Welcome to EYFS - Nursery

In Nursery, we are taught by Mrs Vasconcelos and supported by Mrs Bateman and Miss Cook. We also work alongside Miss Wilson, Miss Senior, Mrs Harvey and Mrs Wood within our EYFS unit.

We begin each day focusing on activities which develop the children’s fine and gross motor development. These range from dough disco to scarf dancing. Once we have warmed our bodies and minds up, we then move onto playing a range of phonic games and activities in preparation for when the children learn to read in Reception. Throughout the day the children have access to our stimulating indoor and outdoor environments which encourage learning through play- a fundamental part of early learning.

Our happy nursery offers opportunities for children to play that are structured around the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance to ensure that all children receive a quality experience that supports their development and learning.

Being read to is an important part of our learning in nursery as our children begin to develop a love of talking about stories and reading. We ask that parents read to their children at least 3 times a week to support us with this.

We also spend time developing our children’s personal, social and emotion skills. Our school’s 3Rs are an important part of our development as we nurture the children to become respectful, responsible and resilient members of our school community.

“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important in its own right.” - Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, Department for Education 2021

Our Intent and Aims

Within Early Years at Overdale CP School we aim to;

•  give each child a happy, positive and enjoyable start to their school life within a safe and secure environment.

•  establish solid foundations and foster a deep love of learning.

•  enable each child, through encouragement and high expectations, to develop socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually in order to thrive in a diverse and ever changing world.

•  offer a structure for learning that has a range of starting points and unlimited opportunity for development.

•  offer a broad and rich curriculum.

•  encourage children to develop independence within a nurturing and supportive atmosphere.

•  support children to build relationships through the development of social skills such as cooperation and sharing.

•  help each child to recognise their own strengths and achievements by experiencing success and developing their confidence to work towards personal goals.

Implementation

Structure of the EYFS

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) applies to children from birth to the end of the Reception year. Our Early Years Foundation Stage accommodates children from the age of 3 to 5 years. In our school we have space to accommodate two full time Nursery classes and two full-time Reception classes. Each nursery class has 26 places and children are offered a place following their third birthday. Currently in Nursery staffing includes a teacher and one teaching assistant. Children attend our Nursery with full time 30 hours or part –time 15 hours depending on parental needs.

Nursery Times

Morning Nursery 8.45 – 11.45

Afternoon Nursery 12.00 – 3.00

Fully Day 8.45 - 3.00

To ensure best practice and continuity, our foundation stage classes work closely together and share planning and an outdoor learning environment.

You can see all of our EYFS staff on our staff page.

The importance of learning through play

Play experiences will be planned for both indoors and outdoors and spontaneous child led play will also feature greatly, following particular ideas and interests of the children. We provide continuous provision in both our Nursery and Reception environments so that children become masters of their own play. We add enhancements to areas that provide challenge and interest based on the children’s learning needs and interests that foster deeper learning and achievement of a good level of age related progress.

‘Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.’ (Early Years Statutory Framework 2021)

Useful information

Our classes use ClassDojo as a platform for class activities and events. For more details, please login to your ClassDojo account below. You can send us photos of exciting things that you do as a family or achievements on your child’s class profile page. During each session children will have a drink and a snack: fruit, toast, flapjack etc. They will also be offered a carton of milk each day. Personal water bottles are name and picture labelled so your child can access them freely throughout the day.

"The single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in life is reading."

Your child will be provided with a free book bag, reading record and reading book. Please take 5 minutes every day to read with your child, either their home reading book or their own books. Reading the same book time after time gives children confidence and allows them to become expert story tellers and readers. We ask that you read with your child at least 3 times per week and record this in their reading records. Books will be changed once a week and book band levels are carefully matched to our schools phonics scheme Little Wandle.