NURSERY

Nursery General Information and Admissions

The Nursery caters for children aged 3 and 4 years old and forms part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) within Orleans Primary School. 

The Nursery runs two sessions per day and can register up to 26 children per session.

Nursery times: Morning session 9am – 12pm Afternoon session 12:30pm – 3:30 pm.

We now offer full day nursery from 9am - 3.30pm.  

The term before your child starts in the Nursery we invite you to visit us for an open day visit and to attend a parent’s information evening. The Nursery Teacher and Nursery Nurse will also arrange to visit you and your child at home. The home visiting procedure provides a wonderful opportunity for staff to get to know your child a little better in the relaxed and familiar atmosphere of their home. The visit gives parents and staff the opportunity to discuss relevant information concerning your child and helps to bridge the gap between home and school.

Admissions

Please only use the link below to apply for a nursery place for children who have turned 3 by 31st August in the year of application. The closing date for applications is the first Friday in March and offers are made by the beginning of May. Children are admitted in the September of each year. Priority is siblings and then proximity to the school. The Nursery and the school are separate institutions. While many of our children enter the Reception class of this school before their 5th birthday, attendance at Orleans Nursery is NOT a guarantee of a Reception place. Parents must apply for place in Reception, details for this are on the Local Authority Admissions Page.       

Deadline for Nursery Applications was 1st March 2024. You can still apply after 1st March, your application will be treated as a late application and your child will be added to our waiting list.

                    Nursery Application Form: https://forms.gle/dPurTJpwDQV

Nursery Routine

Each session follows the same routine:

  • Welcome and self-registration
  • Self-chosen activities inside
  • Free-flow play (inside and out) alongside adult-led small group activities.
  • Whole class teacher-led carpet time – singing, circle times, specific activities.
  • Snack time
  • Free-flow play (inside and out) alongside adult-led small group activities.
  • Tidy Up time
  • Story and rhyme time
  • Home time

The Learning Journey

All nurseries follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The EYFS sets out the standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five. The main objective at Orleans nursery is for your child to be happy and develop a positive attitude towards learning. We aim to develop the whole child – therefore each part of the curriculum is as important as the next.

The EYFS curriculum is split into seven areas; the first three prime areas underpin everything within the nursery and are crucial for the future development of the remaining four specific areas.

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Prime)

    This strand of the Foundation Stage curriculum provides children with experiences and support to help them develop a positive sense of themselves and others, and a positive disposition to learn. They are encouraged to develop warm and caring relationships with others, develop independence and self-confidence and are given time and space to develop their own interests. Children are given the freedom and appropriate support to learn how to express and manage their own feelings. Through play children learn to cooperate with others, to share and take turn and form friendships.

  • Communication and Language (Prime)

    We aim to support and extend children’s competence and confidence in speaking and listening. Children are encouraged to communicate and build relationships with both adults and their peers through play situations such as role-play and by simply playing alongside one another.  We share news from home through small group discussions and weekly circle times. We encourage children to listen attentively in a range of situations, including daily story and rhyme time.

  • Physical Development (Prime)

    We provide opportunities for children to be active and improve their skill and co-ordination, control, manipulation and movement. These activities take place inside and outside. Fine motor control develops through small scale manipulative play, including dough, threading and using a range of hand held tools. Gross motor development is encouraged through the use of the outdoor play equipment and weekly sessions in the small hall where we move to music or play parachute games. Through praise, encouragement and games, we motivate the children to be positive about being active and build their confidence to take manageable risks in their play.

  • Literacy (Specific)

    The nursery is a language rich environment, both written and spoken. Children will have daily opportunities to share and enjoy books, rhymes, poetry and stories. Simple games are played to encourage the children to tune into sounds, including those in the environment and to identify similarities and differences. Children will take part in many ‘pre-writing’ fine motor activities to develop their coordination and will experiment with purposeful mark making and conventional script.

  • Mathematics (Specific)

    To develop a mathematical understanding, children have opportunities to work with numbers and to develop accurate counting skills. They will sort, match and build with shapes and use measures for comparison purposes. Through number games, rhymes and songs the children learn to recite numbers in order and to compare amounts. These activities are all very practical, using mathematical terms which the children come to understand and use on within their play.

  • Understanding the World (Specific)

    This area provides opportunities for children to make sense of the world. They will use simple tools safely, encounter creatures, plants and objects in their natural environment and explore and experiment with a range of materials. We learn about different places, times and cultures, exploring the traditions and celebrations around us. We encourage children’s interest and curiosity and use open ended questioning such as ‘what could happen if…’ ‘I wonder why…’ and ‘how can we.’ The children use computers, interactive whiteboards, cameras and CD players with increasing independence.

