Nursery

Welcome to Mersea Island School Nursery
 

We know how important your child is and aim to deliver the highest quality of care and education to help your child achieve their best.
 

Please select the 'Year Groups' tab to see our Nursery in action!

Our setting aims to

• Provide high quality care and education for children below statutory school age.
• Work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop.
• Offer children and their parents, education that promotes equality and values diversity.
• Ensure a progressive introduction to the main school, with regard to routines, curriculum, the school environment and the people who help to keep the children safe.
• Add to the life and well-being of the local community.

The staff

• Mrs Clarke (MSc, BSc (Hons.), PGCE QTS School Senior Leader, Head of Maths)
• Mrs Deeks (Level 3)
• Mrs Ramsay (BEd (Hons.) PGCE QTS)
• Mrs Bloomfield (Nursery Nurse, Level 3)

How parents take part in the setting

Our setting recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of the staff see themselves as partners with parents in providing care and education for every child. There are many ways in which parents can take part in making the setting a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as

• Exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs, activities interests and progress with the staff
• Contributing to the progress check at age two
• Sharing their own special interests with the children
• Taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by the setting
• Joining in community activities in which the setting takes part
• Building friendships with other parents in the setting

Children’s development and learning
We aim to ensure that each child

• Is in a safe and stimulating environment
• Is given generous care and attention, through the ratio of qualified staff to children.
• Has the chance to join with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together
• Is encouraged to take forward learning and development by being helped to build on what is already known and can be done.
• Is in a setting that sees parents as partners in helping each child to learn and develop

How Mersea Island School Nursery provides for development and learning

Our curriculum drivers are based on the whole schools ethos of

CARE

Community
Aspiration
Respect
Enjoyment

Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by our setting helps children to continue to do this by providing all of the children with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. We have a shared view that our children will achieve to the very best each day and we will equip the children with the life skills to be successful, kind and respectful members of the world.

We are open for 38 weeks each year, falling in line with the school’s term time calendar

Our opening times are:

8.45 – 11.45 (morning session)
11.45 – 12.15 (lunch)
12.15 – 3.15 (afternoon session)
 

We provide care and education for young children between the ages of two and five years.

Tapestry
Using a piece of educational software called ‘Tapestry’, every child will have their own individual online learning journal. By logging on with a secure username and password you will be able to access your child’s journal. Parents are only able to view their own child’s journal and all information is stored on a highly secure server, which is closely monitored.
Tapestry allows you, as your child’s primary educator, to add observations and photographs of your own as well as share your comments. We love to hear about learning and WOW moments from home to share with your child in school.

The setting’s timetable and routines

The routines and activities that make up the day in the setting are provided in ways that:

• Help each child to feel that they are a valued member of the setting
• Ensure the safety of each child
• Help children to gain from the social experience of being part of a group
• Provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning.

The sessions
We organise our sessions so that the children can:

• choose
• work at a range of activities
• build up their ability to select and sustain a task to its completion.
• take part in adult-led small and large group activities which introduce them to new experiences and help them to gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others
• explore outdoor activities, contributing to; their health, physical development and their knowledge of the world around them
• begin to develop familiarity of the school environment and learn the routines of the main school
• begin the foundations of the ‘Mersea Island School Curriculum’ e.g. phonics, early maths skills, outdoor learning.

Snacks and meals
The setting makes snacks and meal time a social time at which children and adults spend time together. The school plan the menus for the meals so they provide the children with healthy and nutritious food.

Clothing
We encourage children to gain the skills that help them to be independent and look after themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and taking off and putting on, outdoor clothes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will help them to do this. Please can you name any clothing that comes into the setting especially coats and hats.

Safeguarding children
Our setting has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual ‘significant harm’.
Our way of working with children and their parents ensures we are aware of any problems that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when necessary, to help families in difficulty.
Our employment practices ensure children against the likelihood of abuse in our settings and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations against a member of staff.

Special needs
As part of the setting’s policy to make sure that the provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs a child may have. The setting works to the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (2015).