Early Years Staffing Structure
EYFS Lead: Mrs Sara Deakin
Teachers: Mr Lee Blake (Nursery), Mrs Sara Deakin (Reception)
Teaching Assistants: Mrs Mandy Wallis, Mrs Ann Smith
Nursery Sessions
Our Nursery class welcomes children from their third birthday. We aim to provide a warm, nurturing environment that will allow your child to flourish and grow as they learn.
Nursery sessions run each morning from 9.00-12.00 and children attend every day to give them 15 hours of nursery provision. For families entitled to 30 hours of nursery provision, there is an afternoon session running from 12.20-3.20. To ensure that your child benefits from their time at nursery, we do advise daily attendance except for illness or extenuating circumstances.
Nursery Admissions
In addition to the 15-hour free provision, Victoria Lane Academy do also offer free 30-hour Nursery education to those families who are eligible. See https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ for more information on eligibility criteria.
The 30-hour places are subject to availability but currently some places are still available.
To apply for a place for your child to join Victoria Lane Academy Nursery, please visit our school office where you will be asked to fill in a basic form to register your interest. Your child’s name and date of birth will then be registered on our school system and you can expect a call from the Nursery Teacher, Mr Blake, in the month before your child turns three – This will be to arrange a visit to Nursery and to complete the necessary paperwork.
Teaching and Learning in Nursery
In Nursery, we believe that play is the foundation of development and learning for young children. We plan our topics throughout the year to ensure that children are provided with a wide range of high-quality learning experiences. In the EYFS, we follow children’s interests where possible and planned topics are regularly adapted to take these into account. Your child will take part in many adult-led and child initiated indoor and outdoor play activities that will help them to learn and have fun as they grow and develop.
Teaching and learning in the EYFS is informed by the ‘Early Years Framework’ published by the government. This is a new version of the framework which becomes statutory from September 2021
A parent’s guide to the EYFS curriculum can be found by following the link below.
A guide to child development and advice for how to help your child can be found by following the link ‘What to expect when’. Please note that this guide refers to the previous Early Years framework. The overriding principals however, remain the same.
What to Expect When – Parent’s Guide
Nursery Curriculum Overview
You can view or download our long-term plan and EYFS curriculum overview by clicking the link below:
EYFS Curriculum Overview
EYFS Book Links
Outdoor Learning
In the early years, we believe that ‘there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!’ Learning outdoors is not only fun but it is also proven to enhance children’s understanding of the world around them and their motivation to learn.
We hold weekly outdoor learning sessions in our school grounds and we will be outside in all weathers. Please make sure you send your child to school with clothing that is appropriate to the weather. For example, a warm coat, hat and gloves in the winter and a sun hat and sunscreen in the summer. We will provide waterproof clothing for wet weather but ask that you provide a pair of wellingtons that can stay in school.
Breakfast and Snack
In both Nursery and Reception, children are provided with toast or bagels for breakfast when they arrive at school. This provision is part of the Magic Breakfast program which subsidises the cost of a free breakfast for every child in the school. Children in Reception and Nursery have access to healthy snacks during the day. Children come to the snack table and serve themselves from a choice of fruit, and other healthy options and a choice of milk, water, or juice. At VLA, we are committed to teaching children about healthy eating and lifestyles and would like to provide your child with a daily choice of healthy snacks. We also like to do cooking and baking activities with the children. We encourage them to learn about different types of healthy food and to try some more unusual fruits or vegetables that they may not have seen before. In order to provide this service, we ask for a small contribution of 50p per week to go towards buying the snack foods. The money also goes towards providing ingredients for cooking and different foods to taste during topics as well as purchasing ingredients to make play dough and other sensory resources.
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