Nursery & Reception
Welcome to Early Years!
A very warm welcome to Nursery and Reception at Palace Fields!
Starting Nursery or Reception is an exciting and important step in your child's journey. Our priority is for every child to feel happy, safe, secure and excited to come to school.
Our Nursery and Reception children learn together within our Early Years environment, with opportunities to learn both indoors and outdoors. Children are supported by adults who know them well and help them to develop confidence, independence, curiosity and a love of learning.
Our Nursery & Reception Team
| Mrs R Ferguson | EYFS Class teacher |
|---|---|
| Miss L Shaw | HLTA |
Welcome to our EYFS class page!
"Learning and growing together"
Our Nursery
Nursery is an important time for children to develop their confidence, independence, communication and relationships with others.
Children learn through carefully planned play, exploration, stories, songs, rhymes, small-group activities and meaningful interactions with adults.
Throughout Nursery, we place particular emphasis on developing children's:
- communication and vocabulary
- confidence and independence
- friendships and turn-taking
- listening and attention
- physical development
- early mathematical understanding
- love of stories, songs and rhymes
- curiosity about the world around them
Our aim is to give children strong foundations for future learning while ensuring that Nursery remains a joyful, playful and nurturing experiences.
Nursery Sessions
Our morning Nursery session runs from 8:45am–12:00pm.
Children accessing 30 hours funded provision remain in school until 3:15pm.
For information about Nursery places, funded hours and applying for a place, please visit our Admissions page or contact the school office.
Our Reception
Reception builds upon children's previous experiences and introduces increasingly structured teaching alongside purposeful play and exploration.
Children take part in daily teaching and carefully planned learning experiences while continuing to have time to explore the indoor and outdoor environment, make choices and apply what they have learned through their play.
During Reception, children develop their early reading and writing through Read Write Inc. phonics and regular opportunities to enjoy and discuss high-quality books.
Mathematical understanding is developed through practical experiences, mathematical talk, exploration and our NCETM Mastering Number programme, helping children to develop strong foundations in number and mathematical thinking.
Children also experience a broad and exciting curriculum which develops their knowledge of themselves, their community and the wider world.
A Typical Day in Early Years
Every day brings different learning opportunities, but children experience a balance of:
👋 Welcome & settling in
Children arrive, organise their belongings and settle into the classroom.
📚 Adult-led learning
Children take part in short, focused teaching sessions including phonics, mathematics, stories, communication and other areas of our curriculum.
🧸 Learning through play
Children have extended opportunities to explore our areas of provision, make choices, practise skills and develop their own ideas.
🌳 Outdoor learning
Our outdoor environment is an important part of our classroom and children have regular opportunities to learn, investigate and be physically active outdoors.
🍎 Snack & social time
Children develop independence, communication and social skills through everyday routines.
📖 Stories, songs & rhymes
Books, storytelling, songs and rhymes are an important part of every day.
Developing Independence
Becoming independent is an important part of Early Years.
From the beginning, we encourage children to gradually take responsibility for themselves and their belongings. This includes putting away coats and bags, choosing and looking after resources, tidying up, managing personal care and making choices about their learning.
We celebrate children having a go, persevering and becoming increasingly confident in doing things for themselves.
Supporting Your Child at Home
There are lots of simple ways you can support your child's learning at home.
Sharing stories together, talking about your day, singing songs and rhymes, counting everyday objects, noticing numbers and shapes in the environment and encouraging your child to dress and manage their belongings independently all make a big difference.
Most importantly, talk, play and enjoy books together. These everyday experiences provide powerful foundations for children's learning.
Contact
Should you have any concerns or queries, please know that I am usually available to talk after school from 3:30pm or you can contact me via Seesaw or email: rneville@pfp.theheathfamily.org.uk.
Thanks again for your support,
Mrs Ferguson
Key Information
Uniform
Our pupils should arrive at school in full school uniform, including suitable all-black footwear. Please can you ensure that your child's uniform is clearly labelled with their name. We will always encourage children to be responsible for their own belongings whilst in school.
Children should bring spare clothing to remain in school.
PE
The children will be developing their knowledge and skills in PE on Monday's & Wednesday's. Children are expected to have full PE kit for every lesson. We ask that these are brought in at the start of each half-term and left within school.
PE Kit
- plain white top
- navy/black shorts
- trainers/pumps
Snack
Snack is available in school (milk and a variety of foods, I.e. toast, crackers, cereal). If your child is having a snack, we ask that it is brought in on Monday morning in an envelope with your child's name and the amount clearly shown. For school snack it is £1.50 for the week.
Water Bottles
We encourage children to bring a bottle of water to school daily to keep them hydrated throughout the day. The children will have many opportunities throughout the day to have a drink of water. Please remember that juice is not permitted in water bottles stored in class but may be consumed with their snack at break time and packed lunch at lunchtime.
Stay and play sessions:
Parents, carers, friends and family are welcome to stay on advertised afternoons to engage with activities and events such as baking, arts and crafts, phonics play etc.
Star of the week:
Each week, we will select two children from class that we believe have shown great effort in their learning and have been displaying our school values. Certificates will be awarded each Monday during Celebration Assembly.
