Welcome to our Nursery Class
The Nursery Class at OVS is very much a part of the Old Vicarage School. Older children love opportunities to interact and care for the younger pupils, fostering a real sense of family within the school. Nursery are placed into our pastoral House system when they begin OVS and children participate in all school events, from Verse Speaking to Sports Day! We also recognise that this is a crucial time to build relationships with parents and our whole staff go the extra mile to ensure that you are well informed and involved. This holistic approach is crucial at OVS.
To help enable a smooth start to Nursery, for both children and parents, we arrange Transition Mornings, welcoming new families into school to meet key staff and become more familiar with the school layout. This provides a valuable opportunity to meet fellow classmates and forge bonds to make the settling in period that much easier.
Nursery children are very much the little siblings of the school, nurtured, loved and cared for not only by their teachers but also by the older children in the school. This creates the sense of family that is so special at the Old Vicarage School. Through their interactions with older pupils, children in Nursery settle very quickly and soon become recognised by their peers and integral to the school community.
Our wonderful Early Years team will love, nurture and care for your child as if they were our own – you should feel confident when dropping them off that they will be happy, safe and excited to come to school. The transition from being at home can take some children longer than others and we are here to support families all the way.
Nursery children are able to participate in a broad range of extra curricular clubs, participate in annual House Competitions and Sports Day as they are considered an integral part of the school. The children are supported by dedicated EYFS Teaching Assistants, a qualified EYFS practitioner to teach Literacy, Numeracy and Science to our young learners and subject specialists for Music and French. By the time they leave the Nursery to join Reception children are often writing independently and blending phonics in their reading.
Nutrition and hydration are of utmost importance. Children are encouraged to drink regularly and partake in a two course, home cooked hot meal. At these times they eat as a family, learning social skills, developing good table manners and using a knife and fork properly.
Emotional awareness and wellbeing are a key focus in the Nursery year and we equip the children with the tools they need to recognise and navigate their feelings effectively. This is achieved through communication and language, as well as learning to dress themselves and cut their own food. A significant sense of autonomy can be achieved through these tasks and serves the children well throughout their education.
Entry into the Nursery Class
Children are warmly welcomed and join our Nursery from the September after their third birthday.
All children attend for a minimum of 3 days per week, rising to full time in the Summer Term. We welcome children full time from the start too and we love to see them every day.
With a maximum intake of just 18 children each year, it is never too early to visit our school and see what makes it so special.
Reception Class
After a year in our Nursery class the transition to Reception is almost seamless for most families,
Throughout Nursery children interact at playtime, lunchtime and through joint sessions in our Gruffalo Woods with the Early Years staff team and specialist teachers, Moving to Reception is an exciting opportunity to move classrooms and continue the exciting learning journey!
Reception children continue to play in The Gruffalo Woods which provide extensive opportunities to explore, discover, and let their imaginations soar within nature. As they embark on their educational journey, our students engage in hands-on experiences, fostering a deep connection with the natural world. From building forts, searching for hidden treasures, to storytelling under the shade of towering trees, The Gruffalo Woods becomes a magical backdrop for their growth and development. Here, they develop resilience, creativity, and a love for the outdoors while building a strong foundation in academics.
In Reception, much of our learning is collaborative and we join our Nursery cohort for lessons such as PE, Art, Music and Woodland Sessions. Our topics are therefore generated around a two-year cycle. Our learning is very much centered around different topics and we also link our termly school trips to each theme, where possible.
We continue to follow the Read, Write Inc. Reading Scheme. This scheme is incredibly successful in supporting our children’s development, offering characters and rhymes which help children identify sounds and form their letters correctly.
Building upon the foundations established in Nursery, Reception children use the Power Maths Scheme which focuses on the Mathematics Mastery approach, to strengthen and deepen the children’s understanding and development. We are incredibly proud that children build solid foundations in Mathematics and understand the importance of using different strategies to reach an answer.
Children love to experiment and during our Science lessons they are enthralled by the awe and wonder of what they can see. Children understand that their predictions can often differ from the end result and learn how to adapt an experiment to change the end result or to reach a fair conclusion. Science lessons are always exciting and we can’t wait to share our activities together.
The best way to appreciate our Nursery and see how it compares to other settings is to visit us. The School Office will be able to help co-ordinate your personal appointment. Please call 01332 557130 or email office@oldvicarageschool.co.uk
You can also find more information on our Admissions page.
