Early Years at Stakesby

Wise Owls Forest School

Our Early Years classroom offers excellent provision for up to 26 Nursery children and 30 Reception children. A large outdoor space is shared between the two classes (Super Squirrels and Wise Owls) with each class having their own teaching space and a shared continuous provision area to support learning through play.

Wise Owls Classroom

Our warm, welcoming nursery provision is fully-flexible and admits children from their third birthday onwards. We offer 'Stay & Play' sessions to help you and your child explore the setting prior to their official start date. These sessions are led and supported by our experienced Early Years Lead, Mrs Tacon and Nursery Lead, Mrs Walker. These sessions are a great way for you to learn more about how Super Squirrels provides an excellent foundation for your child's primary education.

When your child turns three, they are automatically entitled to 15 hours free childcare consisting of 5 morning sessions, 5 afternoon sessions, 2.5 full days or a mixture of these - providing sessions are not fully-booked. Some children are entitled to a total of 30 hours income-assessed free childcare (the equivalent of full time) 

If your child receives 15 hours free childcare, you are able to purchase extra sessions at £15 each should you wish.

As lunchtimes are not part of the Nursery sessions, there is a cost of £2.95 per day to cover your child's supervision. 

Most children in Wise Owls - our Reception class - attend Stakesby's nursery prior to starting school. However, we also welcome pupils from other settings, including independent nurseries and child-minders. 

Our nursery spaces can book up quickly; you are able to reserve your child's place by contacting the school office by telephone on 01947 820231 or via email at admin@stakesbyschool.net

 

How can I make sure my child is ready for school?

Starting school for the first time is a huge milestone for your child – and for you as a parent/ carer. Even though your child may have attended nursery sessions in Super Squirrels, there are lots of things they will be doing for the fist time when they enter Wise Owls. We make sure to build in lots of teaching time to develop the skills they need in order to successfully make the transition, but it is crucial that your child is doing these things at home too.

 

In line with Development Matters, we have produced this list of skills to help you check whether your child is ready for full time school in September – and to work on from now until that exciting moment comes. By supporting and encouraging your child to develop these skills, you will be helping them to build their confidence and become effective learners.

 

Personal Skills

 

Encourage your child to:

 

  • Wash and dry their hands.

 

  • Use the toilet and wipe themselves.

 

  • Use a tissue to wipe and blow their nose.

 

  • Put their coat on and do it up / undo their coat and take it off.

 

  • Put their shoes on and do them up / undo their shoes and take them off.

 

Independence and Sharing

 

Support your child to:

 

  • Take turns when playing simple games and share toys.

 

  • Put their toys away when they have finished using them.

 

  • Join in with games and activities with others. Having a friend round to play is an ideal opportunity to practise these skills.

 

Eating and Drinking

 

Talk to your child about:

 

  • Making healthy food choices at lunchtime.

 

  • How to use a knife, fork and spoon correctly.

 

  • Look at the school meals menu and try some of these foods at home. If your child is having a packed lunch, try a range of foods and practise opening the containers and packets.

 

Speaking and Listening

 

Encourage your child to:

 

  • Ask for help if they need it.

 

  • Ask and answer simple questions.

 

  • Listen to stories, songs and rhymes attentively and join in with repeated words and phrases.

 

 

 

Reading and Writing

 

Support your child to:

 

  • Recognise their name when written down.

 

  • Hold a pencil correctly to draw and write.

 

  • Write their first name forming letters correctly using a capital letter to start and then other letters in lower case.

 

  • Share their reading book and begin to recognise sounds and blend them together.

 

  • Begin to read harder to read and spell words from memory.

 

Number and Shape

 

Support your child to:

 

  • Count groups of objects accurately by lining them up and touching each item as it is counted.

 

  • Recite numbers in order, saying number names clearly.

 

  • Recognising numerals to ten.

 

  • Begin to form numerals correctly.

 

  • Recognising shapes in the environment (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval etc).