Nursery
Our Nursery class, as well as Reception, is part of our Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS). Nursery children are taught by their class teacher, Mr Harrington. Because we share areas with Reception, the children are also supported by Mrs Lewis (Reception Class Teacher) and Teaching Assistants Mr Oddy, Mrs Gorman and Mrs Andrews.
The Early Years Foundation Stage starts from birth and continues to 5 years old. At Bungay Primary School, new children join our Nursery class the term after they have turned the age of three years old. Nursery are the youngest children in the school and it is in these vital years that the children start their school career. We support children to make the transition from home to school and then into Reception.
To guide our pupil’s learning, we follow the Early Years Curriculum (Development Matters). The curriculum is divided into three prime areas (PSED - Personal, Social and Emotional, PD - Physical Development, C&L - Communication and Language) and four specific areas (L - Literacy, M - Maths, UW - Understanding the World, EAD - Expressive Arts and Design). Click here, if you wish to find out more about the Early Years Curriculum (Development Matters).
We have high expectations for our Nursery children, so they are ready to begin Reception successfully. Here is a brief explanation of these standards, linking to the EYFS Curriculum.
Personal, Social and Emotional
To be confident and resilient within themselves.
To understand and carry out school behavioural and certain social expectations
Physical Development
To move confidently, with stability, in a range of ways
To hold a pencil correctly using a ‘tri-pod’ grip
To be able to copy some letters
To hold and use scissors correctly
Communication and Language
To speak in clear sentences
To begin to confidently explain their knowledge to a range of people.
Reading
To be consistently reading with a grown-up at home.
To have a selection of favourite stories and describe them
Writing
To be able to write their name.
Be able to sound and write some letters, particularly s, a, t, p, i and n.
Maths
To count from 0-10
To count objects accurately from 0-10
To match numeral with quantity from 0-10
To recognise numbers from 0-10
To recognise and name a circle, square, triangle and rectangle
Understanding the World
To be curious about the world, ask questions and attempt to explain why things are the way they are, or why they are happening.
Expressive Art and Design
To know and sing some familiar Nursery rhymes
To be confident with using junk modelling
To begin to express their creativity and imagination in a variety of ways, such as song, dance, painting, role-play and construction
Setting the foundations for a young child’s learning has a massive impact throughout all of their education and into their adult life. As guardians we are not only their caregivers but their first teachers.
Recording Learning
As well as capturing children’s learning in books, we use an app named, Tapestry
It is an online tool that both staff and parents can use to post pictures/videos, and comment on the children’s individual journals, which document learning at school and at home.
Our Learning
Each day the children have time to explore and learn both inside and out, as well as being gradually introduced to more routine lessons on the carpet and in groups. The children in Nursery learn through topics and have a new ‘Book of the Week’ each week linked to the topic. We love books, and are lucky to have links with Bungay Library who provide us with a topic box of books each half term. We have a well used reading area, and end each morning and afternoon with a story chosen by staff or children.
Here is a summary of our termly learning topic themes:
Autumn Learning
Me and My Community
This project supports children with settling into the new rules and routines of school and encourages them to make new friends and feel confident in their class. It teaches children about being helpful, kind and thoughtful at home and at school. This project also teaches children how they are unique and special, the importance of friendship and how people in their family, school and local community are important and can help them.
Once Upon A Time
This project supports children to develop a love of stories and reading. It encourages children to learn, retell and act out familiar and traditional tales including Cinderella, Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Spring Learning
Starry Night
This project explores the differences in the world at night compared to during the day. It teaches children about the importance of a good night’s sleep, and helps them to discover what is happening in the world while they are sleeping, including finding out about nocturnal animals
Dangerous Dinosaurs
This exciting project teaches children about the different animals that roamed Earth millions of years ago and how they are related to animals that live on Earth today.
Summer Learning
Sunshine and Sunflowers
This seasonal project provides opportunities for outdoor learning and teaches children how to care for the plants and animals in their local environment and how to stay safe in the sun.
Big Wide World
This project teaches children about the global community to which they belong and explores how living things, communities and climates differ around the world.
Each day the children have time to explore and learn both inside and out, as well as being gradually introduced to more formal lessons on the carpet and in groups.
Phonics
Phonics is such an important factor to a child’s whole learning. We start this in Nursery developing our listening and attention skills. This allows the children to think about hearing letter sounds and how to write them.
Each letter of the alphabet has a letter name, a sound and a specific way it is written. For example, we focus on making the "a, a, a" sound for the letter, how to write it and think about words that begin with this sound, such as, apple, ant, at etc. During nursery, the children will mainly be focusing on the letters s, a, t, p, i, and n. Follow the link below to hear how single letters are sounded purely:
https://www.littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk/resources/for-parents/
Nursery Useful Information:
Outdoor Learning (Friday Afternoon): the children are encouraged to come to school in appropriate outdoor clothing such as jeans or joggers and their school sweatshirt. They must bring in their school uniform to change into afterwards.
Library Day (Thursday Mornings)
Useful things to send with your child every day:
Water bottle
Spare set of clothes - accidents happen!
Coat - appropriate to the season
Wellies - can be kept at school
Sunhat - in the Summer
Book bag - with their reading book and journal (older Nursery pupils only), library book.
Please name everything!!!
