Owlets-Class-Page (ID 1040)

• Opening Times
  Opening Times

  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Term Time Only:

  9.30am to 2.30pm - £22.00 per day

  
  To extend the nursery day in line with our Little Owls Nursery provision and to better suit parents/carers dropping off/collecting their older children from school we offer wrap around sessions:

  9am to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 3.00pm - £5.00 per day

  
  Please refer to the Little Owls class page to view the variety of sessions that they offer.

• Owlets Nursery Day
  Owlets Nursery Day

  During the nursery day the Owlets have access to a wide range of both adult-led and child-initiated activities both indoors and outdoors in all weathers. All activities are play based with a wealth of opportunities for whole class learning as well as independent adventures and investigation.

  You will often find us getting messy with art projects, baking yummy treats, building skyscrapers, getting muddy making mud pies and much more!

  Each day we all come together for carpet times where we share stories, sing songs and play games as a group.

  In the morning children are offered milk and a healthy fruit snack. At lunchtime, Owlets and Little Owls join the school children in the dinner hall for their lunch. Children enjoy a delicious school lunch priced at £2.45. These are payable weekly, further information regarding school meals can be found here. Alternatively, your child may bring a healthy packed lunch.

• Uniform
  Uniform

  School uniform is not compulsory for children attending our Nursery provision, however, we have found that many families choose to send their child in uniform or partial uniform.

  This linkshows uniform requirements for school.

  All clothing items your child brings into nursery must be clearly labelled with your child’s name to avoid being lost.

  Children must attend with clothing appropriate for the weather; coats, hats, gloves, sunhats etc. We also ask that all children bring a bag with a full set of spare clothes and wipes in case of any accidents that may occur during play. Children who wear nappies must provide adequate nappies, wipes, nappy creams and nappy sacks on a daily basis.

• Funding
  Funding

  15 hours free childcare - 2 year olds

  Sessions are available on a both a funded and fee paying basis, or with a combination of the two. You may be eligible for 15 hours of free childcare for your 2 year old child if you are in receipt of certain benefits or your child has additional needs. Some working parents are also entitled to 15 hours of free childcare.

  We can help you apply for this within school, further information can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

  15 & 30 hours free childcare for 3 year olds

  All children over 3 years old are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare per week. The entitlement begins the term after their 3rd birthday.

  If you are working and have a child aged 3 or 4, you may be eligible to claim an additional 15 hours childcare per week, 30 hours in total.

  Further information can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

  Tax Free Childcare & Universal Grant

  £500 is available every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. You will need to apply online for a code to pass onto your childcare provider. Check your eligibility at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk which gives full details of all funding available to parents.

  Please visit the following Government websites to check your eligibility:

  • Childcare Choices
  • Free Education and Childcare for 2 Year Olds
  • 30 Hours Free Childcare

  Our Unique Reference Number, (which will be required for funding applications) is 107501

• Curriculum
  Curriculum

  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, (EYFS) learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which all take place both indoors and outdoors.

  The EYFS curriculum includes 7 areas of learning:

  There are 3 prime areas that include:
  • PSED - Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • PD - Physical Development
  • C&L - Communication and Language

  And 4 specific areas that include:

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding the World
  • Expressive Arts and Design

  For our 2 to 3 year olds, the three Prime Areas are of upmost importance. A child needs to be adept in these skills before they can progress through the Specific Areas. In recognition of this, we base our focus around strengthening communication, physical and personal/social skills, but also include other elements from the specific areas as well.

  More information and examples of what this may look like can be found on the Foundation Years website.

  We use Development Matters to plan and guide our curriculum. We have a strong focus on communication and developing a love of reading. We include as many ‘real life’ opportunities as possible and where we can, we provide hands on, experiential learning. Child initiated learning is high on our agenda and we respond to the children’s interests where possible. We firmly believe that broadening the experiences of our children is vital for enhancing their learning!

  Young children learn best through ‘doing’ and being actively engaged, therefore we aim to provide the nursery children with as many first-hand experiences as we can. Over the course of the year we like to bring a wide range of experiences into the classroom such as a visit from the owl sanctuary, going on a bus adventure to feed the ducks, taking a woodland walk, visiting the local park, having a teddy bears picnic, going on minibeast hunts and holding our very own Sports Day.

  To ensure that purposeful and engaging learning takes place, activities and topics are carefully planned around the children’s interests as well as our core stories. Children learn through a careful balance of child-initiated play and adult led activities. Staff encourage children to follow their own interests and explore their own ideas in play, whilst extending and supporting their learning. Running alongside this, we have an overarching topic each half term.

  Running alongside this, we have an overarching topic each half term which can be viewed on the Knowledge Organiser page of our website along with Curriculum Term Plans which give you more information about what we will learn in the topics we teach each half term.

  

• Parents as Partners
  Parents as Partners

  At Longroyde we work hard to develop positive relationships with our families and actively encourage parents and carers to be involved in their child’s learning.

  Tapestry Journal

  Each child in Nursery and Reception has their own on-line Learning Journey on the Tapestry website, which we use in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage, to build up a record of your child’s experiences during their time with us.

