Our Nursery Provision
Ofsted Graded: Good (2023)
Nursery Sessions
Your child will be offered a morning or afternoon session in our nursery provision. Some parents might be eligible for a 30 hour place for their child (please see our Nursery Admissions Policy for more details). If you require further nursery hours, Rosedean nursery is next door to our academy and works closely with us to provide this. They offer pick up and drop off services from our school. Rosedean can be contacted on: 01642 317222
Our nursery sessions are:
Morning session:- 8:45am-11:45am
Afternoon session:- 12:15pm-3:15pm
30 hour places 8:45am - 3:15pm
Who will look after my child during their time in nursery?
Our nursery teacher is Mrs Bazenek who has many years of experience within Early Years and a passion for the holistic development of our youngest children. She is joined by Mrs Raynes and Mrs Robinson who are equally enthusiastic about Early Years and together provide high quality care and learning opportunities for all. The nursery provision is directly next door to our reception class and shares the same outdoor space. This is fantastic for transition should your child go on to secure a full time reception place in our school. Nursery children will already be familiar with our other Early Years staff and have had access to some of its provision.
The academy also has a 'Care Team' who support children and families from nursery to Year Six. They are great people to ask for advice on a number of parenting topics, or just to offer a supportive ear when you need someone to talk to. Our Care Team is made up of Miss Sharp, Miss Carter and Mrs Brewster.
Your child will have a key worker who will take responsibility for supporting your child with their learning and development. Although your child will have a key worker and this person will know your child best, all staff within the setting will play with and support your child with their development. This ensures that we quickly get to know all of the children in our care as unique individuals and can share our understanding of them and their learning journey with one another.
When your child starts nursery, it will help us if you can tell us about your child’s interests and strengths and the things that they may need help with or be worried about. We will give you a form to complete with any information you think it would be useful for us to know. We also need to know what you are worried about! We know that it can be daunting when your child starts nursery, or a new setting, and so we are always happy to talk things through, either in person or on the telephone. In supporting you, we support your child, too! Even if you think something may be trivial, if it worries you, please let us know. We pride ourselves on our positive relationships with families and look forward to working in partnership with you.
Our Early Years Curriculum Intent
At Easterside Academy we offer an Early Years curriculum that is rich in wonder and memorable experiences. We ensure that all of our children have a broad curriculum with a good balance of adult led and child initiated activities to ensure the best outcomes for all pupils. We understand that play is an integral part of learning and this is at the heart of our Early Years curriculum. It is our intent that the children who enter our Early Years develop physically, verbally, cognitively and emotionally whilst embedding a positive attitude to school and learning. That they feel safe and secure and ready to learn. We are passionate about creating opportunities for children to communicate more easily through developing language and communication skills and specifically teaching vocabulary. We believe that all children deserve to be valued as an individual and we are passionate in allowing all children to achieve their full, unique potential.
We provide a stimulating environment that provides exciting opportunities, both indoors and outdoors in promoting challenge, exploration, problem solving, adventure and a real love of learning.
We aim for our children to be confident , resilient and independent, to believe in themselves and interact positively with others.
We endeavour to give the children the Cultural Capital they need for future success i.e. giving each child the best start in life enabling them to fulfill their full potential and achieve future success.
Positive relationships between staff and children, consistent routines and strong relationships with parents are key. We recognise the crucial role that early year’s education has to play in providing firm foundations in order for children to become successful learners.
The EYFS Framework
There are seven areas of learning and development that help to shape educational provision in Early Years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. None of the areas of learning can be delivered in isolation from the others. Our children’s learning experiences enable them to develop competency and skills not just academically but also socially, emotionally and physically.
The three prime areas which are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships are:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
Staff will also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
All of those areas of learning are connected together. The characteristics of effective teaching and learning weave through them all - playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. That’s because children in the early years are becoming more powerful learners and thinkers. These characteristics develop as they learn to do new things, acquire new skills, develop socially and emotionally, and become better communicators.
At Easterside Academy, we plan learning experiences considering both the children's individual needs and achievements as well as a range of learning experiences that will assist them to make progress. Well planned play is a key way in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge during the Foundation Stage. Children deepen their understanding by playing, talking, observing, planning, questioning, experimenting, testing, repeating, reflecting and responding to adults and to each other.
Our learning environment is made up of areas which reflect all areas of the curriculum. Here children can make their own choices, encouraging them to play and explore. They can be active learners and are able to create and think critically. We operate an indoor/ outdoor learning experience for our young children, where they can move freely between both areas. Links are made between both learning environments, to ensure that all children receive a rich and varied curriculum that supports their learning and development.
Reading and Phonics
https://eastersideacademy.co.uk/important-information/curriculum/reading-and-phonics
Our Uniform
Our school uniform is designed to be comfortable, practical and promote independence.
Children wear:
A navy blue sweatshirt or cardigan.
White polo shirt
Grey joggers / leggings / trousers / pinafore dress
Sensible footwear suited to the weather
Outdoor coat
Supporting your child
How can I help my child to be ready to start nursery?
Starting nursery is an opportunity for your child to continue to learn and develop in a new environment, learning new skills, developing friendships and independence. It is a new opportunity for them and it may be both exciting and worrying at the same time. There is nothing that your child must be able to do to be ‘ready’ but there are skills that will help them when they start.
At nursery there are often more people than your child may be used to, many of them unfamiliar. Taking them to places with other children and encouraging them to socialise, albeit safely during these difficult times, will help.
All young children can find sharing and turn taking a challenge. Playing games that encourage turn taking and sharing will help. Sometimes when playing with a favourite toy ask for a turn and try to make your child wait for a short time before reinforcing ‘your turn now’. Creating opportunities within game playing to allow other family members to win is helpful in allowing children to realise they may not always be ‘the winner’, thus learning how to accept losing with a smile!
Encourage them to be independent and to have a go at doing things by themselves. Let them try to put on their own coat or shoes if they are not too tricky and encourage them to ask for help when needed, ‘help please’. If they are ready, then help them to become toilet trained. Speak to your health visitor for advice about when and how to start this. All children develop at different rates and we are happy to support you with toilet training. If your child is still wearing nappies this does not prevent them from starting nursery.
Talking, sharing stories and singing songs and rhymes are a brilliant way to help to develop your child’s language and communication skills. These skills are essential to help support them when playing with other children. The BBC website https://www.bbc.co.uk/tiny-happy-people has some great ideas and resources for parents to use with their children to develop language skills.
Support to Talk - Information and Support for Parents
https://www.learningmiddlesbrough.co.uk/support-to-talk/
Positive behaviour
Learning to get along with other people and how to cope with difficult feelings such as anger and frustration are vital skills for all children to learn and enable them to develop friendships and be successful with the things that they choose to do. We have a clear behaviour code that is easy for the children to understand and outlines the behaviours that make everyone happy, rather than focusing on the things that we don’t want to see.
Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Ready
Children learn by making mistakes and learning about how to be a good friend means that sometimes children get it wrong and may snatch, shout or hit. We support children to see why this is not acceptable and help them to find ways to put things right. Please support us by encouraging your child to use their ‘good speaking’ and say ‘Stop it’ or get help from an adult. Please don’t tell your child to hit back, as this teaches them that hitting is okay.
We would like to welcome you and your family on the next step of their exciting learning journey!
Further Nursery Information for Parents
Contacting Us
Please feel free to contact us on 01642 273006 if you have any questions or wish to talk about your child starting nursery. We are always happy to help in any way we can.