Nurture in Nature
We know that children thrive in stimulating environments where they are free to play, explore, imagine and learn and this will be how our Little Owls will learn to fly.
Activities are planned and overseen by a qualified teacher designed to facilitate learning, with forest school and outdoor learning as regular features on their curriculum – we encourage messy play so can’t guarantee your Little Owl will come home clean but we can guarantee they will be encouraged to develop in a way which is fun and immersive using the outdoors as much as possible.
We know making a decision about a pre-school can be difficult; therefore, you are welcome to book a guided tour of the school to see us in action. If you already know you want to join us, click here for an application form.
Little Owls Nursery Application Form 2024-2025
To arrange a visit or ask us to send you an application pack please call our office on 01743 718493.
Joining
Sessions
Children may join from their third birthday but your 15 hours free childcare vouchers can only be used the term after they are three. To see our session times please click here:
Session times 2024
Please note we are a term time only preschool:
Longnor CE Primary School Term Dates 2024-25
We accept childcare vouchers and tax free childcare.
Little Owls Nursery terms and conditions
Longnor’s EYFS Intent
At Longnor we believe that every pupil is unique, celebrating and welcoming diversity within our school community. In our early year’s environment, we ensure all children have the opportunity to develop and learn in a safe and nurturing environment where play and learning is combined. Our curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced to provide motivating first hand experiences whilst encouraging children to build resilience, ambition and a lifelong love of learning. Through practical learning experiences, we strive to equip children with the confidence to explore, be curious and have a natural enthusiasm towards wanting to learn and find out more. We are committed to giving our pupils the best possible start to their school life, teaching them skills that ensure wellbeing and success now and in the future.
We aim to:
- Establish a safe and secure environment that is nurturing, supportive, creative and holistic. One that is full of interesting and challenging activities in which learning can take place.
- Deliver a curriculum based on entitlement for all, that considers each child’s existing knowledge and experiences, and where the children can engage in first hand experiences.
- Give children opportunities to practise, revise and extend knowledge and skills in a consistent and stable environment.
- Enable children to develop characteristics of effective learning, which will enable them to become independent, resourceful and resilient learners now, throughout their education and whole lives.
- Provide a language rich environment which ensures children develop their vocabulary and understanding of language across the EYFS curriculum.
- Celebrate a wide variety of texts to enhance learning experiences and extend knowledge, language, vocabulary and promote reading for pleasure.
- Encourage awe and wonder for our natural world developing respect, beginning to understand responsibility to protect, nurture and improve.
- Work in partnership with parents and carers to encourage independent, resilient, confident and happy learners who thrive in school and reach their full potential from their various starting points.
Longnor’s EYFS Implementation
Our curriculum follows the Early Years Statutory Framework for the Early years Foundation Stage. This document specifies the requirements for learning and development in the EYFS and provides the prime and specific areas of learning we must cover in our curriculum. We also use Development Matters to support the delivery of the curriculum.
The prime areas:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
The specific areas through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
A child’s individual learning characteristics determine the way they respond to both the teaching and learning taking place within the provision. The three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:
- playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
- active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
- creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things.
We believe strongly in the Seven Features of Effective Practice as referred to in the; Working with the revised Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice by Julian Grenier)
- The best for EVERY child
- High-Quality care
- The Curriculum: What we want children to learn
- Pedagogy: helping children to learn
- Assessment: checking what children have learnt
- Self-regulation and executive function
- Partnership with parents
Seven features of effective practice
In our early years setting, we value high quality interactions with the children. Adults in the classroom spend quality time getting to know the children, playing with and alongside them, modelling play if needed and giving the children experience of language rich conversations.
Through our knowledge of each child and formative assessments the EYFS team plan exciting and engaging activities that will move the children’s learning forward. This may involve following a class theme where we take advantage of cross curricular links in order to combine transferable skills and develop a wide-ranging vocabulary which underpins the children’s learning. This may also include following children’s interests and making the most of those focused moments where the teaching and learning can be maximised with the teacher. Each year creates its own unique blend of whole class, guided, adult directed play and child-initiated play activities dependent on the nature and needs of the class of individuals.
A vital aspect in the development of essential knowledge and skills is the use of continuous provision. This gives the children an opportunity to develop taught skills throughout the year on a daily basis. Continuous provision practise and principles support children to develop key life skills such as independence, innovation, creativity, enquiry, analysis and problem solving. During the school day, children will have opportunity to work independently, collaboratively with their friends and with members of staff. Play is highly valued in the development of children’s personal, social and emotional skills. It underpins all aspects of children’s learning. Children have opportunities to explore, rehearse and practice skills through child initiated and child led play. Children in EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and in our outdoor area. Our outdoor areas are used all year round and in most weather conditions. The children’s learning is enriched and extended at Forest School and other trips coordinated throughout the year.
