Early Years Prospectus

Giving your daughter the best possible start Nursery and Reception

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Welcome Your daughter’s educational journey at Newcastle High School for Girls (NHSG) begins in our Nursery and Reception, giving her the very best start.

Outstanding teaching and learning combined with an Early Years environment creates learning opportunities to capture her imagination, spark her curiosity and develop her thirst for knowledge as she makes her first steps.

And she will make excellent progress.

The perfect environment to capture her imagination, spark her curiosity and develop her thirst for knowledge as she makes her first steps.

Our aim is to firmly set the foundations for the rest of her school days, right the way through to the age of 18. Your daughter will become confident, independent and empowered; the seeds all sown in her early years at our School.

Most of all though, she will be happy and supported in our warm and caring environment.

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Putting girls first Joining NHSG means that your daughter will be a pupil at the leading girls’ school in the area, a school that is fully committed to putting girls first and at the centre of all we do.

Simply put, we are experts in teaching girls. We understand how girls learn best and know what motivates and inspires them. At NHSG, and at every stage, we will encourage your daughter to challenge herself within the safety of the school environment.

Our Nursery and Reception classrooms are situated on our Junior School site in Sandyford. The school buildings, including a John Dobson-designed villa, stand within five acres of grounds; a truly unique setting providing a safe and exciting learning space.

Your daughter will be able to continue her education to age 18 at NHSG and will be a very special member of our wonderful community, which extends way beyond Newcastle.

We are part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), a family of 25 schools in England and Wales, established in 1872. The GDST’s purpose is to help every girl fulfil her potential and her dreams; our family of schools has been trusted by thousands of parents to provide the very best education and opportunities for their daughters.

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Learning

Exploring

Everything we do in Nursery and Reception is designed to set your daughter on her own individual learning journey.

We know that girls flourish when they can explore, investigate and engage with the world around them. That’s why, in Nursery and Reception, we take play seriously!

We will be working in close partnership with you and your daughter to ensure she develops and progresses at exactly the right pace for her.

We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage, the statutory framework set by the Government for children aged three to five. As a result we will be focusing on your daughter’s communication skills, physical and personal development and her literacy and mathematical skills.

We will also help her to understand the world around her and to develop the skills to express herself creatively.

As an independent school, we are able to go above and beyond the statutory framework, providing a tremendous number of opportunities that will enrich your daughter’s learning experience, for example, she will be taught Dance, Music, Spanish and PE by specialist teachers.

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Through well planned play your daughter will learn with both enjoyment and challenge.

Our superb environment allows learning to take place indoors and outdoors giving her maximum opportunity to explore, experiment and make decisions for herself. Our school grounds are particularly exciting, and your daughter will soon be enjoying learning in the mud-kitchen, developing skills through Forest School and seeing stories come to life in our outdoor storytelling garden, all the while engaging in memorable learning which she can take back into the classroom.

Her early years at NHSG will be the very best of days.

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Creating

Caring

At NHSG, we actively engage the girls’ natural curiosity and imagination, while allowing their creativity to come to the fore, not just in what they do and make but also in how they think, both creatively and critically.

Your daughter’s happiness in school is our number one priority and our expert Early Years team will forge a strong relationship with her and with you.

As well as asking your daughter to explore the use of a wide range of media and materials with which to make things, we will actively encourage her to share and articulate her thoughts, feelings and ideas through role-play, design and technology, art, music, movement and dance.

These aspects of our curriculum are particularly important in building confidence and self-esteem; your daughter will stand tall while she shares her brilliant ideas with her teachers and peers.

Excellent pastoral care underpins our Early Years experience. Every girl is treated as an individual and we will help to bring out your daughter’s unique personality while developing her skills and self-confidence. There’s a strong emphasis on positive reinforcement of characteristics such as resilience, bravery, kindness and thoughtfulness.

As part of the girls’ social and emotional development we actively encourage a positive approach to wellbeing and healthy living.

Fresh air, exercise and a healthy diet underpin our philosophy.

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Supporting

Starting

We understand how busy life is, so it is important to us to make things as easy as possible for parents.

Girls start in Nursery at the age of three, and then move into Reception where they will continue their education through Junior School and into Senior School.

We will work in partnership with you on a day-to-day basis so that we can ensure that your daughter is able to make the most of each day in school. Through our formative and summative assessments, we will keep you informed of your daughter’s progress.

We also offer practical support through our flexible Seahorse Club which offers childcare before and after school as well as during the school holidays, ensuring that you can relax on your working days, or on well-earned rest days, knowing that your daughter is not only safe but happy.

While your daughter will be forging new friendships, you will also be welcomed into a warm and supportive parents’ community.

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If you would like your daughter to join our Nursery or Reception, your first step will be to complete an application form for the School, after which your daughter will be invited to spend the morning with us for an entrance assessment which is carried out in the Early Years classrooms.

You can complete an online application form by going to our school website newcastlehigh.gdst.net.

Our Admissions team will then contact you to guide you through the next stages of the admissions process.

Before you begin, though, we encourage you to visit us so that you can see our wonderful Nursery and Reception for yourself. Our contact details are shown overleaf.

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If you would like to learn more about how we can give your daughter the very best start at school, then please do contact us.

We will be delighted to tell you more about the Early Years and Foundation Stage at Newcastle High School for Girls and arrange a visit.

Admissions Manager: Miss Julia Howe 0191 201 6511 j.howe@ncl.gdst.net

www.newcastlehigh.gdst.net Junior School. Chapman House, Sandyford, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1TA

The Girls’ Day School Trust is a Limited Company » » » »

Registered in England No. 6400 Registered Charity No. 306983 Registered Office: 10 Bressenden Place, London SW1E 5DH gdst.net

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