Early Years

We are a school based Nursery which means that, unlike many private or voluntary day Nurseries, a qualified teacher plans, is involved in the teaching and supports the progress of our nursery children during this important period of their development. Fledgling Class is where our Foundation Stage (Reception, Pre-School and Nursery) children are nurtured and educated. Children can join Fledgling Class in the term following their 3rd birthday.

The aim of our Foundation Stage Class is to provide opportunities for our children to develop as independent, confident, successful learners with high aspirations who know how to make a positive contribution to their wider society.

Our goal is to make sure children are happy and engaged.

Useful Links

Admissions

Nursery Admissions
Pack

Apply for 30 hours Nursery Childcare

Foundation Stage Handbook

Planning and the Curriculum

From the very start of their St Marys School journey, our children show us that play is our brain’s favourite way of learning, which is why it’s the centre of our EYFS and KS1 curriculum. We believe that continuous provision helps independent, inquisitive and motivated learners to flourish by meeting the language, social, emotional and physical needs of our children.

Continuous provision at St Mary's enables children from all backgrounds to have the same opportunities, providing a rich variety of practical experiences. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for extending and practicing what they have been learning and complete challenges which are designed to foster and ignite their curiosity.

Children are taught to use life-long skills such as perseverance, problem solving and responsibility in their day to day routine and plan their own learning enquiries. The flexibility and ownership that children have of their learning means that opportunities can be easily adapted to meet the specific needs of each individual child – no matter what their starting point.

Through our child led curriculum, we provide an environment that allows each child to display high levels of concentration, creativity, energy and persistence. The rationale behind this that high-levels of well-being and involvement lead to high levels of child development and indicate deep level learning. This curriculum concept should result in significant changes to the child’s learning capacity, leading to better outcomes in relationships and life in general.

The Early Years Framework (2021) states that “Practitioners must consider the individual needs, interests, and development of each child in their care, and must use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development.”

The framework also states it does not "prescribe a particular teaching approach".

Planning in the moment fully allows this to happen and encourages the children to pursue their own interests. Planning in the moment means that the learning environment, both the indoor environment and outdoor environment, constantly needs to be reviewed and adapted to ensure there remains challenge and variety. We believe that children need a rich opportunities to initiate ideas and activities so that they develop the learning characteristics that will support lifelong learning.

Role of the Key Person

Children thrive from a base of loving and secure relationships. This is normally provided by a child’s parents but it can also be provided by a key person. A key person is a named member of staff for responsibilities for helping children in the group feel safe and cared for. When children reach this stage of their educational journey most children have developed a strong attachment to a parent and are more able to cope with shared attention from a few adults in the setting. We therefore say that the teacher will be the key worker for all the children, supported by other members of the staff. If a child or parent forms a trusting working relationship with a particular member of the staff team, then they can always chat to them. Support staff help update records and make observations. However, it is ultimately the teacher’s responsibility to maintain the paperwork and to take ownership of the class and progress of all the children.

The EYFS framework requires the adults working with our Foundation Stage children to “respond to each child’s emerging needs and interests, guiding their development through warm, positive interaction.” We have a dedicated team of caring adults who get to know your child well, especially what excites and engages them. This quality relationship results in high levels of well-being and involvement for children in the Foundation unit. With high levels of well-being children gain independence and confidence and their natural curiosity is encouraged at all times. Adults support positive attitudes and dispositions towards learning and promote learning through play. Adults’ positive and thoughtful interactions, alongside the high quality environment and open ended resources available to them results in St Mary’s children receiving the best start to their education.

Additional information about the Early Years is available using the links below

Nursery Sessions

Before children start Nursery at St Mary’s they will be offered a home visit and 2 settling visits (of approximately an hour each) to support their transition from school to home. If your child needs longer to settle into school we can provide extra settling sessions.

We offer 3 different patterns of attendance which are expected to be kept regularly and can only be changed at the end of a long term (Christmas, Easter, Summer). This means our teachers can plan for careful provision and learning for your child within our Early Years class and, we believe, offers an enhanced service which is much more than child care.

-	Number of hours & funding	Pattern of Attendance	Notes
Option A	15hours, funded for all by the Government	Every Morning, 8:4to 11.45pm	All children are entitled to this. Cannot be used for less than 5 mornings, cannot be used for afternoon sessions
Option B	15+15=30 hours funded by Government for eligible families	All day Every day 8:40am-3.15pm	Families in work who are eligible government through HMRC registration. Cannot be used flexibly; full days 5 days per week only. Ask in the office for details of how to check eligibility.
Option C	15+ TOP UP	Every Morning, 8:40am to 11.50pm + Afternoon sessions to be paid for at £12 per session.	This is the option for families looking for more flexibility or not eligible for 15+15. Afternoons, must be fixed for at least one long term (eg September to Christmas). Attendance will be registered against this contract.

Please note, children's attendance will be registered and monitored against whichever option they are signed up to.

Visit the Fledgling Class Page to see what we have been up to.

Fledglings Page