THE MILLER ACADEMY THREE BEARS NURSERY
AIMS OF THE THREE BEARS NURSERY
We build the
Nursery curriculum around our aims, which are, to
provide
a welcoming, safe and stimulating atmosphere,
encourage
children to explore the world providing opportunities to stimulate
encourage
positive attitudes to self and others and develop
confidence and self esteem,
foster good relationships between staff and
parents with regular opportunities for both formal and informal communications,
encourage
the emotional, social, physical, creative and intellectual development of
children,
foster positive attitudes to moral issues
encouraging children to differentiate between right and wrong,
enable
children to reach their full potential through the promotion of
high levels attainment and achievement in our Nursery group.
These aims
underpin every decision made, whether it relates to:
buying new resources, setting up parent meetings,
organising outings and visitors to the Nursery or establishing new display or
play areas.
We welcome
comments or questions on our aims as it is important that these aims are shared.
STAFFING
Children aged between three and a half and five years
who are in their pre-school year may be enrolled at the Nursery.
The facility is staffed by a Teacher, Mrs Gordon, a Nursery
Nurse, Mrs Rutherford, and a
Nursery Auxiliary, Mrs Falconer.
The will be a new teacher in the Nursery in session 2003 – 2004 and
parents will be informed of the teachers name as soon as it is known. From time
to time a trainee nursery nurse is there for at least part of the week and
Students from Thurso High School also visit the Nursery.
The curriculum, organisation and running of the Three
Bears Nursery is overseen by the Head Teacher, Ms
A Warren and the Deputy Head Teacher Early Years,
Mrs E Mitchell.
The nursery comprises two rooms and a cloakroom and
includes carpeted 'dry areas’, 'wet
areas' with a sand tray, water bath, art and craft facilities and storage
facilities. It is well resourced
with large equipment, small educational games and toys, books and art and craft
materials. There is also a good
sized outside play with outdoor equipment.
Finance for those resources is provided by the education authority but is
also supplemented by monies from the school fund.
The unit session times are as follows ;-
Parents can arrive with children between 9.00
and 9.15am and collect children between 11.15 and 11.30am.
We do appreciate parents waiting in the cloakroom area at collection
times if children are involved in a group or class activity such as a story or
song.
As
above, 12.45 to 1.00pm and 3.00 to 3.15pm are the arrival and departure times.
The Nursery can accommodate 20 children in each
session.
Throughout the year various events take place
designed to promote the all-round education of the children, to encourage the
proper development of the socialisation process and to be just 'good fun'.
Those include a Christmas party, visited by Santa Claus with a present
for each child, school outings, sports days and shows by puppet or theatre
groups should those be at an appropriate age level.
Enrolment normally takes place in March of each year
for entry in August and is in response to an advertisement placed in the local
press by the Area Education Manager. Many
parents need to know at an early date if entry has been obtained so that they
may make other arrangements if their application proves unsuccessful.
To assist parents in this regard letters offering or refusing a place
usually go out within two weeks of the end of the enrolment period.
Information regarding the entry arrangements is sent
to parents in late May. At this
time parents and children are invited to the Nursery to meet the staff and other
parents and children and to receive final details for starting in August.
Usually children at first attend for a shortened session which slowly
extends as they settle into their new environment.
The formal
procedure for enrolment/transfer and induction can then be summarised:
·
Information on enrolment is issued to the local
community/play group through an advertsiment placed in the press by the Area
Education Manager
·
Enrolment and issue of Nursery Brochure takes place
in March
·
Nursery Teacher and/or Deputy Head Teacher visits the
providing playgroup/s
·
The playgroup are invited to school sports, Nursery
assembly and other school events
·
Information Meetings are held for parents in June
·
Enrolled children visit Nursery class for visits
prior to their entry date
PARENTS' VISITS
Many of the parents take their children to and from
the nursery each day staff get to know them very well and develop a good working
relationship with them. On a daily
basis they may discuss the children's progress and can quickly respond to any
problems that may arise. Should a
parent wish to meet Nursery staff, the DHT Early Years or the Head Teacher on a
more formal basis this can generally be arranged at short notice.
