Nursery
We are so excited to welcome you to our nursery at Shepherdswell Academy.
Our Nursery class is called Otters and caters for children aged 3 and 4. Mrs Smith is the class teacher and Miss White is the teaching assistant.
The curriculum
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. This has seven areas of learning split into three prime areas which are Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, and Physical Development and four specific areas which are Mathematics, Literacy, Expressive Arts and Design, and Understanding the World.
Each term we have a topic or theme that we focus our learning around. This term our topic is Celebrations.
Please see the curriculum overview for more information on this.
We really value everything you do at home to support your child and love to hear about their achievements at home. We will send out ‘WOW moment’ slips for you to note down any of your child’s accomplishments to send back into school. We will share these with the class during circle time and add to your child’s learning journal.
Reading books
We really value reading in Nursery so your child will be part of storytime every session they are with us. Reading for pleasure is so important to develop your child’s interest in stories as well as introducing them to new vocabulary and concepts such as rhyming. We have a well-stocked reading area in our classroom and the children will have opportunities to visit our school library over the year. Once the children are settled, they will have the opportunity to borrow a book each week from the school library / classroom. This will be a book chosen by your child and will reflect their interests. We will change books once per week, we will be unable to give your child a new book until the borrowed one is returned.
We encourage you to share stories each day with your child and support them to learn book skills such as holding the book in the correct way and carefully turning the pages. Talking about the story and pictures will help their understanding and build a good foundation for enjoying books.
Toileting
We encourage our Nursery children to be as independent as possible when using the toilet but will offer support when needed. Please support your child to recognise when they need the toilet and to ask to go. We will work alongside you to support your child with any toileting needs to develop their independence in this area.
General
Please ensure that your child has their named book bag and named water bottle (water only) in school every day and that your child’s uniform is also named. Please check your child’s book bag each day, as letters are often sent this way. The children are provided with a healthy fruit or vegetable snack during their session. You are welcome to pack your own snack, but it must be fruit or vegetables and this can include dried fruit. During snack time we encourage the children to pour their own water from a jug into a cup to help develop their independence and hand-eye co-ordination. We also develop our speaking and listening skills during this time by talking with each other around the table.
If you have any questions, please talk to Mrs Hampson or contact the school office.
We are looking forward to a fantastic year!
EYFS Team
