Welcome to Nursery 
Key information for children, parents and carers

Email: nursery@holyfamily.ealing.sch.uk

Nursery Team

Teacher: Miss Hallsworth

Support staff: Miss Jalali and Miss Eva

 Nursery Sessions
 

Morning session: 8:30 am -11:30 am

All day session: 8:30am -15:30 pm

In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) at Holy Family Catholic Primary School our aims are to:

•  support children to make a planned, confident transition from home to school
•  provide a happy, caring, safe and secure environment for learning
•  plan learning experiences that meet the individual needs and interests of the children through a balanced provision of adult led and child initiated opportunities
• support children to become competent and confident learners so they are able to reach their full potential
• provide a broad and balanced high quality curriculum in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance
• foster positive home school links with parents and other care providers.

We follow The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum as detailed below. This framework is a means of ensuring high standards of early education and care that will reassure parents that their child’s development is being fully supported. It underpins all future learning by supporting and fostering the children’s personal, social and emotional well-being. It encourages positive attitudes and dispositions towards learning in the children and promotes learning through play.

The seven areas of learning and development are:

Prime Areas

Communication and language

The development of children's spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children's back-and forth interactions from early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of conversations children have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language - rich environment is crucial. In the nursery, the adults are commenting on what children are doing, and echoing back what children say with new vocabulary added to help children build their language effectively. We read frequently to the children, and engage them actively in stories, rhymes and poems.  Children have many opportunities to develop their language skills through conversation, story-telling and role play, where they are encouraged to share their ideas with support and modelling from their teachers. 

Physical development

Physical activity is vital in children's all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives. Gross and fine motor experiences develop incrementally  throughout early childhood, starting with sensory explorations and the development of child's strength, co-ordination and positional awareness.  In the nursery, we provide many opportunities for children to develop fine and gross motor skills. 

Personal, social and emotional development

Children's personal, social and emotional development is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives, and is fundamental to their cognitive development. Underpinning their personal development are the important attachments that shape their social world. Strong, warm and supportive relationship with adults enable children to learn how to understand their own feelings and those of others. In the nursery, we support children to mange emotions, develop a positive sense of self and have confidence in their own abilities. Children learn how to look after their bodies and manage personal needs independently. The adults help children to learn how to make good friendships, co-operate and resolve conflicts.

The Specific Areas

Literacy: 

Reading consists of two dimensions: Language comprehension and word reading. In our nursery we want children to develop a life-long love of reading. We talk to children about the world around us, read books with them, enjoy rhymes, poems and songs together to help them develop their language comprehension. Children are encouraged to listen to and play with sounds in the environment as well as in spoken words.  They can also choose a book to take home for the weekend to help develop their love for books and reading. Daily phonic sessions are introduced towards the end of the year.

Children are encouraged to make marks and write freely on both large and small scale. We provide numerous opportunities, such us painting with large brushes, drawing with chalk, making play-dough, cake or sewing a bag, writing labels. Adults often model writing and talk to children about the marks they make. We encourage children to tell their own story, which are then scribed by staff and shared with others during our carpet time.

Mathematics

 We believe that children should be offered with many opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers through practical activities. We introduce and practise simple calculating and problem solving through activities such as play dough and cake making, sewing, building or sand and water play. Children will learn to count confidently and develop the deep understanding of those numbers to 10. They are encouraged to look for patterns and relationships between numbers.

Children are also provided with numerous opportunities for learning about shapes, space and measures. Adults model language of shape, space and measures while cooking or building with children. The learning environment is organised in a way to foster shape matching, e.g. 2D shadowing to correspond with 3D objects in different areas around Nursery. 

Understanding the world

Naturally, children are inquisitive learners and what to know more about the world around them. We encourage children to ask questions about the world around them as well as talk about what they have observed such as plants, animals, natural and found objects. We provide opportunities for them to learn about different occupations and increase their knowledge and sense of the world around them through visiting local shops and areas. 

Expressive arts and design

 The development of children's artistic and cultural awareness supports children's imagination and creativity. In the nursery, we provide regular opportunities for children to engage in art through singing songs, making music and dance.  They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

Children can represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.