This arrangement is, of course, also available to working parents who may
not come to the Nursery with their children themselves.
Parents’ Evenings are held in November and May
giving parents the opportunity to meet with Nursery Staff to discuss the
progress of their children. Written
reports are prepared for parents before the May evening.
Since Parents are the first educators of their young children.
The aim of early education is to support and enhance the development of
the their children in the Nursery. The
nursery will endeavour to respect, understand and value the contribution parents
make towards their child’s learning and provide support, guidance and
encouragement to parents as educators.
To achieve these aims the nursery will:
·
Provide
parents with information before their child starts nursery, e.g. admission
procedures, handbook or prospectus.
·
Work with
parents to build up a picture of the child’s development needs when the child
starts nursery.
·
Ensure
that parents are aware of the systems and policies operating at the nursery.
·
Inform
parents on a regular basis about their child’s progress.
·
Make sure
that parents are kept well informed through notice boards, newsletters and
questionnaires.
·
Provide
opportunities for parents to contribute from their own skills, knowledge and
interests to the activities of the nursery.
·
Ensure
that all parents are fully informed about meetings and events at the nursery.
·
Welcome
contributions from parents, whatever form these may take.
·
Make
known to parents the system for registering queries, complaints or suggestions.
·
Provide
written reports to parents giving details of their child’s progress.
If you arrange for someone to collect your child,
he/she must be a responsible adult who is well known to the child.
In an emergency, telephone the school first to advise of any change in
arrangements or get advice. We are
not authorised to release children into the care of taxi drivers or to pupils of
the school even though they may brothers or sisters of the children concerned.
The Nursery door is locked during class sessions and
visitors must ring the bell. When the children play outdoors in the enclosed
garden area they are supervised at all times.
Minor First Aid can be administered in school and
parents informed of any injury. There
is a school policy and procedure to deal with sickness or more serious injury.
It is helpful if parents inform the Nursery Staff or School
Office if there children are to be absent from Nursery.
·
Parents
are asked to keep their children at home if they have any infection.
·
Parents
should inform the nursery as to the nature of any infection so that staff can
confidentially alert other parents, and make careful observations of any child
who seems unwell.
·
Parents
are asked not to bring into the nursery any child who has been vomiting or had
diarrhoea until at least 24 hours has elapsed since the last attack.
If a child is receiving prescribed medication the
nursery will follow the guidance laid down in the whole school policy and that
of the Highland Council relating to The Administration of Medicines.
Generally Council staff members are not permitted to routinely administer
medication but special arrangements may be made to do so in life threatening
situations, e.g. where I child may require emergency treatment due to an
allergic reaction to peanuts. Parents may come to the Nursery to administer medicines which
require to be given at very specific times.
All medications in the Nursery are kept in a safe
place out of reach of children.
Cuts or open sores should be suitably covered e.g. dressing
secured with adhesive tape.
Where any member of staff has cause to believe that a
child has been abused or is being abused or is likely to be abused by any source
including abuse by other children, the concerns will be reported immediately to
the Head Teacher or the Deputy Head should the Head not be available.
The Head Teacher or Deputy shall inform the Senior
Social Worker or Police without delay and where the child/ren involved already
have a Social Worker, he/she will be informed immediately.
All investigations of allegations or suspicions of
child abuse will be carried out in accordance with Child Protection Guidelines.
Children must change into indoor shoes when they come
to the nursery. Gym shoes have been
found to be the best and most popular indoor footwear.
These are kept in the nursery and hang in a bag on the child’s own
named coat peg. Suitable shoe bags
can be purchased from the nursery Teacher.
Training children in good behaviour is very important
in the nursery. We believe that
praise and encouragement for good behaviour is the best way to achieve this.
