength by spending time in our wonderful school grounds. Children improve their core strength through climbing, swinging, riding balance bikes and moving their bodies in a variety of creative ways. We understand the importance of children being able to ‘cross the body’s midline’. We encourage this through activities which promote balance, using both sides of the body, planning and sequencing and healthy body awareness. Additionally, children take part in daily Squiggle While You Wiggle sessions.

Literacy

We understand the importance of introducing children to classic nursery rhymes, traditional tales and a diverse range of enriching stories. We have a ‘rhyme of the week’ and a ‘book of the week’ which have been carefully planned to introduce key vocabulary and new experiences.  Children have independent access to high quality texts within the provision and they take home a ‘choice book’ each week to share with their families to embed an early love of reading, recognise print has meaning and learn how to take care of books.

Children have regular opportunities to mark make, developing their early writing skills. We focus on develop fine motor skills to ensure children are ready to hold mark making equipment such as crayons, felt tips and paint brushes. We encourage children to write their own name before starting Reception.

Older children are taught phonics through our Little Wandle Letters and Sounds programme. We develop children’s listening and attention skills by encouraging them to hear initial sounds in words, to orally blend sounds together to make words and to recognise rhyming strings.

Mathematics

Our maths curriculum supports children to develop a deep understanding of number, pattern, spatial reasoning and finding connections. We provide frequent opportunities to count using a range of resources around the provision. Children organise their counting into ‘fives frames’ and see numbers represented in a wide variety of ways. Children develop their spatial reasoning skills through learning about shapes, navigating spaces and measuring.  We use the BBC’s Numberblocks as an exciting way to support our teaching of maths. We aim to spark an interest and curiosity of maths through all areas of learning, supporting children in recognising patterns, spotting connections and developing their resilience, seeing mistakes as learning opportunities.

Understanding the World

We support children’s understanding of world by helping them to understand themselves first. We look at photographs of when children were babies and think about how they have changed and celebrate children’s families.

We celebrate children’s birthdays at school by baking and decorating a cake to help them feel special. We also acknowledge children’s home experiences such as special occasions, exciting achievements and looking at places they have visited.

We provide children with a range of opportunities to extend their personal experiences and knowledge of Matlock such as visiting parks, shops and the library. And asking important members of society to come and visit us such healthcare professionals, police officers and firefighters. We invite family members into nursery to talk to the children and share their experiences.

At St Joseph’s we celebrate the diverse world we live in. Children have access to stories and experiences to support our teaching of different people, countries, cultures, food and animals across the world. We also support children to become more technologically aware, understand the purpose of devices and how they can be used safely.

We want children to develop a love and a connection towards nature. We ensure we spend time outdoors every day, whatever the weather and explore the seasonal changes around us. Children are encouraged to respect the animals and plants around them, to be curious and ask questions to find out more. Children take part in Forest Schools where they explore fire safety, campfire cooking and be imaginative with natural materials.

Expressive Arts and Design

We provide opportunities for children to engage in the arts and develop their artistic awareness. We teach children about different musical instruments and expose them to a range of music genres from classical to hip-hop which they can move their bodies to. We arrange musical ‘jam’ sessions where the children can create their own music with others. We provide a range of open-ended loose parts for children to plan and create something that interests them such as making a home for their favourite toy. We also provide tools, brushes, paints and materials for children to create their own masterpieces which are not interrupted nor led by adults.

Impact

We have high expectations of all children in our care and are dedicated to helping them achieve their potential. We recognise that all children developing differently and our main aim is for all children to make progress throughout their time in nursery based on their individual needs.
We assess children daily through observations and playing with them, recognising what their next steps to learning are. These next steps inform planning, and we adapt the provision based on this information to meet the needs of the children.

We use Point In Time Assessments (PITAs) to identify children’s progress. Children are baselined upon entry to the setting and throughout their time in nursery to identify next steps to learning.

We work alongside our SENDCo, Mrs Barratt, and outside agencies such as speech and language therapists, community nurses and social workers to support individual children and identify need for early intervention.

Communicating regularly and sharing knowledge and skills with parents, supports children in their transition from home to school and creates a sense of consistency.

Our varied curriculum allows children of all abilities to make progress and supports children in becoming well rounded individuals who have developed the key skills, knowledge and understanding to lay the foundations for their school journey.

Nursery Newsletter Advent 1

Nursery Newsletter Advent 2

Newsletter Nursery Lent 1