Welcome to Nursery

Welcome to Nursery, this is where the adventure begins! The Nursery manager is Miss Ballard and our teaching assistants are Miss Holland and Miss Aranyosi (Miss A). We work hard as a team to ensure children feel safe, valued and nurtured within the Nursery environment. There are lots of opportunities for children to learn through play, which we believe gives them the best start to their school life. Some of the learning environments we have to offer include: sand and water, home corner, construction, creative area and a very cosy reading corner. These areas give children plenty of opportunity to practice their early writing and maths skills. We also have a large garden area for learning to take place which we view as part of the classroom.

For a large portion of the day, the children make their own choice as to where they are going to learn and access a wide range of resources. Planned activities, based on the children’s interests, ensure that children are making progress in all areas of their development. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum which comprises of seven areas of learning; Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Physical Development; Communication and Language; Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding of the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

Nursery staff:

This term at Nursery:

Zones of regulation:

The Zones of Regulation helps young children recognise, understand, and manage their emotions and levels of alertness. It supports the development of self-regulation skills by teaching children that all feelings are normal and providing strategies to help them respond appropriately to different situations.

In nursery, the Zones of Regulation will be introduced through stories, visual displays, discussions, role play, and everyday interactions. Children learn to identify which “zone” they are in and what they can do to help themselves feel calm, focused, and ready to learn.

The Four Zones

🔵 Blue Zone

  • Feeling sad, tired, unwell, bored, or low in energy.
  • Children in the blue zone may need rest, comfort, movement, or encouragement.

🟢 Green Zone

  • Feeling calm, happy, focused, ready to learn, and in control.
  • This is the optimal zone for learning, playing, and engaging with others.

🟡 Yellow Zone

  • Feeling excited, worried, frustrated, nervous, or silly.
  • Energy levels are higher, and children may need support to regulate before emotions escalate.

🔴 Red Zone

  • Feeling very angry, terrified, overwhelmed, or out of control.
  • Children often need adult support and calming strategies to help them regain regulation.

Using the Zones of Regulation helps children to:

  • Develop emotional literacy and express their feelings using simple language.
  • Recognise emotions in themselves and others.
  • Build resilience and coping skills.
  • Improve social interactions and friendships.
  • Become more independent in managing their emotions and behaviour.
  • Support their personal, social, and emotional development in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

Nursery stories:

Sessions and Funding:

Pre-school sessions vary for each child. We have morning sessions 8:45am – 11:45am, afternoon sessions 12:15 – 3:15pm and all day sessions from 8:45am – 3:15pm. If you qualify for 30 funded hours, an all day session equates to 6.5 hours per day and nursery funding covers 6 hours under the 30 hour funding code. The additional 30 minutes per day will need to be purchased via Arbor at a cost of £2.90 per day, £14.50 per week, to cover the Nursery lunchtime of 11.45am to 12.15pm.

Between 15 hours and 30 funded hours are available, depending upon the eligibility of the parents/carers.

Eligibility can be checked at https://www.gov.uk/apply-30-hours-free-childcare

Additional sessions may be available to be purchased at a cost of £17.40 per half day or £34.80 per full day. If you need to purchase additional sessions, please choose the days required and book the slots on Arbor, with as much notice as possible.