The Early Years Team would like to say a huge welcome to all the new children due to start our Nursery.

We hold a 'Meet the Teacher' event in September but we hope the following information is also useful to you.

Our school:

Our school mission statement is 'Placing God in our hearts we will love, live and learn'

Our Behaviour Charter is, 'Be safe, be a learner, be kind & respectful.'

The Nursery Day

• 8.45am:  Nursery begins.
• 11.45am: Lunch Time.
• 12.30pm: Afternoon sessions begins.
• 3.30pm: End of Nursery day.

Procedures for the beginning and end of the day.

At the beginning of the day:

Please bring your child to the gates on St Gerrard's Road - the teachers will greet you and your child. Children will be taken inside by nursery staff.  We have found that the children (and parents) are less likely to get too upset and settle much more quickly with a brief separation at the gate. If there is any problem or issue, we promise we will call you.

Mid-morning: snack time (please see more information below).

11.45 Morning session ends. For children who are being collected at this time please wait at the St Gerrard's Road gate which will be unlocked as we see you waiting. The gate is kept locked to ensure the safety of the whole school. If by any chance you are running late, please inform the school office and go to the main entrance.

Lunch time:

11.45am-12.30pm

For children who stay over the lunch time period, a packed lunch and drink are brought from home. We follow the school’s healthy eating policy and ask you to bear this in mind when making up their lunch. Please do not send sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks.  We do not allow nut products do to children with severe nut allergies:

• Any food item containing nuts
• Chickpeas (including houmous).
• Sesame seeds - these are also found on bread buns.  

If your child usually has a small sandwich and a piece of fruit or yogurt then send just that, please try not to send a banquet as this is often over facing for them. Whatever they don’t eat is sent home in their box so that you always know exactly how much they have eaten and can plan accordingly. The children start their lunch at 11.45am and are supported by Welfare Staff.  The children are helped to open any packaging and encouraged to eat savoury foods first followed by dessert. Please do not be too concerned if your child does not appear to have drunk much as they will also have had a mid-morning and mid-afternoon drink and snack.

Afternoon session:

Session begins at 12.30pm. If you are bringing your child for the afternoon session please wait at the St Gerrard's Road entrance. The gate is kept locked for the safety of the rest of the school and will be unlocked to bring your child in. If you are running late for any reason, please take your child to the main school entrance where they will be brought through to Nursery.

Mid Afternoon:

We will again supply a snack of fruit or vegetable and drink of milk or water.

At the end of the day:

We will only release your child to an adult who has permission to collect, these forms will be in your induction pack.

Please inform the school office asap if there is a change to the expected person collecting your child that day.

Absences and Punctuality:

If your child is ill please inform the school office before 9.30am. We operate a first response system so if you do not contact us before 9.30am we will ring you to find out why your child is absent.

If your child is late please enter the school via the main office so we can sign your child in.

Nursery starts at 8.45am and the rest of the school starts at 8.55am. The gates are locked at 8:55am as the register is taken immediately. Please be advised that if you have children in both Nursery and school, to drop your Nursery child off first before the older children.

Absences in Exceptional Circumstances:

• Schools are no longer permitted to authorise absences (for children of school age) in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

• Holidays in term time are generally not authorised for school aged children.  However, if you only have a child in Nursery there are no penalties for taking your child on holiday during term time. Please inform us when you are due to be away so the school office staff do not call you.

The school term dates lists are published on the website. 

Healthy snacks and drinks:

Each day your child will be provided with a piece of fruit or vegetable for their snack and a drink of milk or water (both morning and afternoon). It is advisable to send your child with a water bottle for during the day, this is the healthiest option for your child as we discourage juice.

Some children say they don’t like certain items at home but will usually end up trying and liking them once they see the other children eating them. Please ensure you inform us if your child has any allergies.

• No sweets are permitted in school.

Please remember that some children may have allergies so we would ask if you do not bring products containing nuts into school.

• It is very important that you tell us if your child has any allergies.  This information will be shared with all relevant staff for the safety of your child.

School Uniform:

Grey or black school trousers/shorts for warmer terms, plain pale blue polo t shirt, sweatshirt with school logo on (available from school only), black school shoes for boys.

Grey school dress/pinafore/blue checked summer dress for warmer terms or skirt, pale blue polo t shirt, cardigan/ jumper with school logo on (available from school only) white socks/grey tights and black school shoes.

It is really important to label ALL your child’s clothing (including coats, lunch bags and shoes) as not only can they be misplaced but many children have the same style/designs as each other.

Please could we have a pair of named wellies to be kept in school.

It would be useful if a named carrier bag with a spare set of clothes could be sent and kept in school just in case of an accident.

How can I help my child before starting school?

You are the first and most important educators of your child and we value your support.  Together we can achieve great success.  You can help by:

• Read to your child read every day. Ask questions about the book, what can you see, who is jumping, what do you think will happen?
• Helping your child to learn their phonics.
• Encouraging your child to try to write – name, signing cards, shopping lists, etc. We know they may not be able to write legible words just yet but mark making is the first stage of writing.
• Helping your child with any tasks that are set.

Ask yourself a few questions:

Can your child identify their own coat and put it on independently?

Can your child use the toilet independently?

Does your child understand that they have to share?

Does your child know what behaviour is expected?

Can your child hold a pencil correctly?

Can your child write their name?

Assessments:

When your child comes into school a baseline assessment is carried out.  These are used to measure your child’s progress as they move through the year. The teachers are constantly assessing your child so that they can identify their next steps in learning.

If we have concerns about your child’s progress, we will always speak to you. You will have the opportunity to discuss next steps and ways to help at home during the parent’s evenings held in the Autumn term and Spring. Please remember to try and work with us at helping your child’s progress and development.

Please talk to us if you are concerned about your child’s progress at any time.

Communication:

• The school newsletter is emailed to parents on a weekly basis (please inform the office if you not receive this and ensure we have got the correct email address).
• The website contains information about the curriculum, forthcoming events and important information.
• Class Dojo is our way of keeping you updated on events in school.  Please sign up when you get the link. 

Please keep us informed if you change your phone number or address. If you have a problem, we have a learning mentor who can talk to you and please seek the class teacher. Any information about your child that we need to know please tell use before they start school.

Parents as Partners

We always welcome parents into school to help.  If you feel you can help please ask for a DBS clearance form. We also regularly hold ‘stay and play’ sessions during the term for up to an hour, the dates for these and any other information will be put on the Nursery doors and website so please keep checking them.  We hope that you can join us at these events. Please attend the annual parents' evening as this is a valuable way of finding out how your child is progressing.

Thank you very much for reading and if you have any other queries please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to seeing you all in September.

The Early Years Team