  The benefits to yourselves from Tapestry being on-line means that you will have secure access, via a website or mobile app, to your child’s Learning Journey.

  By logging on with a secure username and password, you will be able to view all your child’s observations, photographs and even videos from their time at Nursery and Reception. You will even receive an email telling you when a new observation or piece of work is available for you to view. This will enable you to follow your child’s individual progress closely and means that you can reflect upon their achievements together at home. In addition to viewing our contributions, we encourage you to add to it by uploading photos and comments, or commenting on observations made by us, so that we can find out about which activities your child really enjoyed!

  Tapestry is hosted on secure servers. Further security details are available on request. E-safety is extremely important to us at Longroyde Primary School and each parent will only have access to their own child’s Learning Journey.

  Photographs and videos bring your child’s learning experiences to life however do often include your child at play with other children, for example in a group of children pretending to be Goldilocks and the Three Bears in the home corner.

  Therefore, we ask for your consent with this, you will be sent a consent form to show that you understand and agree with our guidelines. We will send you detailed information on how to view/use your child’s Learning Journey.

  If you do not have access to email your child is still able to have an online Learning Journey which you can access through the use of school computer equipment during specific dates throughout the year.

  Tapestry Journal Link

• Stay and Play Sessions
  Stay and Play Sessions

  Each half term parents and carers are invited to open mornings where you will have the chance to ‘stay and play’ with your child, find out about their learning and participate in fun activities with them.

  Some of these sessions are themed as we have a Mother’s Day session and also a Father’s Day session, but these vary throughout the year.

  Further information will be circulated closer to the time.

• Library Books and “Share a Story Time”
  Library Books and “Share a Story Time”

  Reading is at the heart of everything we do. All our focused learning revolves around key core stories, to really embed a love of books from an early age. We believe it is crucial that children regularly get the opportunity to share books at home with their families.

  To support this, when children start nursery we send them home with their own book bag and their first library book from the class ‘library’. Each week they can choose their own library book to take home and share with their families. Library books will be changed every Tuesday.

  Parents/carers are encouraged to come into Owlets each Tuesday afternoon for “Share a Story Time” from 2.15 - 2.30pm, to spend 15 minutes with their children reading books and choosing a new library book to share together at home.

  Each week your child changes their library book, they will receive a stamp in their reading record. These can be built up over time and exchanged for a small prize each term. This is to act as an incentive for children and families to read at home and help to form good habits in bringing in their book each week, standing them in good stead for future reading throughout school.

• How to Help Your Child at Home
  How to Help Your Child at Home

  There are many ways you can support your child at home. Here are a few pointers to get you started;

  • Share stories together - remember to read their library book each week!

  • Go on outdoor adventures, to the park or wooded area, even just in your garden - being outdoors boosts mental and physical health and aids natural sleeping patterns.

  • Talk to them -ask them questions and actively listen to them as they speak, show them good eye contact if you can.

  • Take them shopping with you - talk about what they see and hear.

  • Play! Engage their imagination and take on a role in your play whether it be with dinosaurs or dolls.

  • Be creative - you don’t have to own a treasure trove of art supplies, but allowing them to explore pens, pencils and crayons is important, draw pictures together. Don’t worry if you are not artistic, your child is learning too!

  • Laugh, be silly and have fun!

  Homework is an extension of the classroom, it helps to cement the knowledge and skills they have been learning. Supporting your child at home encourages a healthy attitude towards homework from a young age and is worth persisting with!

  2024 2025 Homework (Click Link)

  Autumn 1 Homework - Super Duper You

  Autumn 2 Homework - Zoom to the Moon

  Spring 1 Homework - Ready Steady Go

  Spring 2 Homework - Farmyard Friends

  Summer 1 Homework - The Great Outdoors

  Summer 2 Homework - Sand, Sea and Sunshine

  There are many other ways you can support your child at home… play, talk, explore and investigate the world around them.

  • Read regularly
  • Visit the local library
  • Share stories together
  • Listen to your child read their school books.

• Proud Cloud - Achievements at Home
  Proud Cloud - Achievements at Home

  ‘Proud Clouds’ are available from our classroom entrance, please help yourself to one at any time.

  These are for you to share your proud moments with us, we love to hear about all the wonderful things your child has been doing and learning at home. You can write anything that your child has done which has made you feel proud or happy, for example; trying something new for the first time, brushing their teeth independently or receiving a swimming certificate.

  We love to hear all about your child’s achievements at home!

• Transition to Primary School
  Transition to Primary School

  With close links with the main school, Owlets and Little Owls Nursery classes a great introduction to primary school. However, please note that a place at our school nursery does not guarantee a place at Longroyde Primary School and school places still need to be applied for through Calderdale’s website.

• Useful Links
  Useful Links

  Staring school is a big step for all children; below are some website links of games to play and ideas of things you can do with your child to help get them ready for school life!

  50 Things to do Before You're Five

  Top Marks

  BBC Numberblocks

  Pacey - Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years

  Oxford Owl

  Letters and Sounds Games