Owlets Nursery Class

Our Owlets Nursery Class is a teacher-led setting, taking children from the age of 2 years old up until they join Reception Class.  Funded hours for 2 year olds (if eligible) can be used from the term following their 2nd birthday and funded hours for 3 year olds (15 or 30 hours per week, dependent on eligibility) can be used from the term following their 3rd birthday.  Parents / carers can also pay privately for additional top-up hours, or for their child to attend after their 2nd or 3rd birthday, prior to their funded hours activating at the start of the following term.

Our Nursery children are also able to take advantage of our fabulous Wraparound provision, Lindkidz.  They are open before school from 7.30am and after school until 5.30pm.  Funded hours can be used for wraparound care, or this can be paid for privately. 

Children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, learning in our Nursery classroom ‘Owlets’, the dedicated outside area, and Forest School.  Learning opportunities focus on the children’s interests and balance the chances to collaborate, explore, discuss, investigate and create independently, with teacher-led specific teaching sessions to support the acquisition of new skills and knowledge.  We teach our children to have a sense of responsibility for themselves, other people and the environment.  We know every child as an individual and the creation of strong and positive relationships with parents, carers and families is a central part of this.

Please telephone 01584 881466 or email office@lindridge.worcs.sch.uk for up to date information on place availability.  We welcome visits to our setting, and offer taster sessions to make the transition to Nursery class as smooth as possible.  Please call or email if you would like to arrange a visit; we’d love to see you.

Early Years Curriculum

At Lindridge St Lawrence CE VA Primary we believe that a high-quality teaching within the early years setting should engage, inspire and challenge pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to participate, play and learn. As children progress, they should be able to think critically and develop a more rigorous understanding of the 7 main areas of learning.

• Personal, social and emotional development (prime area)
• Communication and language (prime area)
• Physical development (prime area)
• Literacy (specific area)
• Mathematics (specific area)
• Understanding of the world (specific area)
• Expressive arts and design (specific area)

The 3 prime areas of learning are particularly important for learning and forming relationships and building a foundation for children to thrive and providing the basis for learning in all areas. The 4 specific areas help strengthen and develop the three prime areas, and ignite children’s curiosity and enthusiasm. All areas of learning are interconnected.

The Early Years department is divided into two classes. Owlets is a Teacher Led Nursery class and teaches children from the age of two until they start Reception. Hedgehogs is the Reception class for children aged four and five years old. Both classes have an outdoor classroom where the children can learn and have meaningful interactions with trained staff.

Our curriculum which encourages the children to Discover Life in all its Fullness is delivered through a range of different approaches. These include: learning through play; modelling by adults; collaborative learning through children working together and observing each other and through adult-guided learning. Continuous provision allows the children to take ownership of their own learning and gives them opportunity to enter deeper learning. In planning and guiding what children learn, teachers reflect on the different rates at which children are developing and adjust their practice appropriately. Three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are:

• Playing and exploring (children investigate and experience things and “have a go”) 
• Active learning (children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements) 
• Thinking critically (children have develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop strategies for doing things) 

Each class has an indoor classroom and a dedicated outside early years classroom and the focus is on allowing the children to develop through positive interactions with staff in a secure environment. We also make use of our beautiful school grounds with weekly outdoor learning sessions.

Adult-led teaching activities are also an integral feature of our EYFS curriculum.  In Owlets the children are taught both the prime and specific areas during carpet time and during meaningful interactions during play. In Hedgehogs the children are taught phonics, writing and mathematics daily and have structured RE, PE, music, humanities, science and PSHE lessons throughout the week.