Pre-Nursery
9am to 12 midday Monday to Friday
The youngest children in the school are those who join us in the term they turn 3. They attend Monday to Friday 9am to 12 midday
The children engage in a range of activities designed to develop their emerging skills in areas such as fine and gross motor control, social awareness, speaking and listening skills and independence. This is a valuable preparation for Morning Nursery the following September.
Key Points
We aim to make your child’s time in the Pre-Nursery happy, exciting and inspiring. Children are encouraged to participate in a range of activities, each activity designed to develop different areas of their learning. Language development is a priority and children are listened to and encouraged to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings.
We are guided by the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and wherever possible we extend children beyond the average expectations for their age. The educational focus is on structured play but includes first steps in Literacy and numeracy in addition to laying the basic foundations for other areas of learning. In this way Nursery plays a vital part in preparing girls and boys for their future school years.
The Avenue Pre-Preparatory School and Nursery (DfE URN 309/6084) has met all the necessary conditions to take up an exemption from the learning and development requirements in the 2021 EYFS for children aged 3 and over. This is not an exemption from the EYFS safeguarding and welfare requirements and these still apply.
The children are allocated a 'Key Person' at the beginning of the School to help the child settle into nursery and to monitor their development in the different areas of learning. The Key person will observe, keep records and monitor the child’s progress and feed back information of importance or any concerns they may have. The Key Person will also gather pieces of work and photographs throughout the year to supply ‘Tapestry,’ the online Learning Journey used by the EYFS department. ‘Tapestry’ is introduced in Pre- Nursery and parents are invited to look at their child’s journal regularly and to contribute if they wish. At the end of the year, parents are able to download the entire Journal in the form of a pdf.
Some children settle into their new surroundings more quickly than others. Each child is considered individually and the settling-in time handled with care and sensitivity to ensure that the child's first few days at the School are a positive experience for them. The staff will advise you accordingly.
The children join a small class of approximately 8 children in the Autumn term. The class size increases to a maximum of 12 inJanuary so the children enjoy the benefits of a small class in a nurturing environment, making Pre-Nursery a gentle introduction to their school life.
Our work is very much in partnership with parents. We aim to build positive and proactive relationships with families to ensure the best outcomes for your child. We use a dedicated, secure portal to share updates and photographs from your child’s week and operate a consistent ‘open door’ policy so that any concerns you may have relating to your child and the School are dealt with efficiently and effectively.