Nursery school - Eagles & Owls

A Typical Session

Foundation stage – Early Learning Goals

Parental involvement

NURSERY SCHOOL - EAGLES & OWLS

A TYPICAL SESSION AT NURSERY SCHOOL

As you arrive, a member of staff will greet you and your child. The children are then free to choose what they would like to do, supported by staff if necessary. The children use the Montessori materials individually or in groups, learning key literacy, mathematics, cultural and life skills which help to promote independence and self-confidence in the children. (For more information see ‘What is Montessori?’ section). The children also have regular opportunities for many other activities. For example the children might experiment with materials provided on the creative shelf or make cards or charts as part of a project. They might choose to use the computer or join a planned staff-led activity. Maybe they will choose to play with sand and water, relax in the book corner or they may prefer to choose one of the many interesting scenarios that we set up for them to use for role play, such as a hairdressing salon or French Café.

A healthy snack, such as fruit, vegetable sticks, cheese or a home-made biscuit is provided around mid-morning. After the activity period, the children will go outside, weather permitting, where a large selection of activities is available on rotation. There is plenty of room for energetic play, a climbing frame with a safe surface, a sandpit and a play house. Alternatively action rhymes, yoga or a physical exercise session will take place indoors.

The children all contribute to keeping their school tidy - putting their activities away after use, washing up, sweeping up the crumbs, wiping the tables, watering the plants and flowers, feeding the fish and tidying generally. In this way the children gain a sense of social responsibility. The children also participate in music and movement sessions with a specialist teacher who visits twice weekly.


For the last part of the session the children gather together for group time, when there will be a discussion on some aspect of the current project, a child’s item of news, Teddy’s latest trip, a game of ‘I Spy’, a song or a counting rhyme, followed by a story and then home time or lunch.

EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE – EARLY LEARNING GOALS

To quote QCA, who maintain and develop the national curriculum, ‘The Foundation Stage is about developing key learning skills …………skills that will prepare young children for key stage 1 of the National Curriculum’. For more information try these links: www.qca.org.uk/160.html and www.underfives.co.uk/elg.html. We follow ‘Birth to Three Matters’ for children under three (more information in Section ‘Babies and Children under Thirty Months’) which continues seamlessly into the Foundation Stage for children from 3 to five years old.

The children will be working towards attaining the early learning goals by the end of their reception year at school. We help to lay sound foundations for this learning by providing a broad range of activities which introduce the children to all aspects of the six areas of learning

Personal, social and emotional development Communication, language and literacy Mathematical development Knowledge and understanding of the world Physical development Creative development

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

We ask you to sign a Parent/Nursery contract as we strongly believe that it is in the best interest of your child that we should work closely together. We hope you will also make contributions to the records of your child’s development and progress. We will keep you up to date on any special achievement or behavioural matter on a daily basis and you can have a more detailed chat at the start of the session if you wish. We also hold regular parents’ evenings and have a vibrant parents' committee.