If a child’s behaviour in the nursery gives the staff cause for concern
then parents will be notified. A
consistent approach across home and school is important when dealing with
behaviour problems.
When children behave in unacceptable ways:
·
Physical
punishment, such as smacking or shaking, will be neither used nor threatened.
·
Children
will never be sent out of the room by themselves.
·
Techniques
intended to single out and humiliate individual children will not be used.
·
Children
who misbehave will be given one-to-one adult support in seeing what was wrong
and working towards a better pattern.
·
Where
appropriate this might be achieved by a period of “time out” with an adult.
·
In cases
of serious misbehaviour the unacceptability of the behaviour and attitudes will
be made clear immediately, but by means of explanations rather than personal
blame.
·
In any
case of misbehaviour, it will always be made clear to the child in question that
it is the behaviour and not the child that is unwelcome.
·
Any
behaviour problems will be handled in a developmentally appropriate fashion,
respecting individual children’s level of understanding and maturity.
·
Recurring
problems will be tackled by the whole staff, in partnership with the child’s
parents, using objective observation records to establish an understanding of
the cause.
·
Adults
will be aware that some kinds of behaviour may arise from a child’s special
needs.
·
Occasionally
when unacceptable behaviour has occurred, staff may need to take action for the
child’s own safety, or that of others.
·
Parents
are informed when a child has been good and build on this positive image with
child and parent and equally when problems arise parents are made aware of this.
Snack time is an integral part in the social life of
the nursery. It is also a time to
reinforce children’s understanding of the importance of healthy eating.
Should children be on any special diet or should they be forbidden from
eating certain foods the nursery staff should be informed.
We hope to achieve an awareness of healthy eating by ensuring
that:
·
All meals
and snacks provided are nutritious, avoiding large quantities of fat, sugar,
salt, additives, preservatives and colourings.
·
Children’s
medical and personal dietary requirements are respected.
·
Menus are
planned in advance and food offered is fresh, wholesome and balanced.
·
A
multi-cultural diet is offered to ensure that children from all backgrounds
encounter familiar tastes and that all children have the opportunity to try
unfamiliar foods.
·
The
dietary rules of religious groups and also of others with special diets are
known and met in appropriate ways.
·
Milk
provided for children is whole and pasteurised.
THE NURSERY
ENVIRONMENT
A well prepared and structured environment with a
planned curriculum is required in a nursery.
It is hoped that the Miller Academy Three Bears Nursery meets the needs
of the whole child - social, emotional, physical, aesthetic and intellectual.
Each child will come to the nursery with different experiences from
different backgrounds and the organisation must be able to respond to the
various needs.
The opportunity for a very wide range of activities
is provided in the nursery. Children
are given the opportunity to experience a variety of materials, such as paint,
sand, water, clay, glue, wood, etc. They
are also exposed to the medium of books, musical activities, structured play and
stimulating educational toys and games.
Within this environment the teacher and nursery nurse
have the opportunity to observe and identify the progress and needs of
individual children and to modify their organisation to take account of their
assessment.
They may need to ;-
a) alter and develop the structure of the teaching
plan.
b) intervene and suggest directly or indirectly how
new ideas and experiences may be explored and incorporated.
c) initiate new activities and interests.
THE NURSERY
CURRICULUM
Play in the
Nursery Curriculum
Play is a natural activity of all young children
which serves to develop them intellectually, physically, socially and
emotionally. The harnessing of this
wish to play can encourage the extension and development of interest and
experiences.
It is through play in the nursery that the children socialise with others and get to understand the need to share and co-operate, communicate and listen. When this interaction is with an adult then there is the added opportunity for the provision of new resources, vocabulary and experiences which can further child development.
Most children bring a variety of suitable play experiences to the nursery but some are lacking in this respect. When such deprivation occurs the nursery environment, with its many opportunities for learning through play, is an ideal setting for intervening in the development process and positively helping to make up for the lack of prior experiences.
