Framlingham Sir Robert Hitcham's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
NURSERY BROCHURE
2010/2011
College Road Framlingham Woodbridge Suffolk IP13 9EP Tel: 01728 723354
E-mail:
Fax: 01728 724834
Web:
admin@hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk www.roberthitchams.ik.org
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS / GUARDIANS PAGE
STAFF
Staff, Times, Uniform
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Curriculum, Learning Through Play 3—5 Outdoor Classroom
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PE, Assembly
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Books, Outings
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Personal & Social, Assessment, Home links
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Snacks, Lunch Club
Preparation for Nursery, Policies
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Photographs, Moving on, Friends, SCC details
We welcome regular parent helpers in the Nursery and also adhoc help for outings. Please discuss avail‐ ability with Mrs Stephenson and ask at the office for a Volunteer Declaration check pack.
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General Health, Allergies, BLOG, Absences
The Nursery is staffed by a qualified Nursery teacher, Mrs Stephenson, and by a qualified Nursery Nurse, Mrs Eyles.
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TERM DATES 2009‐2010 AUTUMN TERM Wed 1 September 2010 – Non Pupil Day Thur 2 September 2010 – Start of Term Fri 8 October 2010 – Non Pupil Day Half Term w/c 25 October 2010 Fri 17 December 2010 – End of Term SPRING TERM Tue 4 January 2011 – Non Pupil Day Wed 5 January 2011 – Start of Term Half Term w/c 21 February 2011 Fri 8 April 2011 – End of Term SUMMER TERM Tue 26 April 2011 – Non Pupil Day Wed 27 April 2011 – Start of Term Bank Holiday Monday – 2 May 2011 Half Term w/c 30 May 2011 Fri 24 June 2011 – Non Pupil Day Fri 22 July 2011 – End of Term
SESSION TIMES Sessions are held in the morning from 8:50am to 11.50am. Lunch Club runs from 11.50am to 1.00pm. Term and holiday dates are in the table opposite. For their safety the children stay with you until the door to the Nursery is opened. At the end of the session, please come in to collect your child.
UNIFORM The children in the Nursery are not required to wear a uniform. Your child will be involved in messy activities and in being busy so they need clothes that are comfortable and not their best clothes. They do wear aprons for certain activities, but this doesn’t guarantee their clothes won’t get messy! ALL children’s clothes and possessions MUST BE labelled with their name.
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CURRICULUM In September 2008 a new foundation curriculum came in to force. This curriculum gives Early Learning Goals which should be achieved by the end of the Reception year. There are stepping stones of development and our planning is based on this. The six areas of learning are: 1. Personal, Social and Emotional 2. Communication, Language and Literacy: Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing 3. Mathematics: Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy 4. Knowledge and Understanding of the World: Science, Geography, History, Technology and ICT 5. Creative: Art and Music and Role‐Play 6. Physical: Fine Motor Skills / Gross Motor Skills
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY Much of the children’s learning comes from planned play. The Nursery is set up with a balanced curriculum in mind, covering a variety of themes linked to the children’s inter‐ est. The Nursery is organised into areas of activity, which contain sections of ‘focus’. These are a selection of the activities that we do – many of which are cross‐curricular and linked to the 6 areas of learning:
Book area; Graphics area; Audio/Tapes/ Headphones; Puzzles/Games ; Large and Small Construction; Sand/Water; Role play; Puppets; Artefacts; Collections of materials and objects; Water; Living Things; Sand‐dry/wet; I.C.T; Cook‐ ing; Creating and Performing Music; Listen to music; Collage; Model Making; Malleable Ma‐ terials; Line and Mark‐Making (Drawing, Paint‐ ing and Printing); Large Apparatus; Small Ap‐ paratus; Sand; Water; Wheeled Toys
AUDIO / TAPES/HEADPHONES
GRAPHICS AREA
SAND
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PUZZLES/GAMES
LEARNING THROUGH PLAY COLLECTIONS OF OBJECTS
LIVING THINGS
COOKING
PUPPETS
DT
MATHS TABLE
MUSIC
MALLEABLE MATERIALS MARK MAKING
PRINTING
WRITING
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LEARNING THROUGH PLAY SMALL APPARATUS
LARGE APPARATUS
LARGE CONSTRUCTION WHEELED TOYS
SMALL CONSTRUCTION
WATER
OUTDOOR CLASSROOM With the benefit of a large weather canopy and secure fencing the outdoor space di‐ rectly accessed from the Nurs‐ ery is a superb area to enable free‐flow play between indoors and the outside.
