The Wooden House Nursery School

Welcome to the Wooden House Nursery School.  We are situated in the grounds of Chevithorne Barton on the Heathcoat Amory Estate, and the building really is a wooden house.  We have a large garden for outdoor play and are also privileged to be able to use the surrounding Heathcoat Amory Estate, which includes a working farm, for walks and visits.

Mission Statement

At the Wooden House Nursery School our aim is to provide high quality care and education in an enabling and inclusive environment that encompasses the principles of the EYFS (DofE 2012).

All children are eligible for the Early Years entitlement from the term after their 3rd Birthday.  This entitlement covers up to 15 hours of free nursery care per week for thirty-eight weeks a year.      At present the total entitlement must be accessed over at least three days a week. 

In addition, we are an approved setting for families who meet the specific criteria for two year olds funding.

We serve many schools in the area and have links to those most local to us. 

 Admission

The Wooden House Nursery School is open to all children from the age of two to statutory school age, without discrimination. 

Prospective parents are invited to make an appointment to visit us with their child.  Your child’s name can be placed on the waiting list by returning a deposit and the application form found at the back of the prospectus.  Once your child is offered a place and the start date is confirmed then a free 2 hour 'taster session' will be arranged between the class teacher and family.  This is generally the first session of the term the child is due to attend the setting.

Opening Times and Fees

We are open from 8.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

Our main opening times are termly with half term as per Devon schools.

Fees are paid half-termly in advance and are not refunded due to sickness or holiday.

We offer some Holiday club dates which are booked in the term leading up to the holiday.

 Charges from September 2012

Fees are as follows:-

Morning (9.00-12.00)                 £12.00

Lunchtime (12.00-1.00)             £ 4.00

Afternoon ( 1.00-3.00)               £ 8.00

Charges for extra provisions

 Come and Play -   8.00am to 9.00am                £2.50 per half hour, or part thereof.

Stay and Play   -     3.00pm to 6.00pm                £2.50 per half hour, or part thereof. 

When your child qualifies for Early Years Entitlement you will be asked to sign a Claim Form each term.  Your child will be entitled to a maximum of fifteen hours per week, 38 weeks per year.   

 When is your child eligible?

3^rd birthday between:                                             Eligible from:

 1 January – 31 March                                           After Easter                             Summer Term

1 April – 31 August                                                September                               Autumn Term

1 September – 31 December                                   January                                  Spring Term

 School Uniform

 We have the following items of optional school uniform available:-

Sweatshirts                                          £ 8.00 each

Polo shirts                                            £ 6.00 each

Reversible waterproof fleeces         £15.00 each

 Staff and Classes

Forest School at the Wooden House Nursery School

At the Wooden House we have a member of staff, Mrs Kelly Reid, who has undertaken training in the area of Forest Schools. As a result of the training and in line with the statutory requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage for outdoor play and activities, we aim to take groups of children outside for an adult initiated activity as often as we can. When staffing restrictions occur we plan the activities to facilitate the older children primarily and incorporate the younger children where possible.

carried out. Parents are asked to give written permission for their child to take part in either a class activity or on those occasions when the entire school will be involved.

Hierarchical Staffing Structure

 What we can offer your child – our Daily Routine

 8.00am – 9.00am       Come and Play option – free play.

10.15am The children have a snack of milk or water and healthy food.

10.30am Break which is outside whenever possible.  We have a good range of outdoor and indoor play equipment.

 11.00am The end of break, the children either return to their classrooms for further activities or remain outside for supervised play activities.

11.40am At the end of the morning assembly when all the classes meet together. Each day a different teacher leads the assembly and the children may hear a story, or talk about a theme as well as singing, sharing news celebrating birthdays and participating in physical Leap into Life routines.

12.00 noon Children bring their own packed lunch and non-fizzy drink .  Their lunch will preferably not contain nuts.  A cool pack may be advisable in warm weather and water is accessible freely throughout the day.

All children staying for lunch eat together, and afterwards play outside if possible.  If not, they remain together in communal room.

1.00pm Afternoon session.  The children are regrouped for various activities which are free play and are planned by a different teacher each day.

2.15pm Snack of milk or water and healthy food.

2.30pm Outside play/story time/games.

3.00pm Afternoon session ends.

3.00pm – 6.00pm Stay and Play option – free play.

 The Early Years Foundation Stage & Early Learning Goals

This was introduced in September 2012 by the Department of Education. The children begin the Early Years Foundation Stage, when they first attend the setting and it will continue through to the end of their foundation year in primary school.

The Wooden House Nursery aims to offer a curriculum for the Foundation Stage that takes children’s learning forward and provides opportunities for all children to succeed in a secure, warm and caring environment.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is divided into seven learning and development areas and with three prime areas we aim to support each child by planning an environment that enables holistic learning.

The statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2012) identifies:

The seven areas of learning and development that must shape educational programmes in early years settings.  All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected.  Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.  These three areas, the prime areas, are:

• Communication and language
• Physical development
• Personal, social and emotional development

We also support children in four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied.  The specific areas are:

·        Literacy

·        Mathematics                                            

·        Understanding the world

·        Expressive arts and design

The early learning goals

The prime areas

Communication and language

Listening and attention: children listen attentively in a range of situations. They listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and respond to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions. They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.

·        Understanding: children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.

·        Speaking: children express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs.  They use past, present and future forms accurately when talking about events that have happened or are to happen in the future.  They develop their own narratives and explanations by connecting ideas or events.