The Development
of Skills and Interests
Young children require a degree of emotional and
social maturity and stability in order to be in the best position to acquire
skills and interests. A caring
nursery with security and affection can go a long way to satisfying those needs.
Staff carefully move children along through the
stages of solitary play and parallel play to the skilled area of co-operative
play. At this time the children are
given the opportunity to satisfy their need to play socially with their peers
and this further enables then to lay the foundation of social skills which they
will require throughout their whole school life and beyond.
Those structured play activities facilitate the
acquisition of the social skills of communicating, playing and working with
others and co-operating with peers and adults.
They also develop an understanding of how to become socially acceptable,
responsible, self-confident and independent.
The more formal academic skills to be mastered in the
primary school have their roots in the work in the nursery.
Language, reading, writing, mathematical, observational and practical
skills all begin to take shape in the nursery though the formal work in those
skills comes much later.
Language Skills
Language skills are enriched and developed when
opportunities for discussion, describing, questioning and recalling are
provided. Listening skills are also
developed in this kind of activities and are further enhanced through musical
activities, story telling, drama and poetry.
Reading Skills
The desire to read and a love of books will be
fostered in children if they are exposed to the medium of print in the nursery.
An attractive book corner with words and pictures on the wall, the
practice or reading stories to the class, groups
and individuals, all heighten the awareness of the printed word and are part of
the nursery curriculum.
Writing Skills
The secretarial skills of writing are assisted by
good hand control and satisfactory hand and eye co-ordination.
Nursery activities are tailored to develop this.
Painting, gluing, using scissors, making junk models and playing with
water, dough, sand and plasticine are all good activities for the development of
hand and eye co-ordination and in the process of working at those areas of the
curriculum the children are also further developing their social and other
skills. In addition it is to be hoped that the regular discussion,
story telling, story reading and the other similar learning experiences taking
place will help develop the pre-compositional writing skills before the move to
the more formal teaching of writing through the Foundations of Writing approach
in the infant department.
Mathematical/Number Skills
Early mathematical/number skills are promoted through
play with objects in the nursery. Children
learn the properties of the objects as they play - hard/soft, thick/thin,
heavy/light, long/short, long/longer, etc.
In addition as the children work with clay, dough, sand and plasticine
the ideas of conservation slowly take shape.
At a later stage the mathematical language and ideas become more complex
and solid shapes, such as cylinders appear in their experience.
At this time also sorting, matching, arranging, ordering and discovering
likeness and difference develop through the structured experiences.
Elementary understanding of number comes as items are collected or put on
tables, a certain number of snacks arrive, limited numbers can paint around the
tables, etc.
Observation skills are developed through play and
early educational experiences by way of visits, discussion of surroundings,
questioning related to picture books and stories, etc.
The critical viewing of objects and discussion of their characteristics,
their shape, their colour and their purpose all help to raise children's
awareness of the variety of stimuli around them.
Practical Skills
The place of practical skills is given a high
priority in the nursery with the teaching of a great variety of practical skills
by way of ;
- painting, craft work, jig-saws, creative and imaginative play, etc.
- the use of tools, musical instruments, books, etc.
- domestic routines such as the use of cutlery, dressing, etc.
-
toilet routines such as
washing hands, brushing teeth, etc.
The Head Teacher is responsible for the general
management of the curriculum throughout the school and within this remit there
is a requirement for the Head Teacher to oversee the work of the nursery.
Within the overall policy the nursery teacher is responsible for the
development of the day to day nursery curriculum.
She must implement the agreed strategies for the nursery and constantly
monitor their effectiveness. This
has to be done in a spirit of co-operation with other members of staff including
the nursery nurse, the Head Teacher, other teachers in the school and visiting
specialists.
The nursery day includes periods of free choice of
activity for children, times for individual reading, individual games, group
activities, musical experience, listening, etc. However, those activities cannot be allowed to just happen.
