Nursery

All the staff within our Nursery Class work together each day to provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment for all the children. The Key Person will keep a special eye on your child, making sure that they are happy and settled and that their needs are recognised and met within Nursery.

Your child will spend some time each day with their Key Worker in small groups. They will share news, ‘WOW’ postcards from home and our weekly learning focus. We will also have activities to help the children develop their social skills and emotional development during these times. Our weekly newsletters keep you up to date with what we are learning in the groups each week and give advice on how you can help at home.

If your child has any special news to share, or if you want to let us know about something amazing they have done at home, then please write this onto a ‘WOW’ postcard. These are sent home weekly with our newsletter and there is a supply on our Parents Board. Please feel free to bring in as many as you wish. We love to hear about what the children have been up to at home.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

This is the Curriculum for children from birth to 5. At Masefield Primary this guides the teaching and learning in our Nursery and Reception Classes.

The EYFS is made up of 4 themes: The Unique Child, Positive Relationships, The Enabling Environment and Learning and development.

These themes are important as they all combine to ensure young children make good, strong progress in their earliest years. This Stage in life is the most important as children’s minds and bodies grow and develop most from birth to age 4.  

EYFS Areas of Learning

In Learning and Development there are 7 Areas of learning which the curriculum is organised into to make sure children make all round development in this important stage.

How Children learn in the EYFS At Masefield

In our Nursery class the children learn the skills needed to become strong, confident individuals who are capable of learning and achieving through positive relationships, enabling environments and an understanding that every child is unique.

The children are introduced to new ideas and further thinking through the seven Areas of Learning and Development:

The first three are known as the Prime Areas (Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language and Physical Development) and develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences. These support and scaffold the four Specific Areas (Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design) which include essential skills and knowledge to ensure that children have the best possible start to their learning journey.

These skills, experiences and learning opportunities are presented to the children through meaningful play contexts and adult led activities which ensure that each child has the opportunity to play and explore in an active and engaging environment that allows them to be creative, think critically and take risks to achieve more.

In our Nursery Class children spend time within their Key Worker Groups where we teach further communication and social skills through programmes such as Nursery Narrative and Time to Talk.

Through interactive learning children follow all the curriculum areas to build up key basic skills in the seven areas of learning. Our Nursery Team very carefully observe children to understand what they can do, how children are learning well and use this information to plan the next steps in their learning. The children’s interests are used to inspire and engage deep learning. Learning takes place indoors and outdoors, in all weathers and teaching can be direct in small or large groups, guided by an adult or sometimes independent in response to a specific task or learning opportunity. These lessons and learning opportunities are planned to ensure children can apply their basic skills confidently and prepare them for their continued learning journey in Reception.

Learning experiences and interests children have outside school are very important, especially those they share with parents and carers. These experiences promote deep learning and hold great value for children as they experience new learning with those they are closest too. To help your child to learn the best they can in Nursery Class we really encourage partnership work. Please tell us how your child is learning at home, what they enjoy doing, and any new learning moments they have so we can build upon this in school. We regularly send home Wow! Postcards for you to share these valuable learning experiences with us. Likewise we share with you the developments your child makes as they progress through Nursery Class by weekly newsletters and termly Stay and Play sessions.

Characteristics of Effective Learning

The EYFS also places a clear focus on the importance of how children learn. These are known as the Characteristics of Effective Learning. Within Nursery we support the children in developing their skills of engagement, motivation and critical thinking. This results in children who are keen to explore, to keep on trying and having their own ideas about how to solve problems.

The Characteristics of Effective Learning link to our whole school policy of developing a ‘Growth Mindset’ where children are encourages to use setbacks and difficulties as motivation. We celebrate effort alongside results and encourage children to accept challenges with a sense of achievement for trying.

At Masefield we also use the Leven tool to support children in their emotional development. This focuses on children’s well-being and levels of involvement and helps us to create an environment where the children feel at ease, confident and resilient. The Leven tool helps to encourage deep level learning and to identify where a child may need support in their emotional development.

Attendance Options and Nursery Fees

Times of Sessions

Masefield Primary School offer 15 hours free provision to three and four year old children, as well as 30 hours funding (4.5 days.)

We offer flexible provision which allows the 15 hours to be taken to suit your family.  The hours may be taken in the morning, which does not incur any cost, or a combination of full and part days over the week which incur a charge as detailed below.  

We also give the option to pay for extra sessions if required and if places are available. 

The times for the sessions are: 

MORNING       8.45am to 11.45am

FULL DAY        8.45am to 3:30pm

Nursery Fees

The fees for the extra provision are:

Extra morning or afternoon session              3 hours            £16

Full week provision                                     15 hours          £75

Lunch time provision                                   Daily                £3

Fees are subject to change.

School Meals

If your child stays for a full day you can provide a packed lunch or we can provide them with a school meal at a cost of £2.47 (current 2023/24 price) per day.

Intake procedure

Acceptance of children who turn 3

At Masefield, we offer places to children the term after their third birthday (September, January and April intake.) On some occasions we are able to accept children once they turn three, but only if there are spaces available in our Nursery setting which corresponds with the adult ratio figures.  Children born in July will only be admitted into Nursery in the following September due to term dates.

Transition into Nursery

To support each child’s smooth transition into the setting, we strongly recommend that parents attend a “play and stay” visit, at least one week prior to their child starting in Nursery.  If parents or carers feel that their child may need additional time or support to settle then a transition period can be amended to reflect the individual needs of the child.

Changes to Nursery hours or days

Where possible, we will try to accommodate families who need their hours of provision extending or reducing, or require Nursery provision on a different day.  This flexibility is dependent on our numbers in each session and we recommend that Provision is only changed at the beginning of a new half term. This is to help the children settle into a new routine.

How to Help at Home

We understand that it is a big step for your child to go to Nursey and you want to do as much as you can to help them in their first educational steps.  To help you in this process we have put together some ways you can work with your child so that they are ready to start. 

Toilet Training

For your child’s comfort and independence, it is preferable that your child be toilet trained before they attend Nursery. Please inform us beforehand if there is any reason why this is not possible so we can work together to help your child. Children can go to the toilet at anytime and need not ask an adult. The staff do encourage and remind children. However, when accidents do occur, your child will be changed without fuss.

Dummies

We recognise that a dummy can be a source of comfort for a child who is settling and/or upset, and that it may often form part of a child’s sleep routine.  However, we do not allow dummies into Nursery as we believe that overuse of dummies may affect a child’s language development as it may restrict the mouth movements needed for speech.  We highly recommend that you start to wean your child off their dummies during the day so it is not a big shock when they start with us.

Learning through play

Learning through play is an ideal way of starting your child’s education without them knowing! Counting games can be fun and can be done anywhere ie counting steps, times they are being pushed on a swing, how many of their favourite sweets there are; to name but a few. 

Encouraging your child to develop their fine motor skills will help them in their writing.  This can be done by picking up small objects or playing with small toys.  Also allow your child to draw and scribble and ‘pretend’ they are writing to encourage letter formation.  It is important that from an early age they hold the pencil correctly.  Please click here for more tips.

Reading

We cannot recommend reading with your child enough.  Even at a young age children develop a love of books which in turn enables them to become confident and strong readers.  Read with your child everyday and talk about the story and ask appropriate questions which will lead to better understanding.

Learning Journey

Each child in Nursery has a Learning Journey.  This is a book which contains information about your child’s time at nursery.  It will have targets, details about events they have taken part in, photographs of your child in play and any major milestones and achievements.  The Learning Journeys are available to look at on request and you will have the opportunity to look through them at one of the stay and play sessions that are organised.