Welcome to the Nursery

We are a school Nursery offering part time and full time places for all children aged 3 -4 years.

Our sessions are 8.45-11.45 or 12.15-3.15. 

We are staffed by a qualified Early Years teacher Mrs. Taylor and qualified Nursery Nurse (Mrs. Bernard) and two Learning Support Assistants, Miss Borg and Miss Masters. 

We use the Early Years Framework and ‘Development Matters’ guidance to provide a balanced  curriculum for the children.  We offer stimulating, playful learning opportunities that cover the areas of the EYFS in a supportive, caring setting.

 We cover the following areas of learning:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Physical Development
• Communication and Language
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

How we learn

The children begin their day by choosing their own activities. This is where the children have opportunities to develop their own play and independent exploration. The adults then scaffold their learning, helping the children to deepening their knowledge and enrich their vocabulary. Through this the children are able to develop the characteristics of effective learning so that they can play and explore, actively learn and create and think critically.

We collectively join to do 'Dough disco' and then we wash our hands ready for snack.

Snack time/Circle time is a time for children to enjoy learning about their topic focus or they might have a mathematics input or enjoy a story. Children are offered a selection of fruit or vegetables, milk or water. We sit together so that children learn healthy eating habits and try new things. 

The children are then able to enjoy a free flow session, having the option to play outside or inside. There are numerous benefits of learning outside the classroom for a child’s development, both physically and mentally. This term we will be investigating the changes of the season and will be going on autumn walks to collect pine cones, conkers and leaves. We will be using these in the mud kitchen and during our creative learning. We will continue to observe the flowers changing and we will water and look after them ready for the colder months ahead. As the weather gets cooler we will assess the learning garden and make bubbles in the puddles, or stay under the shelter if it's too wet to enjoy all of the garden.  

Each year, we have a special visit from Harold and Nancy from Coram Life (SCARF) which inspires us to look after ourselves physically and mentally. We learn about brushing our teeth and other key hygiene routines to help keep ourselves clean. 

Our Learning This Block:

During Block One we are exploring the question:  Where am I going on my journey?

We will learn all about our local area, we will be finding out about places to visit in Colchester such as the Library, the Swimming Pool, Parks and Museums etc. We will think about where we live and who lives with us. We will discuss where we like to go on fun days out.

We will be learning about Harvest and what farmers do to help us. We will enjoy finding out about healthy foods and looking after ourselves. We will explore different languages and cultures around the world and discuss what they enjoy eating when celebrating.

We will be looking out for signs of Autumn and will be experimenting with colour, painting sunflowers, pressing flowers, creating patterns and being creative with pine cones and conkers. We will look at the artist Van Gogh and Kandinsky to inspire our artwork. We will be learning the names of colours and will begin to mix them. 

We will be enjoying classic books such as the The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's child, We Are Going On A Bear Hunt, Oh the places you will go, Owl Babies, Room on the Broom and Winnie the Witch. 

We will discuss our feelings and will read The Colour Monster and use our SCARF values to help us remember how to stay safe, make good choices and keep our body and minds healthy. 

Reminders

• Our P.E days are Wednesday for all day children and am children and Friday for all day children and pm children. We do a 'light' P.E session in class or hall and children do not need to get changed. 
• Please remember to clearly name all of your child's belongings. Please can you bring in spare clothes every day in a named bag as your child may get messy, wet or have an accident. 
• We like to play and learn inside and outside of the classroom every day. As the weather is beginning to get cooler/wet please can you ensure your child has a named coat and wears suitable clothing and footwear. 

Communication

We welcome and encourage parents to discuss any concern or worries they have. You can always ring the school office to arrange a visit or phone call. 

Alternatively, please feel free to contact me on: n.taylor@kingsford-inf.essex.sch.uk

Take care, 

Mrs. Taylor

Nursery Places

If you wish to apply for a place at our Nursery, please contact our school office. They will be able to advise you on visiting the school, when your child can start and availability of sessions. 

Useful links: 

Talk, Listen and Cuddle  https://www.tlc-essex.info/

Talk Listen and Cuddle (TLC) is an Essex campaign. It helps parents, carers and families give their young children the best start to life and to develop communication skills through playful learning at home.