Nursery Staff
Mrs Forrest – Nursery Teacher
Hi. My name’s Mrs. Forrest, I am the Nursery teacher and Early Years Lead. I have worked at St. John’s for many happy years. During this time, I have taught in Year 3, Year 2 and currently teach in Nursery. I absolutely love my job! Every day is different, but always full of learning through imagination, adventure and fun! It is a pleasure to get to know the children and support them as they embark upon their learning journey in our Early Years setting.
When I am not at school I love to go on adventures with my husband and three children. We adore exploring the world around us. This includes bike rides, walks, picnics, but best of all heading off in our campervan to a huge range of destinations.
Mrs Norman – Nursery Support Assistant
My name is Mrs. Norman, and I am a Teaching Assistant in Nursery. I love working with children, and every day is so exciting and varied. Watching the children develop is amazing, and I feel privileged to be a part of their learning journey.
When I’m not in Nursery I enjoy spending time with my husband and our little boy Charlie, often on lots of outdoor adventures with our dog, Izzy too!
Mrs Allen – Nursery Support Assistant
Hi, my name is Mrs Gillian Allen and I will be an enhanced teaching assistant in the nursery from September 2021. I have 17 years of experience of working in the Early Years sector, first as a childminder, then in a private nursery and now in my new role in St. John’s nursery.
I am extremely passionate about working in the Early Years and I am really looking forward to being able to support all of the children in their learning and development as we start on our new fun adventure together in nursery.
When I am not in nursery I enjoy reading and spending time with my husband and our two grown up children. We like going for lots of long walks exploring our wonderful countryside.
Nursery Important Information
Mrs Forrest (Nursery Class Teacher) works full time in Nursery, alongside Mrs Norman (TA) four days a week and Mrs Allen (TA) five days a week. Angie our play supervisor also supports in Nursery full time.
The Nursery is open for two sessions each day during term time, an AM session and PM session.
It is very important that your child is collected by a responsible adult, and that we are informed of any changes in collection arrangements. We have a password system in place for the children’s safety, so please ensure that the adult collecting your child has been provided with the password.
If possible please make your child aware of who will be collecting them from school.
How my child will be learning
The EYFS Framework explains how and what your child will be learning to support their healthy development.
Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are:
· Communication and language
· Physical development
· Personal, social and emotional development
These prime areas are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. We would urge you to interact with your child as much as possible prior to them starting Nursery as this will help them with all areas of development.
As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are:
· Literacy
· Mathematics
· Understanding the world
· Expressive arts and design
These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. This will support your child, ensuring that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. The early year’s curriculum is designed to be really flexible so that we can follow your child’s unique needs and interests. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside.
Additional Information
It would be extremely helpful if you could name your child’s uniform (especially the jumpers) in case they are misplaced throughout the school day. If your child is in the process of toilet training, please ensure that they bring spare clothes in a bag.
Your child will need appropriate clothing, footwear and coat for all weathers, to ensure they are warm and comfortable in our outdoor area.
We are looking forward to sharing new experiences and supporting your child as they embark upon their learning journey!
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs Forrest, Mrs Norman or Mrs Allen.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs Forrest, Mrs Norman & Mrs Allen
Click on the link below to view the topics that will be taught this academic year.
Nursery Curriculum Overview 2022-2023
Please click on the link to view the Long Term Planning Document staff use to inform our weekly planning in EYFS.
Home Learning Information
Dear Parents/Carers,
At present, EYFS children are not required to use Microsoft Teams for Online Learning. Instead, we will be using a ‘virtual classroom’ using Google slide. Follow the Home Learning Link below and children can click on items around the classroom which will direct children to useful websites, videos and activities to complete as part of their remote learning. This will be updated every Monday. Tip – Click on Mrs Forrest’s Bitmoji to find out a little bit more about the learning that week.
We suggest completing most activities in short 5 minute bursts with lots of breaks and play in between! Nursery is so important in the Early Years so if your child wants to complete games and activities more than once, that is encouraged.
We strongly recommend that you read with your child every day, cuddling up in bed at bedtime is a perfect time to share a story. When reading to your child encourage them to point to the words, and talk about what they can see happening in the pictures. Your child could even tell the story to you just by using the pictures.
Home Learning Link – https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vRQzXL6sM7eyrxfH62mkyS7upetfRvBkC34S7IpEQ5sgVe9BYTNG9RoWhxLLVHmAR6dIWvywjjutn-f/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000
Other useful websites:
Play online games to help with your counting skills – https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/3-5-years/counting
Use the Cbeebies website and watch educational shows like Alphablocks https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/alphablocks and Numberblocks https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/numberblocks
Phonics Play has a variety of free games for children to access to practise their sound recognition and blending https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/
Cosmic Kids Yoga – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cosmic+kids+yoga
Joe Wickes PE – https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=joe+wickes+pe
Nursery Rhymes and Songs – https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-a-to-z-index/z4ddgwx
Stay safe and we hope to see everyone soon.
Thank you,
Mrs Forrest
