Welcome to the Early Years - Principal- Mrs Helen Wollington Assistant Principal and Early Years Lead- Mrs Emily

‘

          Be all you can be and together we will shine

   Welcome to the Early Years
         Principal- Mrs Helen Wollington
Assistant Principal and Early Years Lead- Mrs Emily
                     Holloway

Welcome to the Nursery Team

Mrs Holloway         Mrs Bowne                Mrs Fitzmaurice               Mrs Morgan

           Mr Cane               Miss Ponty                     Miss Cork

We can’t wait to get to know you and
                   your child
Currently school is only partially open, so our transition process will look slightly
different this year however we are going to make it as smooth, exciting and
informative as possible.
Many children like to be able to know what their school and teacher look like before
they start. Remember to use the story book and photo book we sent you to help with
this!
We will also…
o Give you a ring to get to know you and your child
o Offer an opportunity to do a individual ‘Show and Tell’ video call with a favourite
   toy (these will be arranged during your phone call)
o Offer an opportunity to join their new key person group for a ‘Singing’ video call
   (see next slide)
o Offer you the opportunity to join Tapestry, our online learning journey and start to
   upload your child’s learning from at home. Our staff love to comment and share in
   the children’s achievements and it’s another great way to get to know each other.
*The school office is always a point of call for any questions, worries or concerns- we
are here to help office@southwold.oxon.sch.uk

Optional video call ‘sing with
                   us’
We will also be having optional video call play dates for the children in
nursery to attend. This is a chance for children to get to know familiar
faces in their key person group. Please look on your child’s welcome
letter to find out which key person group they are in.
These dates will be:

Wednesday 24th June 9.30am- Busy Bee song session led by Mrs
Bowne
Wednesday 24th June 10.30am-Ladybird song session led by Mrs
Fitzmaurice and Mrs Morgan
Thursday 2nd July 9.30am- Blossom class song session led by Miss
Ponty and Mrs Holloway

*ID and Passwords will follow separately via email for video calls

The first few weeks in
        September…
    The nursery children will be given
staggered start dates. As soon as we have
 more guidance from the government we
  will be in touch with this information.

Staggered school timings
o Children will be given a staggered arrival and collection time
  when they start school. Children will be encouraged to enter
  school carefully, through the allocated gate taking in to
  consideration social distancing. More information will be sent
  nearer your child’s start date.
o Arrival and collection times will take into account those children
  who are in nursery in the morning or afternoon and those that
  stay all day (please contact the school office for further
  information on 2 year old funding/ 30 hours funding)
o All children will need to bring their own named snack/ water
  bottle and place it into their individual tray on arrival.
*No pots or packaging that is hard for a child to open please.
o Those children staying all day will need to bring a packed lunch in
  a named, disposable carrier bag.

Welcome to our Learning
              Landscape…
At the moment our unit is known as ‘Bubble Land’! It’s a very exciting place to be
with different islands for us to learn on … you might get to visit ‘Dinosaur Island’
or ‘Unicorn Island’ or even ‘Rainbow Island’ and there are so many exciting things
to do there!
Bubble Land is full of many wonderful rooms and gardens but at the moment we
can only stay in our own special room or linking garden area… have a look and see
if you can spot yours!
❖ Enter the unit along ‘Ladybird Lane’
❖ Visit ‘Blossom Class’ (2 year old provision) in the ‘Snail Sanctuary’
❖ Play and explore outside in ‘Grasshopper Grove’, (Blossom class garden)
❖ Visit ‘Butterfly Bay’ to meet Orange class (reception children)
❖ Eat some delicious snacks and cook up a feast in ‘Caterpillar Corner’
❖ Suddenly you will find yourself in ‘Centipede Centre’. You will meet Cherry class here (reception
  class)
❖ Explore in ‘wobbly worm’ reception garden, it is great fun!
❖ Skip through the double doors to the ‘Busy Beehive’. This is where apple class play(three or four
  year old provision). There are two key person groups in this room, the Busy Bees and the
  Ladybirds. Finally grab your wellies and enter the wonderful ‘Minibeast Kingdom’.

