Starting your journey with your child at nursery school can seem like a daunting experience but the staff at East Ayton Nursery are here to help you and your child to feel comfortable and settled. In normal circumstances, we would have held an information evening where I would have spoken to you as parents about all the exciting things that take place at Nursery. Unfortunately, we are unable to do this at this time and therefore I hope I have managed to answer any questions over the following pages. Regular letters are sent home from nursery, so please check your child’s book bag regularly and also the Parent’s Information Board in the cloakroom.

The nursery gate opens at 8.40am and you and your child will be welcomed into nursery and encouraged to put their lunch box, book bag and coat in the appropriate place. They will then self-register before saying their goodbyes and heading through the door into a world of excitement. This can often be more difficult for the parents, but we appreciate your support and co-operation by asking that you say goodbye to your child in a calm manner before handing your child to the member of staff and allowing your child the freedom to enter the nursery classroom where the real fun begins. Obviously, there may be times when your child becomes upset at this transition, but together we can work through this to ensure that this becomes a happy time for everyone involved.

During the week, your child will have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of experiences including:

• Free play, both indoors and out. We offer continuous provision all year round and therefore request that parents send children to school with the correct clothing for all weathers.
• Forest School Activities. As a Forest School leader, I understand and value the importance of Forest School Learning and we will spend some of the week in the Forest School Area where the children will have the opportunity to feed and care for our pets which include guinea pigs and chickens. We will also take part in a variety of Forest School Activities. We are lucky enough to have a set of Puddle Suits to ensure your child can fully access these activities, although we would appreciate it if you could send a pair of wellies to be left at school for Forest School Sessions.
• E. As the term progresses, we will be using the school hall in the main school for P.E. sessions and we ask that on these days your child wears suitable clothes such as leggings or joggers. Children are encouraged to take their shoes and socks off for these sessions and this is how they begin to learn how to dress themselves for different activities further up the school.
• Your child will bring home a library book each week to share at home. This book is self-chosen by your child from a variety of books and is for you to read and talk about with your child.
• Throughout each half term the children will be set a chatterbag challenge. This varies each month and will be sent out in a letter explaining the challenge. It could be to go on a nature walk and collect objects that represent autumn. The idea is that your child will bring these items into nursery in their bag and talk about what they have found. This is an excellent opportunity for developing language skills such as speaking and listening and the children enjoy taking ownership of their chatterbags.
• One day a week we encourage the children to take part in our early bakers sessions. This might include making sandwiches, decorating biscuits or making fruit kebabs. The children will get the opportunity to use knives and other baking implements in a safe environment. We would like to request a voluntary contribution of 20p per week towards the cost of this activity.

Your child will be eligible for ‘Cool milk’ and all children will be offered a drink of milk or water mid-morning and mid-afternoon. We also provide your child with a healthy snack at these times which could be fruit, vegetables, toast and even scrambled egg.

Children will eat their packed lunch in the classroom, supervised by the usual nursery staff. We ask that you refrain from sending any nuts or nut products such as hazelnut spread or peanut butter as we have a nut free policy in school. The children are encouraged to eat everything that is sent in their lunch boxes so please do not send ‘extras’ just in case. A typical lunch might include: a small sandwich, a piece of fruit, yoghurt and a treat such as a bun or a packet of crisps. Please also send a drink for your child to have at lunchtime.

From time to time children who have previously been potty trained may still have the occasional accident as they are too busy having fun to go to the toilet. We therefore ask that you send a change of clothes to remain at school for such an occurrence. If your child is not quite there yet, please let me know and we can support whichever stage of toileting your child is at. We also ask that you send pull-ups/nappies, wipes and nappy sacks for your child.

At the end of each day, the gate will open at 3.15pm and your child will be brought out to you one at a time. If it is not going to be you collecting your child, we ask that you let the nursery staff know in advance otherwise we are unable to send your child with a third party. I am sure you appreciate that this is to ensure the safety of your child.

We look forward to welcoming you and your child in September.

 

Mrs Glenwright and the Nursery Team.