Nursery | Haltwhistle Primary Academy

Haltwhistle Academy Nursery

Who are we?

I am the Foundation stage lead alongside being SENCO. I have a BA (Hons) in Early primary education with Qualified Teacher Status and have also completed a PG Cert in Special Educational Needs and received my national award for special educational needs (NASENCO) .

I have worked in Haltwhistle for over 10 years and love the place and the people that I now live here with my partner and son. The community is crucial to the workings of the school and I like to ensure that the children in Early Years are given opportunities to go out and explore their local surroundings.

Before teaching I worked with children who had profound and complex special educational needs, supporting both the children and the families. I am a strong advocate in early identification and support for families and will work with parents and outside agencies to ensure families feel supported.

In the classroom I have a particular interest in early writing and developing the skills for mark making through play introducing a range of different initiatives in the last couple of years which are having long lasting impact.

I attended Haydon Bridge High School and went on to Carlisle College. I qualified with an NNEB as a nursery nurse. I have over 20years experience of working in Early Years and particularly supporting children in the earliest days of their nursery education.

I have a real love of developing outside learning experiences and changing the provision we offer on a season by season basis. I am a trained Early Talkboost practitioner enabling me to support early language and speech within our setting. Messy play is also an area of learning that I love to support and develop as the children thrive on the opportunities we provide- There can never be too much mess in nursery!!

Every year our school takes part in Haltwhistle Carnival and I plan and coordinate the building of our school float pulling together everyone’s talents within school and from our local community. Outside of school I am a Mam and Step mam to 3 boys, I love getting busy in my tiny but perfectly formed garden where I can relax and potter in peace. I also keep hens which have become family pets and occasionally pop into nursery for a visit.

I am working as a Learning Support Assistant in Early Years across Nursery and Reception. Having previously worked at the school during a work experience placement I jumped at the opportunity to take up a position a few years ago. I studied at Northumbria University and have a higher diploma in Early Years and disability studies. During my time at university I gained a wider knowledge of the early years foundation stage and childhood development which supports me in my day to day work.

I have attended a variety of training courses that include OTAP (outstanding teaching assistant programme), Paediatric first aid and Read Write Inc. I have a keen interest in special educational needs and have completed training in using Makaton alongside Miss Gregson. Within the nursery I have a keen interest in developing the skills needed for pre reading, developing and adapting rhyming games along with tuning into initial sounds.

I have recently started to deliver our story telling input to engage children in storytelling through their own experiences and encouraging them to put this into a narrative. I love seeing their faces as their own story comes to life on the stage!

Outside of nursery I am kept busy with my two young daughters. One of my daughters currently attends Haltwhistle Academy. She thrives in the setting and I am in the fortunate position in that I get to watch as she makes the most of the fantastic opportunities provided for her and the progress she makes every day.

Session Times

Morning Session 8.45am -11.45am

Dinner: 11.45-12.15 (Lunch is served in the hall supported by members of staff from Early Years)

Afternoon Session: 12.15pm-3.15pm

Our learning

Our learning is delivered through play and the staff valuing the importance of play in developing independent and effective learning.

Although we will run with an overarching theme from our Cornerstones curriculum we alter and adapt on a daily, minute by minute basis depending on the individual needs of the children in the class. What we aim to achieve:

Allow child initiated, real time, learning through play based on capturing the interest of the children.
Children have a natural desire to explore and learn. Practitioners can support them in doing this by creating an enabling environment and using quality interactions.

‘Teachable Moments’

Teachable moments are about recognising that children often learn in an unconscious way during casual or less formal interactions. Within this style of teaching, we are looking for opportunities to allow learning to take place through child initiated play. We carefully observe and assess whether children require adults to jump into the play or whether this would disrupt the child’s level of engagement. It is a careful balancing act.

What we do:

We provide opportunities and environments that stimulate curiosity.

* We observe and listen closely and take the child’s lead

* We pick up on things that have sparked the child’s interests.

*We use open ended questions

* We praise and reinforce positive learning experiences

Alongside these times we have some small group sessions with key workers, we ensure a balance over the week to ensure all children access a broad and balanced curriculum. These cover:

Launchpad to Literacy

People often think that reading begins with learning to sound out letters. However, children are learning to read long before they learn that letters are representations of sounds. Reading actually starts with children ‘tuning in’ to the sounds of spoken words, developing their listening skills and ability to differentiate between different sounds. We practice these skills throughout the school day through our play and exploring together.

Number Fun

The children love the songs and rhymes that we use to develop early concepts of number and counting. We use a range of resources to support and you can often hear the children singing these at home.

Early language Storytelling

We use a range of core texts to inspire and develop the children’s love of stories and books. We act out, retell, sequence and become fully immersed in the stories we read so that the children can develop their love of reading and imagination.

Dough Disco/Squiggle While You Wiggle

This a physical input whereby the children use their whole bodies to create marks and develop control and coordination for later handwriting skills.

How do we record learning?

We use an online system called Evidence me (similar to tapestry that is used at our pre-school settings). We value your contribution to this and are keen to develop the two way communication between home and school. We plan the classroom provision around your child’s interests and learning styles/schemas that we have observed or through parent contributions from home. We have a folder within the classroom where you can add photos, experiences and interests as well as the online journal. The children love looking back at past experiences and sharing these with adults and friends in the classroom.

