To apply for a place in our nursery please complete the application form and send to victoria.hopkins@golden-thread.org.

Once we receive your application we will contact you to discuss your individual requirements and arrange the settling in process for your child and you. Further details can be found in our Admissions Policy.

In the UK, all children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to 15 hours of free nursery funding a week. This national funding scheme is payable to all early years providers. Families at Temple Hill nursery take their entitlement over 5 morning or afternoon sessions from
Monday to Friday.

Within the nursery we are offering the 30-hour entitlement. Please click here for more information on the free entitlement.

We also offer families the option of additional wrap around care before, between and after the two daily nursery sessions. We will always try to work with the needs of the family and support them as best we can.
Each session consists of a flexible drop-off, free flow play session and finishes small group time.

All staff in the nursery are committed to offering the highest quality early learning and teaching opportunities to all children. The nursery environment is well resourced with exciting, stimulating and challenging experiences for children to access as they choose. Staff plan for individual learning and development based on the child’s interests. Through direct observation and reflection as a nursery team, staff are able to offer a broad, balanced and differentiate curriculum to meet the needs of all children who attend.

The nursery spaces are set up as open plan workshop environments, enabling children to freely access the resources they require. This encourages children to move around independently making their own choices and decisions about their play and learning experiences. We believe that children learn best from following their own interests, having first-hand, hands-on experiences and the time to revisit and repeat aspects of their play, with the support of responsive adults.

Our aim is to provide a safe, secure environment that is rich and stimulating and encourages children to develop autonomy and feel challenged. The atmosphere created places emphasis on fun, enjoyment and the celebration of each child’s achievements. Our children enjoy regular outdoor learning and cooking lessons in our own Nursery kitchen (photos of kitchen set up and tepee area)

We believe it is important to observe the children and have frequent conversations with parents and carers throughout their child’s time in the setting, to find out about their current interests. This information then forms the basis of our planning and helps us to ensure that we are providing a range of appropriate and responsive play and learning
opportunities.

All staff use the Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS (characteristics of effective learning, prime areas of learning and development and specific areas of learning and development) alongside other frameworks and assessment tools to plan appropriate learning and development experiences based on children’s individual interests. We
think carefully about how children engage with other people and their environment to support each and every child to be an effective and motivated learner. Staff will observe how children use the resources and the spaces to plan further learning and development opportunities for children in the setting.

When observing the children and planning for these experiences, we use a range of frameworks and assessment tools to assist us. These are:

• Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE 2017)
• Well-being Scales (Laevers 1997, 2005)
• Involvement Scales (Laevers 1997, 2005)

The keyworkers in the setting will chat to parents more about these frameworks during home visits and/or the period when they are settling their child in.
For more information on our curriculum and approach to learning and development in the early years, please contact us on 01322 224600 or speak to a member of staff in the
Nursery.

A policy is a clear statement of intention based on the mission, values, vision and aims of the Nursery school as negotiated by all stakeholders. Please follow this link to relevant policies for our Nursery.

Temple Hill Policies

If you are unable to find any information or would like a paper copy of a policy, please do contact our School Office who would be happy to assist you.

All children in the nursery have a keyworker who will support children’s emotional and cognitive needs. They will also be committed to building up trusting and reciprocal relationships with parents/carers. Staff in the nursery are responsive and choose to engage with children in a way that matches the child’s preferred learning style. All keyworkers closely observe children and document the child’s learning in an online Journal called Tapestry.

As a nursery school within a Primary School we are deeply committed to working with parents and acknowledge that knowledge sharing with parents is very powerful and has a lasting impact on children’s outcomes. Parents are encouraged to engage in their child’s learning through daily dialogue with staff, sharing information from home, attending support groups and accessing their child’s on-line learning journal. We use an online journal system called Tapestry. As parents, the first day of handing over your child to the care of another can be an emotional time. As your child adjusts to experiences without you at nursery most parents continue to want to share in these times. Tapestry facilitates this, by enabling a personal journal, or diary, to build over time. Photographs, videos and notes of special moments are not only recorded but can be made available regularly and often immediately to you.

Use iOS or Android apps to receive new entries in your child’s journal celebrating their achievements and exciting activities, individually or with their new friends and the staff looking after them. Contribute to this growing journal by commenting on the journal entries, or even adding your own. Let your child’s teachers know what your child loves doing at home by sending photos and videos back, helping them understand their development at home. Your child’s other relatives can also be set up with access to the Tapestry profile so you can all share the excitement of the growth of your child.

Also share these special moments with your child at any time by logging into their Learning Journal, using your own password. In addition to the simple pleasure of seeing your child’s enthusiasm in describing their day, talking together about the pictures and video clips in their journal helps to develop your child’s language skills and build their self-esteem.