Drop off and collection points-
           Nursery

                                          Blossom class
 Apple class to                           to be dropped
 be dropped off                               off and
  and collected                              collected
 from the Busy                            from the Snail
    Beehive                                 Sanctuary
   (Nursery)                                (Nursery)

                  Remember to check for
                     your arrival and
                     collection time

Behaviour and Expectations
✓ A caring, experienced early years team with
  consistently high expectations, modelling and building
  positive relationships
✓ Engaging indoor and outdoor provision with a focus on
  interaction and embracing topic led learning, individual
  interest points and next steps
✓ Support system based on choices when things go
  wrong
✓ A values-based approach which promotes positivity,
  respect, honesty, determination but most importantly
  happiness.
✓ Daily circle and reflection time for all

Mathematics            Literacy

   Understanding of the World

Understanding
 of the world

Personal, Social and
Emotional Development

Expressive Arts &
     Design

Physical
Development

Communication and Language

Literacy and Phonics

Tapestry
Tapestry is our online learning journey. It’s a wonderful way to see what
your child has been learning at school and a way in which we can see
what they have been learning at home… communication is key to
success!

Photos, videos and comments can be uploaded to Tapestry and can be
accessed from a phone or tablet.

*In your packs you will have received further information about Tapestry.
Please email the office if you would
like to activate your child’s learning journey before
they start school. We would love to start sharing
in their amazing learning from home.

Toys
   We know how much the children adore
 their own toys and like to share them with
us but we are asking for all toys to remain at
 home. So that we can still continue to hear
     all about the children’s amazing toy
 adventures, please use Tapestry to upload a
  weekly show and tell from home. We will
  always comment and ask questions on the
 post to make sure the children have our full
                  attention!

Here is an example of the visual timetable cards we use in school…
there will be lots of fun activities to do, with hand washing along the way!

*Why not try using a visual timetable at home. We have popped a copy
at the back of your handbook.

Lunch and Snack…
                                      All children are entitled
Packed lunches for                     to government funded
                                        fruit and vegetables
children staying all      Remember    however your child may
                             your
        day                 named
                                        also bring their own
                                       named healthy snack if
                            water      they wish… these will
                            bottle!     need to be placed in
                                              their tray
 If you are staying for
  lunch, you will have
    this in your own
bubbleland classroom
    and play in your       Remember to order
      garden area
       afterwards!          your free milk…

Washing our hands song time
 It is really important that the nursery children learn how to wash their hands for 20 seconds. Singing
     along to Baby Shark or Happy Birthday works well or you could try teaching your child to sing:
Wash, Wash, Wash Your Hands
(To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Wash, wash, wash your hands
Wash them nice and clean.
Scrub them here (with hand motion scrubbing together)
Scrub them there (with hand motion scrubbing tops of hands)
And scrub them in between (with hand motion of scrubbing in between fingers)

Wash, wash, wash, your hands
Play our handy game
Rub and scrub, scrub and rub
Germs go down the drain HEY!

This is the way we wash our hands, wash our hands, wash our hands
(To the tune of Here we go round the mulberry bush)
This is the way we wash our hands
Wash our hands
Wash our hands
This is the way we wash our hands
Before we eat our food.
Continue with these variations: After we play outside. After we play with pets. After we use the potty.
After we sneeze or cough.

What your child will need!
✓ A pair of named wellies – we have a welly walk each week where we explore our
  environment. There are welly racks in the cloakrooms. Please hang on your child’s peg.

✓ A clearly named bookbag

✓ Named school uniform – black or dark grey trousers/skirt/pinafore. Plain white t-shirt.
  Logo jumper or cardigan. Black school shoes. If your child still needs support with
  toileting please feel free to use navy or black joggers instead of trousers to help with
  fastenings.

✓ A named water bottle and a healthy snack. Please make sure snacks are accessible for
  children and in a disposable bag.

✓ Weekly voluntary contribution of £1.00 each week which goes towards cooking,
  special treats and crafts we make.

Further information…
•   Please refer to our school website and our Facebook and
    Twitter pages for further information about starting
    nursery.
•   School uniform can be ordered via the school website
•   Children under 5 are entitled to receive a free carton of
    milk daily. Once your child turns 5, milk can still be
    ordered by filling in a registration form, but you will need
    to pay a small fee for it
•   Remember to check if you are eligible for the 2 year old
    funding or for 30 hours- please email the school office for
    more information
•   Alternatively these sessions can be paid for. For more
    information on the cost of sessions for 2 and 3 year olds is
    available from the school office

Marvellous Me!
Remember to upload all of your child’s
achievements and ‘marvellous me’ moments at
home to Tapestry- we love to celebrate and say
well done!
This might be…

Writing their name, zipping up their own coat, making their
bed, swimming for the first time, helping at home, counting
to 10, being kind to someone, brushing their teeth without
being asked, recognising their name… the list goes on!

