Highfields Spencer Academy is looking to operate two 3 hour nursery sessions each day. The morning session will run from 8.45am – 11.45am and the afternoon session will run from 12.30pm – 3.30pm. We will provide 15 hour or 30 hour funded places and take up to 26 children per session.
The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of seven areas of learning divided into three ‘prime’ areas and four ‘specific’ areas.
The prime areas are:
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)
- Communication and Language (CL)
- Physical Development (PD)
These three areas reflect the areas used in healthy development reviews by health visitors when children reach two to two and a half years of age.
The specific areas are:
- Literacy (L)
- Mathematics (M)
- Understanding the world (UW)
- Expressive arts and design (EAD)
The categories for these specific areas aim to reflect the holistic nature of young children’s learning and the subjects that this learning will eventually slot into in the school curriculum, such as art, music, science, design and technology.
We offer a tailored child-centred learning experience where your children work towards the early learning goals but learn through play. We offer a warm caring environment where your children feel safe and each child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential, enabling them to develop their own sense of self-worth.
Staff plan activities to ensure each of the development areas are covered; thus helping each child move on to the next stage of development, whilst enhancing their natural desire to learn. We have created an environment where all our children can make their own discoveries, both indoors and outdoors, as well as exploring the cultures and festivals of others – both in this country and around the world.
Although acceptance into our Nursery does not guarantee a place in our Reception class, both Reception and Nursery work closely together to ensure a smooth transition into mainstream education.
Please ensure that when you apply you fill in your correct contact details, and inform us if they change, as we will be notifying parents via post about the outcome of their applications. If we don’t receive a response we will allocate your place to the next person on the waiting list. Our admission criteria, including ages at which your child can attend our nursery, can be downloaded from the admissions section of our website.
Expectations for the end of Nursery and on entry to Reception
Children should be able to:
Maths
- Count to 20
- Recognise numbers to 10.
- Order numbers to 10
- Count objects one at a time
- Recognise some 2D shapes: square, triangle, circle
Literacy
- Recognise their name
- Know the phase 2 sounds
- Be able to blend VC and some CVC words
- Write their first name.
Physical
- Put their coats on and take them off.
- Have some understanding of how to hold a pencil.
PSED
- Sit and listen for 10 minutes
- Sit at one activity for 5 minutes
C&L
- Answer simple questions: what, where, who, when
- Speak to friends in a small group.
Parents & Carers
Parents can obtain more information about the curriculum by visiting the school and arranging a meeting with the Nursery Teacher once we are open at Highfields, but until then please contact info@highfieldsspencer.com
We are currently seeking expressions of interest from parents who may wish to have the option for their child to stay for lunch at school if they are attending a morning or afternoon only session- the cost of cover would be £2 per day for each pupil to be looked after between 11.45 and 12.30pm as we acknowledge that parents may need the flexibility to be able to pick up or drop off slightly earlier or later depending on their work commitments.
This cost is to pay for 1:8 TA supervision for the children in a smaller, friendly environment so that staff can help pupils with their food and talk with them as they eat rather than them sitting with the rest of the school in the main hall, which could be daunting for small children. Parents would need to provide a packed lunch for their child in addition to this £2 supervision fee.
We would potentially be able to offer a school dinner option for our nursery children, please indicate if this is something you would like to find out about – this would be provided through the school catering service. School dinners for nursery pupils would be approximately £2 per day in addition to the supervision fee.
| Pupils who receive 15 hours funded nursery hour (all children) | Five sessions per week either all mornings or all afternoons. |
| Pupils who receive 30 hours funded nursery care. A minimum of 15 hours must be used with us at Highfields, although the other 15 hours can be split between other childcare providers. | Five sessions mornings, five sessions afternoons. A £2 supervision fee would be payable each day for lunchtime cover, with parents providing packed lunch. |
| For pupils who receive 15 hours, you may be able to book extra sessions depending on spaces available. |
For a single three-hour session this would cost an additional £12.50. Parents will be able to request and pay for as many additional sessions as we are able to accommodate, taking into account pupil to adult ratio numbers.
Please note, if a child is staying all day there will be an additional £2 charge for supervision over the lunchtime and parents will be required to provide a packed lunch. Dinner option may be available at an additional cost of approximately £2. |