Hollingwood Primary School

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are pleased that you have chosen Hollingwood Primary School Nursery and hope your child will be very happy here. This booklet contains information about the nursery and what your child will be doing. If you have any concerns before your child starts please do not hesitate to contact us by ringing the school or calling into school.

Yours Sincerely

Miss Helen Lawson
(Nursery teacher)

Mrs Sally Bates
(Deputy Headteacher and KS1/FS Co-ordinator)

Mr Stephen Hull
(Headteacher)

Talk to your child about the things they will be able to do at nursery. Help your child to become more independent. Encourage your child to feed and dress themselves and to tidy up their own things.

Before starting nursery, your child must be toilet trained during the day, and should be able to manage himself/herself at the toilet. We do not have the facilities to change your child if they are still wearing pull-ups but are able to assist your child if they have an accident when wearing pants. If you have any concerns please don’t be afraid to approach the nursery staff where we will be happy to help you.

We would like to get to know your child as quickly as possible, his/her likes and dislikes, what s/he is good at, any activities s/he particularly enjoys etc. If your child has any anxieties, please discuss these at an early stage. It may be better to do this without your child being present. On your child’s first day at nursery, you will have the chance to have a parent meeting and be able to share this information with us.

Your child will be attending nursery for 5 morning sessions a week, the nursery day starts at 8.45am and ends at 11.45am. Please be sure you are there to collect your child promptly at the end of the session. However, if you are delayed, please phone the school to let us know, so we can reassure your waiting child. If somebody different to yourselves or a regular carer is to collect your child, please inform a member of nursery staff in order for there to be no confusion. If we are not informed that someone else is picking up your child and we do not recognise the person who turns up to collect your child, we are legally not allowed to let your child leave.

Every child is different and will settle into nursery at different paces and in different ways. On your child’s first day at nursery you may want to spend the morning with them or leave them to get on, on their own. This is your choice as a parent. On the second day at nursery we encourage parents to stay for some of the session and to take a ‘back seat’. Sometimes children and parents are happy to say goodbye on arrival on the second day. Always say goodbye and let your child know that s/he will be collected later. We understand that possibly seeing your child upset is a distressing time for you but we can assure you that after you have left, children usually settle down and join in with nursery life. If you ever leave your child and feel unhappy we always welcome any phone calls so you can check that your child is okay.

Within our nursery we operate a key worker system where one member of staff is allocated a small number of children to look after. It enables a close, secure adult–child relationship, which is critical for early development. This means that one practitioner has primary responsibility for gathering in-depth knowledge of your child, based on observation.

In nursery you child will be using paint, play dough, glue and lots of other creative but ‘messy’ stuff, and although we provide aprons, we strongly advise you to send your child in school uniform. This way it saves any expensive clothes being ruined or covered in paint. The school uniform is navy blue with grey or black trousers and skirt, and Hollingwood Primary School Sweatshirts and T-shirts are available to buy from the school office.

Please ensure that any clothing that your child brings to nursery is labelled clearly with their name. Can we also please ask that no jewellery is to be worn to nursery and sensible shoes, no high heeled shoes please.

In hot summer months please make sure that you send your child with a sun hat as they will be outside for some of the time. Please also make sure your child wears sun cream to nursery. During the winter months your child will still have access to the outdoor area so please send them in warm clothing for both indoor and outdoor as we have the nursery door open and this can sometimes make it chilly.

Everyday, snack will be available for all the children. We sit together on the carpet to eat snack. Snack consists of milk and a variety of fruit. We encourage all children to have snack but feel it is not necessary to make it compulsory.

We also encourage children to bring their own water bottle to school each day, there is a tray as you enter the nursery where the bottles are kept and the children are free to access these throughout the session. Please write your child’s name on their water bottle as on occasions some children bring the same. Please do not fill your child’s water bottle with fizzy drinks.

Please do not send your child with their own sweets or biscuits as they are not needed. However, if your wish to send a packet of biscuits or cakes to be shared with the other children on a special occasion that would be very kind. On a Friday we have ‘special snack’ in nursery which consists of a variety of snack from biscuits to cheese. We also have a growing area in the nursery garden where we plant, grow and eat our own fruit and vegetables.

We have a pot in the entrance area where we ask kindly for a donation of around 50p per week to help fund for special snack and malleable materials within nursery. This small donation allows us provide the best resources for your child, replacing older things with new things.