Teachers plan for a balance of direct whole-class teaching, small-group teaching, partner work and child initiated/led and adult led play to deliver the other areas of the EYFS curriculum.
Reading
- We focus on reading in nursery and reception by: listening to stories, poems and rhymes we believe inspire children’s imagination, develop their language, vocabulary and comprehension. We read both fiction and non-fiction books and encourage children to bringing in books they have enjoyed at home to share.
- We offer phonics advice for parents to upskill them for when they listen to their child read at home which we encourage daily. Children always have a phonetically decodable book at their working level to take home as well as a selection available online. Children also take a ‘choice’ book home from a selection in class to continue a wider range of reading for pleasure and at home.
- Children’s reading frequency and ability is monitored in class continuously with the level of support from teachers and teaching assistants being adjusted to give the maximum needed support.
- We use whole class reading of shared books on the whiteboard along with 1:1 reading to an adult. As reception children come into the spring term, smaller group guided reading sessions, to prepare them for moving into year 1.
- We read to the children several times a day, encouraging a passion for reading. The children can access books throughout the day through the continuous provision and we put great value on reading for pleasure.
- Children from years 5 and 6 are timetable to read with nursery and reception several times throughout the week helping to embed a love of reading for both age ranges, setting a fantastic reading culture throughout the school.
- We take a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics and reading through the use of Bug Club Phonics and other activities that support the planned, structured delivery.
- Phonics is taught as a whole class and interventions are put in place for children who need extra support, over learning or revisiting of certain sounds.
Writing
- Writing is considered a life skill to celebrate, not something that just takes place sitting down in a workbook. Children are encouraged to write using a variety of equipment both indoors and outdoors with evidence of this shared on their online journals.
- Writing for a purpose is given high priority when planning opportunities for writing activities. Children make their own and whole class books, signs, information posters, invitations and letters. We share these with their intended audience. Children are encouraged to see themselves as writers, authors and poets.
- A class photo album with names for each child is available with our writing resources from the beginning of the year to aid independence when writing notes to their friends.
- Toolkits for writing are developed and built on throughout the year, adding in the sounds and tricky words covered in phonics and ‘word menus’ used for topic work.
- Expectations for writing are continually developed and extended throughout the year considering learning opportunities given and ability of the child. We take time to look back though work with children and celebrate the progress they have made.
Mathematics
- Maths activities in EYFS are extremely practical and take place throughout all areas of the learning environment,
- Mathematics teaching for reception is taken from White Rose EYFS planning. It combines teaching and problem solving sessions using a wide variety of mathematical language and development of mathematical skills.
- We use skill progression models to develop preschool children’s knowledge and understanding ready for the reception year.
- We share many books that raise mathematical concepts, discussing and modelling, skills and knowledge.
- The continuous class provision offers a wide range of resources that are always available these are enhanced though careful assessment and planning of extended provision. After these resources are introduce, they remain on offer for the children to select and used in their continued provision.
- Children are given time to practice and embed core mathematical concepts before moving onto new.
EYFS Planning
Throughout the year, teachers plan an exciting, hands on curriculum for the children in Early Years. These topics are carefully planned so that the children are receiving well sequenced, high quality lessons that build on prior knowledge and show clear progression throughout the year.
Our topic overviews are shared on Tapestry with parents. These documents take the contexts for learning and develop them, showing what children are learning in all areas of the curriculum.
Early Learning Goals
The Early Learning Goals establish expectations for most children to reach by the end of the Foundation Stage. They are not age but developmentally related as we fully realise children at this stage can develop at an uneven rate within different areas.
At the end of the reception year we use these goals to assess your child’s level of development. If they are confident and secure within these goals they are assessed as expected. If they are working towards these goals they are emerging. These assessments are based on what the child can do independently.
Early Learning Goals
EYFS Impact
The impact of our EYFS curriculum is reflected in having happy, confident and motivated children transitioning into Year 1. During their time in EYFS the children become independent, resilient, enthusiastic learners ready to take on the new challenges of school and life. Their individuality is valued and the unique child has every opportunity to achieve, based upon their own personal strengths, interest and core values whilst learning in EYFS, and in the future.
From different starting points, children progressing from their first year in preschool to transitioning into Year 1 will make good progress academically, emotionally, creatively, socially and physically. Knowledge, understanding and skills will be promoted and eventually mastered to ensure children are ready and fully prepared to begin learning the National Curriculum programme of study in Year 1.
Longnor’s Early Year’s children will;
- Be confident in communicating their ideas, thoughts and feelings
- They will be able to talk fluently as well as listen respectively and with tolerance to the views of others
- Demonstrate the ability to persevere when they encounter challenge whilst managing risks.
- Develop a sense of self-awareness and become confident in their own skin
- Be kind, respectful and honest, demonstrating inclusive attitudes and have a sense of their role in wider society.