Interested in more? Come and see what it is
 really like. As soon as we are safe to do so,
we will encourage parents to come and work
alongside their child in the unit.There will be
  opportunities to stay and play, share your
     child’s learning journey, and be part of
   storytelling, phonics and maths sessions.
   Look out for more information based on
 government guidance and safety within our
                      school.
  If you fancy helping out on a regular basis
and have a key interest in reading, gardening,
 cooking, sewing, art, craft or anything else,
  please let us know. We would love to hear
                    from you!

Friends of Southwold
  School (F.O.S.S)

Please come and join
us and help our school
      to grow…
  Email Christian Fitzmaurice on:
     Foss0999@yahoo.co.uk

How can you help to prepare your child ready for nursery…

Helping children to practice closing buttons, putting on socks and shoes
on the right feet, putting coat on and zipping it up
Going to the toilet and having a go at wiping their bottom on their own
–simple clothing like elasticated waistbands are easier to get on and off
If your child is still in a nappy, having a go on the potty over the
oncoming weeks- we are here to support you
Using a song to help your child learn to wash their hands for 20
seconds- Baby Shark is a great one!
Tidying up their toys and doing simple household chores – giving them
responsibilities will help them to become more independent
Helping them to recognise their name in writing and to consistently
respond to it verbally.
Create a coat and shoe peg at home with their name on it to help get
them used to having something similar at school – it seems like a simple
thing, but it’ll help when we ask your child to go and fetch their coat!

You can practise some of the skills your child will develop in early years in your
home – this will help your child feel more ready when nursery starts:

Talk to your child, taking turns to talk and listen as much as you can. Many children do not
spend enough time talking to their parents, often because we all use screens much more.
Having good communication skills is one of the key things that will help children to feel
happy and learn more easily at school
Talk to your child in your home language. Don’t worry about talking in English if this is not
what you do normally- If your child can talk well in your home language they will pick up
English more quickly at school
If we are using screens more often to stay in touch with family and friends during isolation,
include children in video calls and activities. Getting them to have conversations with
relatives and friends is a good way to combine screen time while helping children to
improve their speech
 Do turn-taking activities such as playing with a toy – this helps them to get used to taking
turns and to understand the concept of sharing
Get your child to listen by sitting still and looking at you while you give some simple
instructions or tell a short story
Lots of the learning in nursery happens through play. Get down onto the carpet so you’re
at their level and enjoy some play with your child. Follow their lead with what they’re doing
or how they’re playing. Then, try to get them to follow your lead and create games
together. This will help them to get used to playing and engaging with other children
Do some drawing, painting or mark making together- have fun making marks with
everything from mud to gravy!

Get children interested in stories, sounds and numbers

Read to your child everyday- we get most of our new words from what we read.
Research shows that reading stories is one of the best things’ parents can do to
help children do well at school. A bedtime story helps bedtime routines and gives
a great opportunity to snuggle together and feel connected. It’s great to get to
know some stories well so don’t worry if your child asks for one book over and
over again- this will help them later in school when they start to learn to write.
When reading turn the pages together and look at the pictures. Look on
Tapestry for some read by our very own team. Snuggle together and have a
listen.
Recognise sounds and words in the environment around you to help your child
hear the initial sound in words – e.g. look at that t-ree, first sound ‘t’
Segment sounds in words orally while doing your usual daily routine – e.g. get
your c-oa-t on, where is your b-a-g (we call this ‘fred’ talk)
Explore rhyming words and sing songs together- action songs are fun
Count items out together and talk about numbers you see around you
Use the language of size to talk about different objects inside and out
Puzzles and games are great fun too and super for developing concentration and
listening skills.

We hope these ideas are helpful!

We are really looking forward to
working with you and your child…
For further information please see the Early
Years Handbook and visit the school website.

Any questions, please email the school office-
            we are here to help!
      office@southwold.oxon.sch.uk

A final message from our team:

Thank you for choosing
   Southwold. We are so
pleased to welcome you to
    our school family