Physical development

·        Moving and handling: children show good control and co-ordination in large and small movements. They move confidently in a range of ways, safely negotiating space. They handle equipment and tools effectively, including pencils for writing.

·        Health and self-care: children know the importance for good health of physical exercise, and a healthy diet, and talk about ways to keep healthy and safe. They manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs successfully, including dressing and going to the toilet independently.

·        Personal, social and emotional development

·        Self-confidence and self-awareness: children are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others. They are confident to speak in a familiar group, will talk about their ideas, and will choose the resources they need for their chosen activities. They say when they do or don’t need help.

·        Managing feelings and behaviour: children talk about how they and others show feelings, talk about their own and others’ behaviour, and its consequences, and know that some behaviour is unacceptable. They work as part of a group or class, and understand and follow the rules. They adjust their behaviour to different situations, and take changes of routine in their stride.

·        Making relationships: children play co-operatively, taking turns with others. They take account of one another’s ideas about how to organise their activity. They show sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings, and form positive relationships with adults and other children.

The specific areas                                    

Literacy

·        Reading: children read and understand simple sentences. They use phonic knowledge to decode regular words and read them aloud accurately. They also read some common irregular words. They demonstrate understanding when talking with others about what they have read.

           Mathematics                 

·        Numbers: children count reliably with numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number. Using quantities and objects, they add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer. They solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

·        Shape, space and measures: children use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems. They recognise, create and describe patterns. They explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.

·        Understanding the world

·        People and communities: children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members. They know that other children don’t always enjoy the same things, and are sensitive to this. They know about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among families, communities and traditions.

·        The world: children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things. They talk about the features of their own immediate environment and how environments might vary from one another. They make observations of animals and plants and explain why some things occur, and talk about changes.

·        Technology: children recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. They select and use technology for particular purposes.

          Expressive arts and design

·        Exploring and using media and materials: children sing songs, make music and dance, and experiment with ways of changing them. They safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function.

·        Being imaginative: children use what they have learnt about media and materials in original ways, thinking about uses and purposes. They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.

Settling in

Following your initial visit to the setting the class teacher will invite your child to a free 'taster' session. This date is agreed between the setting and family and is a shorter two hour session and enables exchange of information before and after the morning.

For the 'taster ' session parents and carers may wish to stay with their child or they may choose to leave their child for this initial session or part of the session. The nursery is flexible and will adjust to meet each individual’s needs.

During the 'taster' session should you wish to receive a telephone call relating to your child's settling in please do not hesitate to ask and we will ensure this happens.

• Children will take part in messy activities and consequently please bear this in mind when choosing their clothes for nursery.
• For children in nappies/pull-ups please provide a named bag with spares in or indeed spare clothes for those who are toilet trained in case of soilage or wet play activities.
• In the summer time we ask that each child is provided with a sun hat and sun cream in their bag and that sun cream is applied before arriving. Likewise wellies and a warm coat in the winter.
• Should any information regarding your child change, for example, emergency contact numbers, allergies or home situations, please inform us.
• Please drive slowly and carefully in the grounds of the Barton and do not drive on the grass verges.  Please do not drive right up to the nursery, but park in the lower car park, without blocking the lane.
• In the event of bad weather please look on our website, (address can be found on the front of this prospectus), where we will notify you if we have to close, or if in doubt please telephone before travelling.
• Please feel free to discuss any anxieties, worries or other matters with your child’s class teacher, as it is important that we all work together on your child’s behalf.
• We have an active parents committee who organise social and fund raising events.  If you would like to get involved please let us know.
• We ask that you do not send your child to school if they are unwell and do not bring your child to school for at least 48 hours after a bout of sickness and/or diarrhoea.  If a child becomes ill at nursery parents and carers will be telephoned so that they can collect their child.  Only prescribed medicine can be given at nursery.

We require a terms notice in writing when your child is due to leave. This enables us to plan ahead and offer places to those on our waiting list.

Wooden House Nursery School Term Dates

                                        Autumn Term 2012

First day of term -      Wednesday 5^th  September

Half term              -      29^th October -  2^nd November inclusive

Last day of term  -      Tuesday 18^th December  

            Spring Term 2013

First day of term  -      Monday 7^th January

Half term               -      18^th – 22^nd  February inclusive

Last day of term   -      Thursday 28^th March

School Policies

·        Admissions

·        Anti-Bullying Policy & Procedures

·        Behaviour Management

·        Break & Lunchtime Ratios

·        Children’s Welfare for shared care

·        Cleaning

·        Complaints

·        Confidentiality

·        Data Protection

·        Disciplinary & Grievance

·        Epipen Training

·        Equality & Diversity

·        Equal Opportunity

·        Forest School

·        Hand Washing

·        Health

·        ICT Misuse Policy

·        Inclusion & Additional Needs

·        Intimate Care

·        In the event of a Power Cut

·        Key Person

·        Lost or uncollected

·        Mobile Phone

·        Moving & Handling

·        Nappy Changing

·        Online Safety Policy

·        Outings

·        Parental Involvement

·        Partnership with other Professionals & Agencies

·        Partnership with Parents

·        Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

·        Recruitment & Selection

·        Registration & Admissions

·        Safety Policy & Procedures

·        Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

     Safeguarding children confidentiality and client access to records

·        Safeguarding children – information sharing

·        Smoke free

·        Staffing

·        Summer

·        Volunteers, Students and Parent helpers

·        Whistleblowing