Self registration: when you arrive at nursery at 8.45am, your child’s name will be in the entrance hall, there are 4 different types of name:

• White with grey writing: these are either just your child’s first name or first and second name which are to be taken to the writing table where they will write over their name with a whiteboard pen.
• Orange: your child will have a chance to write their name on the Interactive Whiteboard using the keyboard.
• Photo: if your child has a photo they go over to the creative table where they will write their own name on a whiteboard unsupported.

Once your child had completed their name there is a yellow pot to put these in next to the computer.

Your child will have their own peg which will be labelled with their name and will have a picture on it in order for them to recognise their own peg.

Between 8.45am - 9.15am your child is entering nursery, saying bye to parents and finding somewhere to play. During this time we also do leader time where 2 children are picked a day to become the leader of nursery for the day. They take charge of helping to set up, helping with snack and helping around the nursery.

Between 9.15am - 9.25am your child will take part in carpet time where we all sit on the carpet and take the register. We then count how many children are here using the name cards and we write the number on the Interactive Whiteboard. We then sing the days of the week song and take part in number activities on the board.

Between 9.25am - 9.45am in your child’s final terms within nursery they will take part in ‘sound wizards.’ This is where your child will complete phase 1 of the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme. Within this time they will learn to link sounds to all the letters in the alphabet.

Between 9.45am - 11.20am your child will be developing their skills through free-flow play indoor or outdoor. One member of staff will be outside and one member of staff will be inside. The member of staff inside will be directing a ‘focused activity.’ This means an adult will lead an activity and children will be invited to participate in small groups. These activities are usually based on the topic or used for assessments on your child.

Between 10.20am - 10.40am your child will come to sit in a circle on the carpet ready to have their snack followed by a story where the children will be split into 2 groups.

Between 11.20am - 11.30am this is tidy up time in nursery. The children are responsible for tidying up their own mess in nursery with adult support. We have 2 tidy up songs in which the children tidy then when they hear the song ‘if your happy and you know it’ it is now time to go to the carpet and join in with the song.

Between 11.30am - 11.40am this is singing time in nursery where the children will be split into 2 groups.

Between 11.40am - 11.45am all the children come together on the carpet. Within this time we are able to reward children with stickers and superstar certificates for any good behaviour we have seen in nursery on that day.

Collecting your child: all the children will be sat on the carpet, the children are not to move off the carpet until a member of staff has said their name and they have seen their parent/carer who is collecting them.

Throughout your child’s time in nursery they will continually be forming numbers and letters. When teaching you child to form letters please remember to write in lower case letters (apart from the first letter of their name) as this help to reinforce what we are teaching them in nursery. Encouraging children to write and read numbers in their everyday environment i.e. recognising numbers on house or buses or writing numbers in bubbles in the bath will encourage children to see that learning is fun!

On a Thursday we have a ‘Family Reading’ day where we invite parents/carers into nursery to pick 2 library books from the library tray and read them in nursery with your child. Your child will also be able to take these books home from nursery but will need to be logged out on the computer by a member of staff. We then ask you to return these books the week after so that your child can swap them for new ones. During this time I am also able to offer some parent meeting times, I can offer four 10 minute slots each week for you to discuss any problems you may have or just a general discussion on your child’s development.

Family reading time: 11.15am – 11.45am.

Library book bags are available from the office or ask a member of nursery staff.

The School has a statutory responsibility to record and monitor punctuality and attendance of pupils for both morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is away from school, please notify the school as soon as possible, preferably by telephone. Then following an absence from school parents are requested to send a written note to explain the absence on the child's return to school. School will authorise sickness for up to 10 days (continuous or intermittent) but after that we may ask to discuss the situation with you.

If your child falls ill at nursery or has had an accident, we will phone you. If you are out we will contact the emergency numbers you have given us. If you cannot be contacted, and your child does no require hospital treatment, we will make your child as comfortable as possible in nursery until you come to collect them at the normal time. Please keep your contact details up to date.

On a Friday we have a ‘show and tell’ day. This is a chance for your child to bring in a toy from home to talk about and show to the rest of the nursery. Please do not allow your child to bring in anything from home apart from on a Friday.

In the entrance on the nursery your child has a folder where their paintings/drawings will be put everyday, please check this regularly as letters may also be put in here if your child was absent when we gave them out.

We believe in strong partnerships with parents, you are the first educators of your child and we fully respect you and your views. Parents play a vital role in school life and we are always pleased to welcome you into school.