What your child needs:

Uniform-

Sky Blue polo top
Navy school jumper of cardigan.
Any trousers/skirts that are easy to pull up and down to support the children to be as independent as possible when using the toilet.

School jumpers can be purchased from https://emblematic.co.uk/schools/hwa./

-Spare change of clothes

-Suitable clothing for outdoor play- caps when it is sunny, woolly hats and gloves for the colder days.

-Wellies

(Please make sure everything is named- continue to check that the names haven’t worn off as the year has progressed.)

In school we have aprons in the craft area and all in ones for outside, we do have some spare sets of wellies as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Use the tabs below to find answers to our most frequently asked questions.

If your child is staying all day they will have dinner in the hall between 11.45am and 12.15pm. This is supported by members of the Early Years team who serve them and support with the social aspect of the dinner time routine and developing their skills to use cutlery. Dinner money is payable in advance either by cash in a sealed envelope with your child’s name on the front or online via parent pay. (Parent Pay accounts will be set up once your child is registered on the school system) Dinner is £2 per day. If your child meets certain criteria they may be entitled to Free School Meals. If at any point you think you might be eligible please contact the school office. Free school meals cannot be backdated.

Children have milk and fruit as part of their snack on a daily basis, we encourage all children to have a try of the fruit/ vegetables that they are given for snack. It is a lovely sociable time where the children can sit in a group and have a chat about what they have been doing and what they plan to do next. Alongside the fruit and milk we will provide additional snack such as crackers, breadsticks, crumpets, toast etc. Please let us know if your child has any food allergies that we need to be aware of.

If your child requires medication during the course of the school day (including inhalers) please complete a medication administration form from the office. Only in very exceptional circumstances would we administer paracetamol or ibuprofen to children in school. If your child falls ill at school we will contact you, if we can’t get hold of you we will contact other members of family or friends who you have placed on your contact information. If your child is unwell and is not able to come into school please contact the school office on 01434 320467. All members of staff in Early Years have a full paediatric first aid certificate.

We can only allow children to be collected by someone with parental responsibility unless you have informed us of an alternative. Everyone should have completed a pick up form before starting, on this you can place as many people as you feel necessary who can pick your child up. If a family member or friend is NOT on the list we will not be able to send your child home until we have spoken to you.

We regularly go out and about in the local community as part of our learning. At times this can be at short notice. We will often go out in small groups rather than as a whole class with one member of staff and a parent helper, a risk assessment is always carried out prior to any out of school visit. If you have any concerns about your child going out into the local environment please let us know.

Pupil Premium

The pupil premium grant is funding provided to schools to help all pupils reach their full potential, regardless of their background or financial situation.

Pupils may be eligible if they:

Are registered for free school meals
Have been registered for free school meals at any point since May 2010
Are, or have been, in care
Have parents in the armed forces

If you think you may be entitled to pupil premium please let us know.

In previous years pupil premium has been used to provide a range of interventions aimed at a specific need, to go to tiny tumbles at the leisure centre and to provide resources for specific groups of children. More information can be found on the school website.

Attendance

If you accept the funding to access 15hrs or up to 30hrs and wish them to be delivered by our setting, we have a duty of responsibility to ensure regular attendance. County guidance states that if a child is absent for more than 2 sessions we need to know why. Please contact us on 01434 320467.

Communication with Home

To reduce the amount of paper that we use in school, we have a range of methods to communicate with you including; text messages, Facebook and the school website. Please make sure that the office staff have the correct mobile number and email address for you to make sure you are kept up to date with all events.

You can also download the My ed app from either playstore for android phones or App store for Apple. It really is a great way to keep in touch with everyday school information. If you would like more information Please watch the video at the following:
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https://www.myedschoolapp.com/

Special Educational Needs

The key workers are very experienced practitioners and deliver a high standard of teaching through first hand experiences. They are continually observing and assessing the children through their engagement, motivation and thinking throughout the nursery session. Achievements are recorded using the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance enabling the staff to see if the children are making progress in line with age related expectations. The progress of the children is monitored on a regular basis. From this monitoring process staff bring any concerns to the SENCO. Parents will be informed of any concerns and any additional support that is deemed necessary. We pride ourselves on establishing excellent partnerships with parents and all lines of communication are encouraged. If you have any concerns about your child please contact the school SENCO which is Sarah Banks, if we can’t offer you the right support we will point you in the right direction of further support you can access.

Staff have a range of training to support pupils including; Lego therapy, Talkboost, Early Talkboost, phonics, Level 1-3 Awareness and support for pupils with ASD, ELKLAN (speech therapy) training. For more information on SEN please see SEN information report on the school website.

Safeguarding

If you have any concerns regarding a child please raise these with any member of school staff.

The designated members of staff responsible for safeguarding are:

Susie Drake ( Headteacher)

Sarah Banks (Assistant Headteacher)

Thank you for taking the time to look through this information. If you would like any further information please get in touch either by phone 01434 320467 or email haltwhistle@wiseacademies.co.uk