They are managed so that every child gets a share of every experience in
an understanding and disciplined environment.
THE TRANSFER TO
PRIMARY SCHOOL
It is very important that the infant department and
the nursery liaise closely at all times but it is particularly necessary near
the time of transfer to the next stage of education. A structured and planned
transition from different stages within the education system eases the pupils
through what can be worrying phases of their lives. A positive transition can
promote a positive attitude to education as a continuum for life long learning.
Aims for induction
into Nursery and Primary:
To encourage all
parents to be partners in their child’s education.
To assist parents in
helping their child towards readiness for school.
To make a happy
transition from home to school.
To support the
pre-school child towards independence.
To ensure that any
relevant information from outside agencies is acknowledged and acted on
particularly in regard to children with special needs.
At Miller Academy Three Bears Nursery this contact
between the nursery and school is helped by the close formal and informal links
between the nursery and school staff. The
teacher attends the school Planned Activity Time sessions, staff meetings and
some of the in-service training days and there is regular contact between school
and nursery regarding the progress towards trouble free transfer for the
children in the nursery.
In the summer term children from the nursery play
with children already in the infant department and they take their breaks with
the older children in the school playground.
The playground is one of the biggest areas of fear encountered by young
children on first going to the 'big school'.
Also at this time , and indeed on occasions throughout the year, nursery
pupils will visit classrooms and other areas in the main building.
The Hall and Gym are used regularly to good effect by the Nursery staff
and pupils.
Once infant department staff know which pupils they
will be having in the coming session they visit the nursery to see those
children and to hear of their abilities, problems, etc. from the nursery staff.
The formal procedure for transfer can
then be summarised:
·
Information on enrolment is
issued through the local press and school newsletters
·
Enrolment takes place,
generally in early February, and the School Brochure is issued.
·
Class for the coming session
are organised after discussion with the providing Nurseries and playgroups and
consideration of written reports from the providers.
·
The teachers taking the new P1
pupils visit the Nursery and other playgroups and Nurseries if applicable.
·
The playgroup are invited to
school sports, Nursery assembly and other school events
·
Information Meetings are held for
parents
·
New P1 pupils visit classes for
visits prior to their entry date
SPECIAL NEEDS
A small number of children will
have difficulties in learning which require special help. The Nursery will
identify and plan for each child’s individual learning requirements and to
provide appropriate additional support for children with special educational
needs in order to allow them to make the best possible progress.
A
number of different people can be asked to assist.
These are: the Head Teacher and Learning Support Department, the School
Doctor, Educational Psychologist, Health Visitor, Speech Therapist or Social
Worker. At all stages, parents will
be fully involved in these discussions. The
strengths of the child will always be more important to us than any weaknesses.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
The Nursery aims to ensure that no child is excluded or
disadvantaged because of ethnicity, religion, culture, family background,
disability, gender, home language, special educational needs, rurality or
ability. The Nursery will endeavour
to ensure that all children feel secure, included and valued.
Girls
and boys participate equally in the full range of Nursery experiences. Care is taken to ensure that particular activities do not
become associated with boys or girls. Books,
pictures, jigsaws, etc. are selected to show positive images of different races
and cultures.
Nursery will Staff aim to create a positive attitude
to children’s learning about their own and others environment and values by:
·
Keeping
the nursery environment free from any discriminatory practice or stereotypical
images.
·
Valuing
the local community and environment as a source of learning opportunities.
·
Using
displays, resources and equipment that reflect the community in which the
children live as well as the wider world.
·
Activities
relating to a wide range of religious, ethnic and cultural festivals.
·
Telling
stories, listening to music and looking at pictures and videos from a range of
cultures and religions.
·
Role-play
activities that reflect a variety of cultures.
·
Discussions
with and between the children about the similarities and differences in their
experiences and the reasons for those similarities and differences.