Welcome to Nursery

Hello and welcome to Nursery. Nursery is a really exciting first step into the school community and for some the first step into education. We look forward to working in partnership with you throughout the year and value the important role you play in your child’s learning.

In Nursery we aim to make the transition from pre-school to full time education as smooth as possible by providing a secure and caring environment in which children are happy and eager to learn.  We help children to have the best possible start to school life and form positive friendships with their peers by encouraging them to understand their own feelings and those of others.

In Nursery, play is a very important part of the children’s development and most learning will be introduced through a combination of carefully planned play, adult-led focused activities and carpet sessions.

How you can help at home

In Nursery we aim for the children to be independent learners and learn responsibility for their own self-care. This is something you can also help with at home, for example, encouraging your child to put on their coat/shoes by themselves, washing their hands once they have been to the toilet, or tidying toys away when they have finished playing.  When children start in Nursery they must be toilet trained, unless they have an additional need. If you have any questions or require any support around this, please let us know.

Promote a love for reading at home by reading stories together at bedtime, visiting the school or local library is hugely beneficial in helping to develop early reading skills and children’s interest in books. Every Friday your child will get to choose a book from their class library which they will bring home to share with you. Read the story together by looking at the pictures and talking about the characters and setting of the story. Can they guess what might happen next in the story? Looking at and talking about signs, print or numbers in the environment will also help your child develop an awareness of letters and numbers.

At Hillbrook, we teach reading through Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised, which is a systematic and synthetic phonics programme.  If you would like to learn more about how we teach phonics please visit the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised website.

Please keep us updated on ‘Evidence Me’ about your learning at home. We love to see photos of what you have been up to and hear about fantastic experiences. We really enjoy seeing you comment on what your child has been learning at school.   

Transition to Reception

In the summer term the Nursery teachers will work closely with the Reception teachers to prepare the children for the move into Reception. Careful consideration will be put into which Reception class your child will be moving into and friendship groups will be taken into account. You will be invited to a stay and play session at the end of July and again at the beginning of September where you will have an opportunity to meet the class teacher, view your child’s new classroom and meet their peers.

Click here for our welcome presentation.

Click here for our Nursery booklet, where you can find useful information about your child starting Nursery at Hillbrook.