  • Expressive Arts and Design (Specific)

    Creativity comes as children become absorbed in exploring their own ideas, through dance, music and movement, making and transforming things using media and materials or sharing their ideas in imaginative play activities. We have role play areas throughout the year which are directly linked to our topics such as Polar world, Space station and Building Site. Inside we have free access to our technology bench where the children can cut, stick, draw and make with a range of materials and tools. All of these opportunities are available daily. We encourage children to ‘have a go’, learn new things and be adventurous!

During their year at Orleans Nursery the children will experience many activities, all with their own learning intentions. We know that children learn through play and plan a balance of child self-chosen and structured, adult-led activities across all seven areas of learning and development. There will be opportunities to learn individually, as part of a group and as a whole class. The children will also learn from each other through their play and social interaction. The Nursery also takes part in whole school events such as arts week, science week and Language days. We join the school community to celebrate Christmas, Diwali, Chinese New Year and Sports Day.

Monitoring Progress

Throughout the year the children are observed on a daily basis and staff monitor their progress in each of the above seven areas. This is collated in a personal on-line Learning Journal which records photographs, observations and comments, in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage to build up a record of each child’s achievements during their time with us. We will be using the Tapestry system, which is hosted on secure, dedicated servers based in the UK.  

To keep you informed of your child’s continuing development, parent/Teacher consultations are held in both the autumn and spring terms, where you will be invited to discuss your child with a member of staff. Each child receives an academic report at the end of the summer term before moving on to Reception class.

Enabling Environment

The environment plays an important part in supporting and extending children’s development. At Orleans the nursery is formed of an independent classroom within the school grounds and adjoining outdoor space. We aim to provide a safe, secure and stimulating environment within which children are happy to explore, discover and learn through play. Children are encouraged to be independent, making their own play choices and selecting appropriate resources. We provide opportunities to develop social and communication skills through team work challenges such as den building. During the session children will be encouraged to use both the indoor and outdoor areas.

Inside Area: Whilst inside children can take part in a wide range of activities including:

  • Imaginative play in our role play area
  • Stories and puppets in the book corner
  • Cut, Stick and make bench
  • Mark making and early-writing activities
  • Manipulative area – dough, threading, pegs and other malleable activities
  • Sand tray
  • Art and Craft activities
  • Construction and small world carpet area
  • Puzzles
  • Messy play – including corn flour, bubbles, shaving foam and jelly.  
  • Science based investigation activities
  • Cookery
  • Counting activities
  • Singing, action rhymes and music sessions.

The Outdoors:  Our outside area provides opportunities for children to take part in activities such as:

  • Riding bikes, trikes and scooters
  • Building using community construction wooden blocks
  • Imaginative play in the role play area
  • ‘Magic’ water writing/painting
  • Use of the climbing and slide equipment
  • Gardening
  • Exploring the bug garden and observing mini-beasts
  • Large sand and water play
  • Balancing on stilts
  • Ball games
  • Large-scale mark-making using chalks
  • Small world play including trucks, dinosaurs and dolls house
  • Counting activities and number recognition
  • Den building

Parents and Children

Parents as Partners

At Orleans Primary School we aim to provide a happy, stimulating and secure community for every child. Orleans strongly values the partnership between home, school and the community and understands that effective communication is key to your child’s learning and development. We aim to build a close two-way partnership with each parent, exchanging information on the children’s achievements, interests and concerns.

Parents are encouraged to talk briefly to the Teacher and Nursery Nurse at the beginning or end of a session and are always welcome to make an appointment for a longer discussion should they have a specific concern. We keep parents informed of our curriculum topics and provide links to develop and continue specific learning within these areas at home.

How parents can take part in nursery

We want to involve families in their child’s education and value all contributions parents make to the partnership.

There are many ways in which parents can take part in their child’s nursery experience such as:

  • Contributing to and reading the children’s learning journey booklets.
  • Informing us about their child’s likes and dislikes through our ‘all about me’ sheets.
  • Celebrating and sharing progress, efforts and achievements from outside of nursery with our home ‘Wow’ stickers.
  • Becoming a parent rep.
  • Joining us on special occasions in school, on visits and outings.
  • Coming in to read a story to the class.
  • Sharing their own special interest/profession or hobby with the children.
  • Joining in community activities in which the nursery takes part.
  • Attending parent consultations.
  • Using the curriculum newsletters and notice boards to find out about the current nursery topics.
  • Sharing news of special family celebrations or occasions with the nursery.
  • Take an active part with tapestry by uploading photographs, videos and commenting on observations made by the school.

Address

Orleans Primary School, Hartington Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3EN