We are the youngest members of our one form entry primary school and we are made up of twenty six children.

In the Nursery we aim to provide a busy, creative environment through a variety of exciting and imaginative learning projects. We work alongside Reception to build a successful foundation for learning and to prepare the children for key transitions as they move through the school. The children have a chance to learn through play and interact with their peers as well as with adults. They also learn key skills, such as name and number recognition, as well as important life skills, such as doing up coats, holding a pencil with the correct grip and learning to share with others. We believe that outdoor play is just as important for children’s development and encourage the children to take their learning further within the natural environment. Using the Development Profile, we plan our lessons with the children, based upon their interests, in order to enhance their engagement and provide versatility.

The Nursery Day
The nursery day is split into two sessions: the morning nursery starts at 8:45am and finishes at 11:45am and the afternoon wrap-around play session starts at 11.45am and finishes at 3.15pm. The register closes fifteen minutes after the session begins. We begin the day with some free play and when the register closes we all sit together to greet the class. Throughout the session our teachers have set up lots of different toys and activities for us to choose to play with. They also ask us to come and complete an activity with them at some point. Once everyone is settled one of teachers goes outside so that we can choose if we want to play outside or inside.

Luckily, we have an outside area that has a roof so if it is raining heavily we can still play outside underneath it. However, in the rainy winter months, we still need to bring a pair of wellies to nursery.

During our session we stop for milk and fruit time which is when we sit with some of our friends and have a drink and share some fruit. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we each bring a piece of fruit to nursery so that we have enough fruit to share throughout the week. We take turns to pass the fruit around and practise saying please and thank you and listening to one another, then we go back to playing (which is how we learn best). We have opportunities for learning in all different kinds of areas.

Before we go home we come together again on the carpet and have a story, sing together or play some circle games. On Fridays, we bring in something special to show the class and talk about.

The Nursery Classroom
Our classroom is divided into different areas to encompass all of the different skills and subjects that we like to explore. There is a role play corner that is linked to our project, as well as a home corner where we can pretend we are the mums and dads! We have a mark making space to help us begin our important literacy learning and also a number area. We have a special book corner and a quiet area for when we need a break from all that playing. When we are full of energy again, there is also a music area. Some of us really like to draw, paint and build so there are both construction and creative areas and, for the really imaginative, there are small world spaces full of dinosaurs and cars, pirates and animals. Finally, we have sand and water stations, not to mention the malleable table which could have anything from playdoh to jelly. So you can see it is a very busy day for us, but don’t forget that, with all this hands on learning, we may sometimes come home a bit messy!

Our Projects This Year
This year we will be thinking about lots of different questions to stimulate our learning, such as 'Why Do Leaves Go Crispy?'. Keep an eye out for how our learning develops...