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PE We have a session time in the hall once a week. Children should have a T‐shirt and shorts and plimsolls. These should be labelled and kept in a separate PE bag. Plimsolls particularly are all identical! Other physical activi‐ ties take place within the class or during outside play.
ASSEMBLY The Nursery attends one Assembly each week with children from Reception and Year 1 and 2. Occasionally the Nursery will attend a whole school assembly particularly for special events, for instance the Harvest Festival at St. Michael’s Church.
ASSESSMENT There is a formal assessment called the ‘Foundation Stage Profile’, which takes place during the Reception year. We feel it is important to keep an ongoing record of your child’s abilities, so we have devised an assessment document which started from when your child joins the Nursery, which you will be given opportunities to view. It is also helpful for us to see any as‐ sessments from previous settings, which will then be returned to you.
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BOOKS Children have book bags in which we ask that you select a book to take home to share together. These books can be changed daily after the session when you can help the children make their own selections. The children read books that are wide and varied. We try to encourage the children to use pictures to tell the story and to make guesses as to what will happen. The children are also encouraged to try and retell the story. The enjoyment of books, handling of books, and response to books is important in preparing the child for reading and are the foundation skills for reading readiness.
OUTINGS We arrange small outings to the local area within Framlingham – eg the Castle or Library. In addition we have a Foundation Summer outing
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PERSONAL AND SOCIAL A great deal of time is spent on the personal, social and emotional aspect of their learning. We provide an atmosphere where children feel secure and confident. We aim to make them self sufficient and also aware of others. They also learn appropriate levels of behaviour for school. We encourage them to make choices and to be inde‐ pendent. They learn to distinguish between what is acceptable and what is not. They are encouraged to think about the needs of others and how to interact with others.
SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN If there are concerns about a child’s welfare, it may be appropriate to request the help of the Education Welfare Officer or Social Services. We have a legal duty to assist other agencies with child protection enquiries Please enquire at the office for our Safeguarding Children policy and information leaflet. What little bullying we experience in school is dealt with sensitively and quickly. Our Anti-Bullying policy is available from the school office.
HOME‐SCHOOL LINKS It is important for children that parents and teachers work together. We wel‐ come parents into the Nursery to help in activities. We also let you know what our topic is, and ask for items from home or ideas or talents to share. The term before the children move to the Reception class parents will be given a written report .
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DRINKING WATER All children are encouraged to bring a clear named bottle of water into school for them to have on their desk. Keeping hydrated helps the children to concentrate
Dinner money MUST be sent for the week on MONDAY. Place in an envelope clearly marked with your Child’s name and class, and the days you wish your child to have cooked meals. If you do not pay on a Monday you must provide packed lunches for your child that week.
SNACKS We take part in the Government ‘School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme’, where the children receive a free piece of fruit for a snack each day. Milk is provided by the Lo‐ cal Authority via the European Union milk subsidy scheme for under 5’s and water is always available.
LUNCH CLUB The Nursery has a lunch club that runs daily from 11:50am‐ 1:00pm. We ask for advanced notification so that suitable staffing arrangements can be made and you will be contacted during the previous half term to your child starting Nursery. Each session costs £2.00 and a hot school meal can be ordered at an additional cost—see below. Packed lunches are eaten in the same hall as school dinners. Lunch boxes are stored in a designated area in the nursery, parents may wish to include a small ice block to keep contents cool.
SCHOOL LUNCHES School meals are cooked on the premises by our experienced cook. They are offered at a price of £2.00 per day, they are healthy, wholesome and popular with the children. They meet or exceed government Food and Nutrition Standards. Menus can be found on the School Website.
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GENERAL HEALTH In case of illness or accident parents/guardians are asked to supply home, mobile and emergency contact numbers Please do not send a child who is unwell to school, as germs spread very fast. If a child becomes unwell during the day we shall contact the parent as soon as possible. Following the guidelines of the Local Medical Officer of Health we do not normally ad‐ minister medicine. If a child does need medication it is asked that it is administered by a parent/guardian personally. In the case where children need regular medicine, such as Asthma, the school will need to know. In KS1 any medication is kept by the class teacher in a labelled box and in KS2 it can be kept by the child or the teacher. In an effort to keep the incidents of head lice down, it is the school’s policy that if live head lice are seen on a child’s head we ask that the child be removed immediately. Chil‐ dren can be returned to school as soon as they have received an anti‐head lice treatment.
SCHOOL WEBSITE
ALLERGIES IMPORTANT : NO NUTS / NUT PRODUCTS are to be brought in for snack or lunch we have some children who are severely allergic, and these are life threatening to them. If your child has an allergy please discuss this with the teacher.
