Early years nursery and reception

Welcome to Shephalbury Park Primary School 

We always look forward to welcoming our children to Nursery class and Reception class in September. 

We aim to do the best we can to make you and your family feel welcome as a part of the Shephalbury Park community and will work with you to ensure that your child’s transition into our school is as easy as possible. 

We engage children in a creative curriculum that is tailored to their needs and reflects the context and community in which they live. At all times we seek to inspire children with a love of learning and thirst for knowledge that will remain with them throughout their lives.  

We strive to create a safe, welcoming and engaging learning environment where children become confident to try new activities and communicate to new peers and adults. We support and nurture children in their learning. We celebrate mistakes and praise resilience and children who ‘have a go!’ 

We are a friendly and supportive team, who are dedicated in developing and enthusing children to learn. 

Our Foundation Stage consists of one Nursery Class and one Reception Class.  

Nursery: 

We take children from the age of 3 and offer 15 hours and 30 hours funded sessions. 

All children must attend the morning session (15hrs) 8.35am – 11.45am 

For 30hrs funded children the sessions are 8.35am – 3pm. 

Afternoon sessions can be booked at £4 per session for families who are not eligible for 30hrs  

How to apply for 30 hours free childcare and find out if you’re eligible – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)  

The Nursery staff are:  

Mrs Mutch – Nursery Teacher and Early Years Lead 

Mrs Lee – Teaching Assistant 

Mrs Ramus – Teaching Assistant 

Reception: 

Children start Reception after their 4th birthday. 

Our day starts at 8.35am and finishes at 3.10pm 

Porridge pot (breakfast club) and Tea pot (after school club) sessions are available at the beginning and the end of each day 

Free school meals | Hertfordshire County Council  

The Reception staff are: 

Miss Lea – Reception Teacher 

Miss Webster – Early Years Practitioner 

Mrs Ramus – Teaching Assistant  

Parents and Carers in school 

We organise different events throughout the year where you will be invited into school for various occasions such as Christmas plays, sports days and our very popular Mother’s Day and Father’s Day breakfasts.  There are many ways to get involved, including FOSP (Friends of Shephalbury Park) who help raise money for our school. 

At Shephalbury Park we use an online app called ‘ClassDojo’ which all parents will have access to and can to contribute towards regularly.  

As a school we believe it is crucial that all parents are involved in their child’s learning and development. We welcome your contributions regarding your child’s development and any other significant events in your child’s life e.g. a family wedding, a trip out or a new skill that has been learnt.  

The Curriculum  

We believe that children need a rich, play based curriculum offering them first hand experiences and events by allowing the children to engage in skill-based learning. The children have planned daily small group and phonics sessions led by an adult and lots of child-initiated time inside and outside of the classroom to support their personalised learning needs.  

Through play children: 

• Make sense of the world around them 

• Practice ideas, concepts and skills 

• Take risks and make mistakes 

• Communicate with others 

• Think creatively  

• Investigate and solve problems  

Outdoor Learning. 

The outside environment is an important part of our curriculum. It allows children to connect with nature, take risks, challenge themselves and develop their gross motor skills. We provide a range of opportunities to develop the motor skills needed to successfully lay the foundations for handwriting success. The garden is a space for large body movements and is not a replica of the inside area.  

As well as accessing the garden, children attend regular Welly Walk sessions and Fire Friday sessions in our nature area within the school grounds, focusing on core skills progressing from Nursery to Reception. We also make use of the wider community by visiting the local shops to buy cooking resources, going for walks and visiting the local café to support local businesses.  

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

This is the statutory framework sets the standards for the learning, development and care for children aged birth to five. A range of experiences are planned weekly to cover the three prime areas and four specific areas of learning. 

Prime areas: 

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development 

• Physical Development 

• Communication and Language 

Specific areas:  

• Literacy 

• Maths 

• Understanding of the World 

• Expressive Arts and Design  

Ways to help support your child to be confident, curious and ready to learn more: 

Uniform 

• Grey trousers / pinafores / skirts /shorts 

• Pale blue polo shirts / shirts / blouses 

• Navy blue sweatshirt / cardigan/jumper 

• Blue and white summer dress 

• Grey/White/Navy socks/tights 

• Black shoes or plain black trainers 

• Hairbands/bows should be small and Navy and/or White 

PE Kit 

• Coloured house crew t-shirt – either plain or with the school logo 

• Navy blue shorts or joggers 

• Trainers – NO LACES  

You can now order uniform and PE tops online via ‘Smarties’ website. We will have a few items left in stock, but once this has gone all uniform will need to be ordered online and either collect from school or get it delivered to your home.  The link can be found on  

Uniform Information | Shephalbury Park Primary School  

What your child will need:  

•  A coat 

• Sensible, sturdy footwear that your child can put on independently 

• A pair of wellies  

• School Book Bag 

• PE kit 

• PLEASE NAME EVERYTHING INCLUDING SHOES! 

Although we provide aprons and waterproof clothing, the children are often working with messy materials which can and will spread everywhere. 

We do have a limited supply of spare clothes which we can change your child into, however it will be extremely helpful if your child can have a bag of their own spare clothes to keep on their coat peg. 

It is important that your child brings a suitable coat with them every day as lots of our learning takes place outside in all weathers. 

Children should have a pair of wellies which will be kept in school to allow them to explore the outside environment. The wellies will also be needed for our weekly welly walks around our school grounds.  

Drinks and Snacks  

Snack time is a great opportunity to promote independence. Our snack time is offered through a free-flow service throughout the morning allowing the children to practice real life skills such as cutting, chopping, grating, pouring and washing up!  

To provide children with first hand experiences and encourage them to take risks, we use glasses cups, china plates and bowls and real graters. The children use safety knives to cut up their own snacks and are supervised with this at all times.  

Milk is provided for your child each day and fresh fruit and vegetables are also provided free of charge as part of the Government Fruit and Vegetables for schools scheme . Water is also freely available to the children throughout the session.  

Medical  

We have a parental agreement to administer medicine and this MUST be signed before we can administer any type of medication. Any asthma pumps or epi-pens must be kept in school at all times. If your child has an accident at school we will inform you and provide an accident form. It is also important to make a member of staff aware of any injuries your child has before coming into school.  

30 Hours Provision  We offer the 30 hours funding 5 days a week from 8.35am until 3.00pm.

Please go online to see if you are eligible for 30 hours free funding https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare.  

If you are not eligible for a 30 hours government funding there are other options available to you. We offer the afternoon sessions as paid for provision, charged at £4 an afternoon. 

Alternatively, if you are eligible for means tested Early Years Pupil Premium Funding, we may also be able to offer this provision to you (please speak to the school office). 

Pupils have the option of having a school dinner (£2.55 per meal) or bringing a home packed lunch. 

Communication 

It is important to keep us informed about things that might affect your child. The Nursery teacher will be available before and after the session for you to talk to. As mornings are very busy, if you need to talk for more than a brief moment, please make an appointment to see your child’s teacher at the end of the session. Similarly, all staff members will inform you of things that have happened to your child at school, such as a bumped head.  

And Finally…We look forward to working with you and your child to make their learning experiences at Shephalbury Park the best they can be. Please do not hesitate to speak to us about any worries or concerns you may have however small they may seem!