Class Curriculum
Thank you for your interest in Little Tommy’s Nursery. Each child in our care is valued and loved as a child of God. We equally value parents and carers as their child’s first educators and will work closely with you to help them settle and learn.
Our setting is led by qualified practitioners who are passionate about caring for young children and their development. The philosophy of the setting is to provide a continuous, free-flow provision where every child feels safe and happy. We aim for children to become confident, self-motivated, independent and happy learners through their play and to make good progress in the early years curriculum. Activities and experiences are planned around the children’s interests and level of development, as we appreciate that every child is unique.
The Nursery has its own double-classroom. We have a large outside garden with a climbing frame, mud kitchen, bike track, raised beds and a large wooden playhouse. Our setup provides an excellent transition into Reception when the time comes.
For further details about our timetable and ethos, please see the Nursery below:
NB Nursery children are 3-4 years old and can start with us at Little Tommy’s in the term after their third birthday. Reception children are 4-5 years old. If a child turns five in the school year from September-July, this is their Reception year.
Virtual Tour of the Setting
Information for Prospective Parents
- Little Tommy’s Nursery Admissions Policy (located on our Admission Arrangements page)
- All children should receive 15 hours’ funded Nursery and some may be eligible for 30 hours. To see if you are entitled to this, see the local authority guidance.
- Families on low incomes may be eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium. See the flyer below for details.
To Apply for a Place
- Firstly, please fill in a LT-interest-form, which we will use to shortlist new applicants.
- Once you have been notified by the office that your child has a place, you need to complete the Little Tommy’s application-form. Your child cannot start until this is completed in full.
- We will also need completed Little Tommy’s permission forms.
Further Foundation Stage Information
Within our Foundation Stage we strive for our children to have the very
best start to their education
We want them to Achieve, Believe, and Create:
ABC
Achieve:
We support children to become life-long learners.
We encourage children to be proud of their talents and achievements.
Believe:
We allow children to discover the world around them and develop their values and beliefs.
We help children to cultivate positive relationships and become caring and considerate members of the community.
Create:
We inspire children to be resilient, motivated and independent learners.
We provide opportunities for children to explore their own ideas and fascinations.
In our Foundation Stage classrooms, you will see:
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Children who are motivated and independent learners
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Children actively following their own interests and fascinations
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A calm environment where children are engaged in their play
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Positive relationships; adults and children all support each other
The Early Years Foundation Stage applies to children from birth to the end of the reception year. We have a nursery class for children aged over 3. We offer Wrap Around Care which enables children to attend lunch and afternoon sessions, at a cost to parents/carers. Children in Reception are eligible to attend full time from the start of the academic year.
The Early Years Foundation Stage is based upon guiding principles:
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A Unique Child
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Positive Relationships
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Enabling Environments
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Learning and Development
These guiding principles shape our provision: to respond to each child being unique and to promote positive relationships, we operate a Key Worker system. Each Key Person has special responsibilities for working with a number of children (their key group), giving them reassurance to feel safe and cared for and building relationships with their parents and carers. The classrooms have been arranged to enable children to access resources freely and concentrate on developing key skills and encouraging the imagination to help children to learn and fulfil their potential.
The children’s learning is split into seven areas that shape the educational provision. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive.
Prime Areas:
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Communication and Language
Physical Development
Practitioners working with the youngest children in Nursery will focus strongly on these three prime areas, which are the basis for successful learning in the other four specific areas. The balance will shift towards a more equal focus on all areas of learning as the children move through Foundation Stage and grow in confidence and ability within the three prime areas.
You can find a useful document here which will give you ideas for developing your child’s language at home:
The four specific areas, through which the three prime areas are strengthened and applied are:
Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding of the world
Expressive Arts and Design
For more information on the areas of learning please see this useful document: What to expect, when?
The Characteristics of Effective Learning and the Prime and Specific Areas of Learning and Development are all interconnected. The Characteristics of Effective learning, support the development of the Unique Child in how children are learning.
These characteristics are defined as:
Playing and exploring – engagement
- Finding out and exploring
- Playing with what they know
- Being willing to ‘have a go’
Active learning – motivation
- Being involved and concentrating
- Keeping trying
- Enjoying achieving what they set out to do
Creating and thinking critically – thinking
- Having their own ideas
- Making links
- Choosing ways to do things
The adults spend much of their time observing the children and furthering their learning. We attach relevant assessments of the seven areas of learning and of the characteristics of effective learning and share these observations with parents using the Early Excellence Tracker (EExAT). EExAT is a secure website and app which allows parents to view their child’s learning journey online and alerts parents when new observations have been added.
Long Term Plan
Nursery Long Term Curriculum Map
Reception Long Term Curriculum Map
For further curriculum information, please see the whole school curriculum page on the website.
