Introduction
Welcome to Boothville Nursery. We all feel very privileged to be a part of your child’s learning, and all look forward to you and your child joining us. We have one class for Nursery called Elmer. We have a fantastic outdoor area which the children access daily, as well as an amazing climbing frame area.
This page will hopefully provide you with information to help your child have a smooth transition into Nursery.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any further questions.
We look forward to meeting you!
Helping my child to be ready for Nursery
It can be hard to predict how your child will react to attending Nursery for the first time, some children walk straight in without batting an eyelid, while others can find being separated from parent or carer a little harder to adjust to. No matter how your child responds at first, they are sure to soon settle into their new routine and will love all the new toys to play with, songs to sing and activities to get stuck into with their new friends.
While starting Nursery may seem a little daunting for your child, (and maybe for you too!) don’t worry there are plenty of ways that you can make the transition easier for everyone concerned.
Our Environment
Our building has 3 classrooms with access to the outdoor space from each one. This building is shared with Reception. Nursery children will have access to their classroom, their outdoor space and will have opportunities to mix with Reception children in their outdoor space.
Inside our room is set up to enable independent learning opportunities across the 7 areas of development. We spend time modelling how the children might use resources and how to play. Quite often they will come up with their own ideas which are even better than ours! We use the phrase "choose it, use it, put it away" which helps to encourage independence, creativity and respect. We are very lucky to have 2 role play areas in our Nursery. The first is a home corner to support sharing personal experiences and the second will be changed regularly to support our teaching of a variety of topics.
Outside our area is also set up to enable learning opportunities across the 7 areas but on a larger scale. There is space to develop gross motor skills, explore with sand and water, create in the mud kitchen, role play and construct.
What will their first day look like?
Your child will be welcomed in and shown around. They will be allocated a drawer and a coat peg, with a special picture to help them identify their space.
To support positive learning, each child will be given a hole punch card. This is for them to collect 10 hole punches to earn a prize. When they have completed the card, this will be celebrated and taken home.
During busy learning times, the children will have access to the classroom and the outside area. We encourage children to explore and talk about all the areas which are available to them. These areas may include messy play such as water, slime and mud.
The children are at the heart of all that we do and we are committed to ensuring that all of our children have the best possible start to their life in education.
During the session snacks will be available. Children can pick from a piece of fruit and a drink of milk or water.
If your child is stopping for lunch, our lunch time staff will be there to ensure your child is supervised throughout lunch making it an enjoyable experience. Children can have packed lunch (provided by parents) or hot dinners (provided by school)
At pick up time, staff will open the door once all children have collected their belongings and have sat down on the floor. Please wait until the member of staff has called your child’s name for them to come out to you.
What is Busy Learning?
Busy learning is the name we give to our learning through play sessions. The children typically have 2 Busy Learning sessions a day, where they can choose to use our inside or outside environments. They will be exploring, investigating, collaborating, turn-taking, socialising and learning in a variety of ways. It is a magical time during the day and as staff we love to watch and interact with the children to move their learning on.
What is Tapestry?
Tapestry is our online learning journal. When they join the Nursery, each child has an account set up for them. You will then be able to see your child's learning journey as they progress through Nursery. Sometimes we post whole class things to show what we have been learning, other times we will add to your child's individual journal with things they have achieved or want to show. You can also add things from home to help us build up a picture of the whole child. We love to see what they have been doing! See Tapestry Document for more information.
Uniform
In Nursery we do not have a school uniform, children are able to wear their own clothing. We do ask that you put your child in suitable clothing (and shoes) for all types of weather for example a coat or sun hat. We also encourage that you put your child in clothing you do not mind getting dirty, as we always have some type of messy play and water play out.
What to bring each day
- Children will need a lunchbox if they are having a packed lunch.
- A bag of spare clothes and shoes in case of any accidents or too much messy play. This would need to include nappies, nappy bags and wipes if needed. This can be kept at Nursery and sent home at the end of each term or when needed
- A bottle of water to drink from during the day.
- A bag they can use to bring home all their amazing work.
How can I be part of my child's learning?
We believe that parents are very important in each child's learning journey. Children are at a very crucial stage developmentally when they start school and having support from home helps with making progress in learning their phonics sounds, developing social skills and much more. We ask that you encourage them, talk to them about school, share their Tapestry moments with them, practise their phonics sounds and share lots of books. Use our termly leaflets to see what we are learning about as a starting point for continuing learning at home.
The Curriculum
We firmly believe in making learning fun, active and engaging.
The Early Years outcomes are divided into seven areas of learning:
- communication and language
- personal, social and emotional development
- literacy
- mathematics
- physical development
- understanding the world
- expressive arts and design
We write our own curriculum encompassing all of these areas and prepare children for continuing their learning journey in Reception.
Our long-term curriculum map is available to view in our files.
For New Starters (downloadable content)
- Application form
- Data Sheet with Permission Form
- Early Years Pupil Premium
- Tapestry Contact
- 30 hours Eligibility letter
- Nursery Transition Booklet
- Payment information
- How to use the app – payments
- Getting to know your child Questionnaire
- Toileting Questionnaire
Useful Information (downloadable content)
- Term dates 2026-2027
- Long Term curriculum map
Nursery contact details:
01604 491545 - Then press 2 for Nursery