Please feel free to talk to nursery staff at any time, the best time to catch us is at the beginning or the end of the session.

You will notice that on your entrance to nursery we have an observation board. We use this to display any observations we have made of your child throughout the term. If you notice your child doing anything at home please feel free to add your own observations to the board as this all goes toward their assessment and development.

We are always happy to welcome parents and carers into nursery to use their skills and help us out. We could always use extra pairs of hands. If you would like to come and give us a hand just speak to one of the staff in nursery.

In case of a fire the fire alarm will sound throughout nursery. The children get into a line where they hold a rope and move through the nursery outside play area - turn left towards the middle playground and from there to the top playground. It may be a good idea to talk this procedure through with your child so they know what to do in the event of a fire.

• The car park is for staff only. Parents and visitors are requested not to bring their cars up the school drive.
• The school grounds are a no smoking zone.
• If there is an event at school where you wish to photography your child, please ask about completing the consent/disclosure form/sheet.
• School letters and pieces of written information for you will either be given to your child just before they leave or maybe put into your child’s folder. Please check this regularly.

The Early Years Foundation Stage was introduced into school in September 2008. There are six areas of learning in this curriculum:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Behaviours, sharing, respecting, confidence)
• Communication, Language and Literacy (facial expression and gesture, listening, speaking, letter sounds, reading and writing)
• Mathematical Development (numbers, counting, shape, space, measure)
• Knowledge and Understanding of the World (science, DT, ICT, past and present, cultures, environments)
• Physical Development (fine motor, gross motor, health awareness)
• Creative Development (art, imagination, role-play, music, dance and movement)

There will be a lot of activities available and the children are encouraged to experience them all. The areas of learning mentioned earlier will be implemented through carefully planned 'play' based exploratory activities. Well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is the key way in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge. The nursery consists of different areas:

Creative/Design Technology Area

This area will have activities such as painting, gluing and sticking, cutting, printing, sponging, etc. Children will access what has been planned for and placed on the table, as well as having free access to sellotape, scissors, collage materials to encourage them to develop fine motor skills and extend their learning.

Imaginary/Role-Play

The home corner and dressing up area will be available daily for children to model their learned behaviours through experiences. There will be a role-play extension area to the home corner which will vary depending on our topic such as a travel agent, a supermarket, a vet, etc. Small world scenes are also available to children daily, such as people, farm animals, wild animals, train sets, car garages and many more.

Construction Area

This area will have different ranges of construction materials each day, such as lego, duplo, stickle bricks, etc. Also in this area are note pads, felt pens and sellotape, which children can use to label their models, draw their models or plan what they are going to make.

Music Den

The music area consists of various instruments and nursery rhyme books. Children are able to access these at any time.

Sand & Water

Sand and water are used for a variety of learning experiences ranging from imaginary to sensory, or from mathematical purposes to developing fine motor control.

Malleable & Play Dough Table

This area will range from messy tactile resources, such as corn flour, play dough, mash potato, jelly, and ice cubes. This area is designed to help develop fine motor control and early mark making. The play dough table is out at all times and helps children with the fine motor development and manipulative skills.

Writing Area

This area consists of a writing table, where children have visual aids to a variety of different prints, pictures and writing tools. The writing table will have carefully been planned for and is sometimes themed weekly, whilst the rest of the area is free access.

Reading Den

This area is available at all times for the children to access. It contains comfy cushions, cuddle toys and an array of books for your children to access freely.

Maths Area

This area is themed weekly and includes counting, sorting, matching, seeking patterns, making connections, recognising relationships and working with numbers, shapes, space and measures.

Knowledge & Understanding Of The World Area

This is an area which consists of mainly science based activities, such as magnetism, colour, senses, mirrors, space, world, and more. This area will also be used to display historical and multicultural artefacts or photographs, and resources linked to geography, such as post cards, a globe, and non-fiction books. It is an area mainly for exploratory play.

Information Communication Technology

The computer is available to children daily. Games and software are carefully planned for to cover all areas of learning via using the computer. We also have an Interactive Whiteboard in nursery that is available for children to use at all times.

Outdoors - Physical Development

The outdoor area is open for the majority of the time in nursery. It reflects on areas from the indoors in order for your child to assess the curriculum both in and out of doors. Children will also have access to equipment where they can develop skills such as climbing, balancing, travelling through, jumping, throwing, aiming, catching, and riding scooters and bikes.

We also have a Veranda and a writing house for the children to play in, which enables us to go out even if it’s raining.