Do take a look at the BLOG on our school website to see photos and reports of ac‐ tivities and events going on in school.
Please note we are a NO SMOKING SITE
ABSENCES If your child will not be at school we would like to know. With security concerns in mind we need to know that a child who is not in school is safe. We would therefore ask you to: 1. Telephone us before 8.30am to leave a message on the answer‐ phone stating the name of the child, their class and the reason they are off school. 2. If you know your child will be off for more than one day – please state the number of days they are likely to be away – you do not then need to call again. 3. If you are not sure when your child will return, you will need to phone each day they are away. 4. If we have not heard from you by 9.30am we will try to contact you on the numbers you have given us to establish the whereabouts of the child. Parents need not follow up with a written letter as the absence will be noted in the Office Absence book and the class register.
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PREPARATION FOR STARTING NURSERY There are some ways in which you could help prepare your child for their start at Nursery: ⇒ Encourage your child to recognise their names. ⇒ Teach your child to write their name using a capital letter at the start and then lower case letters. ⇒ Encourage your child to make choices. ⇒ Encourage your child to dress and undress themselves and to be able to put on their own coat, mittens, hats, etc. ⇒ Promote good hygiene habits such as washing hands, using a tissue, etc. ⇒ Look at books and talk about them. Try to join the local library if possible. Discuss what is happening in the book, talk about the pictures, guess what is going to happen, enjoy the books together. ⇒ Count things around you. Try to count solid objects so that they relate num‐ bers to items, not just as a chant. ⇒ Encourage your child to listen to and follow simple in‐ structions. ⇒ Encourage your child to tidy up and to be aware of taking care of property. ⇒ Encourage your child to share toys. ⇒ Encourage your child’s manipulative skills by holding their pencil/crayon correctly, using scissors, using build‐ ing blocks, etc. ⇒ Talk about all that goes on around you, this enriches your child’s experiences of the world. Children develop at their own speeds. It is important that children are given experiences and are allowed to succeed. Please don’t push them if they are not ready. In a quote from Jenny Mosley (Teacher, Lecturer and Behaviour Specialist) she says: ‘‘If we have been encouraged and praised and have been given some opportunities to experience personal and social success we are more likely to perceive ourselves as capable, likeable and worthwhile people: in other words, we will have sound self‐esteem.’’
POLICIES We have an Early Year’s policy to which we adhere. We also follow whole school policies in areas such as bullying and health and hy‐ giene. These are available for you to see on request from the office. We adhere to the Principles which are funda‐ mental to good Early Years Practice. These are laid out in the EYFS documentation. We are a part of the Early Years Partnership.
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PHOTOGRAPHS In the Autumn Term a single portrait of each child is taken and at this time family groups can be photographed at parent’s request, including younger siblings not at this school. In the Summer Term class photographs are taken. Every three years we have a full school panoramic photo taken. Parents may purchase copies of these pho‐ tographs . There may be times when children are photographed as part of nor‐ mal school activity. The photographs may be included on the school Website, brochure or published in a local newspaper. Any parent not wishing their child's photo to be included can make this known on the permission slip for this.
MOVING TO RECEPTION Before starting in Reception the following term the children attend the Reception class for two afternoon induction sessions. They also have the opportunity to stay for lunch, and as this may be their first experience of this we ask that a parent/guardian stay with them through the lunch hour. Details of these dates are sent in a letter the term before your child starts Recep‐ tion. For children in the Nursery they have the added advantage of being familiar with the staff and other children through activities within the school.
FRIENDS OF THE SCHOOL
USEFUL NAMES AND ADDRESSES Simon White Director for Children and Young People Endeavour House, 8 Russell Road Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX Tel: 01473 264563
The Friends run a wide variety of events which every‐ one can participate in, from Barn Dances and Bingo to Family Sports Events and seasonal Fairs. The focus is on fun as well as fund raising so everyone can have a Mrs S Simpkin Area Education Manager great time. The money the Friends raise goes towards Northern Area Education Office various school projects and outings. Adrian House, Alexandra Road An enthusiastic committee of volunteers from families Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 1PL of the school run the Friends. We are always keen to welcome new volunteers both to join the com‐ The details set out in this brochure relate to the school year indicated on the front cover and are correct mittee or simply to support with donations or for that year as at November 2009 . It should not be assumed that there will be no change offers of help at events. affecting the relevant arrangements or some matter If you would like to contribute in any way we particularised before the start of, or during, the school year in question or in relation to subsequent would be delighted to hear from you; please school years. Parents will be advised by letter of the significant changes and parents new to the school will contact Amanda Cornwell on 01728 724196
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also be informed if and when they visit