Routine and Essentials
At Rothwell Nursery School we provide a calm, stimulating and challenging environment both indoors and outdoors where children can learn and explore. The nursery is teacher led and follows the school’s ethos to ensure a smooth transition into school. Our aim is to develop happy, confident and independent learners that are curious about the world around them and enjoy coming to Nursery. We ensure our children have fun alongside their friends and that every child is supported by our caring and experienced staff. Children will take part in short adult led group times such as phonics, rhyme time, maths and T4W as well as a lot of time for learning through play in the continuous provision.
The outdoor space is available in all weathers and has been set up to promote curiosity, risk taking and independence. Once a week we have a session in the forest school site in the main school to enrich the children’s outdoor learning.
Session Times
There are two different session times available in the nursery. There is a morning session or an all day (30 hour) session.
- Morning session - 9am – 12pm
- All day (30 hours) session - 9am – 3pm
Full time children will need to bring a packed lunch each day. Packed lunches and snacks should not contain any nuts.
Evidence Me
We use a system called 'Evidence Me' to take observations of your child and link them to the different areas of their learning. These observations will be of 'wow' moments of your child in Nursery. There will be no set amount of Evidence Me observations sent home to you as observations are taken of 'wow' moments and other independent or fun activities that your child has taken part in. You can also send photos in to us with comments about what your child has been up to at home by replying to the email that you receive from Evidence Me. At times, group photos of the children in Nursery may be sent home. If you would not like your child to feature in group photos that will be sent home via Evidence Me, then please let the school office know.
Funding Information
- All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 free hours per year. This works out to 15 hours per week. We offer morning sessions to accommodate this.
- Some families are entitled to 30 hours funding. To find out if you are eligible, click here https://www.gov.uk/apply-30-hours-free-tax-free-childcare
You will be asked your session preference when you apply for a place at the nursery. Please note: We will do our best to accommodate your preferred session but this is done on a first come first served basis.
Collection and Contacts
We ask that you pick up your child as promptly as possible to allow staff time to prepare resources and attend meetings.
Please note that Nursery children may only be collected by adults, and we are not able to hand children over to anyone who is under 18.
Please ensure that the school office has up to date information (name, address, phone number, mobile number) for staff in case they need to contact you. Please remember to let us know if you change your number. Also, please make sure that we have at least one other person who we can contact if you are not available.
Nursery Parent Chats
All parents/carers are invited to attend a ‘parent chat’ session with their child. This consists of a session for your child to play in the Nursery setting, followed by an opportunity to meet with your child’s key person and other Nursery staff members. This is usually the same date as transition day throughout the InMAT Trust.
Uniform
Most children choose to wear school uniform when they come to Nursery, but it is not compulsory. They can wear navy school sweatshirts, white polo shirts and grey skirts, trousers or shorts.
In the Summer, navy summer dresses are often worn. Please make sure whatever your child wears, that they are comfortable, and able to undress quickly if they need to use the toilet in a hurry. Joggers are often more practical than buttoned trousers for this reason.
Trainers may be worn in Nursery, but please no Crocs, sandals or open toed footwear, for health and safety purposes.
We ask that all children bring a drawstring bag with a full change of clothes with them when they start. Please make sure that the bag and all of the items of clothing are named! This bag will stay in nursery on their designated peg. There is limited peg space, so please no rucksacks.
We ask you to be vigilant and check your child’s head for head lice or nits regularly. If they have them, please treat your child before they return to nursery.
Any other health or development concerns you may have can be discussed with nursery staff at any time.
Medicines (including inhalers) can only be administered if a parental consent form is completed. These are available from the school office. Nursery staff can administer medication which is prescribed by a doctor.
Clothing with the school name embroidered (sweatshirts, cardigans, PE t-shirts and ties) are available to order via Karl Sports (karlsports.co.uk)
Accidents and Injuries
If your child is hurt during the session you will receive a text or the key worker will inform you on pick up. Please let us know in advance if they are allergic to sticking plasters or any medication.
Sun Safety
We ask that parents adhere to our sun safety policy by making sure that children wear a high factor sun screen in warm weather. We also ask that children have a protective hat with their name on it.
Toileting
On entry to Nursery, we will be happy to support you and your child in their toilet training if necessary and will support you and your child in trying to get them out of nappies and into pants. If your child is still in nappies, we will be happy to change them; please provide nappies, wipes and nappy sacks, which can be left in a named bag for us to use, and replenish when needed. Please encourage your child to use the toilet and wash their hands independently at home. We do appreciate that accidents may happen and will help children to get changed if necessary.
