Little Acorns

Nursery Offer

In our Little Acorns/Pines rooms we offer the following spaces:

  • Free early educational funded 15-hour places for All three and four-year-old children. Sessions Available – Morning – 8:45am-11:45am, Afternoon – 12:15pm-3:15pm.
  • Free early educational funded 30-hour places for three-year-old children (Government Eligibility Criteria applies) Sessions Available – Full day – 8:45am – 3:15pm
  • Paid spaces for additional 15 hours on top of the free early educational funded 15 hours.

Curriculum

In Little Acorns we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. In this there is a big emphasis on ensuring that the foundations for further learning are developed.

Prime areas are:

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development
  • Communication and Language; and
  • Physical Development.

Specific areas are:

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

We actively encourage child initiated learning – where children are encouraged to learn through exploration and play. Our timetable reflects this with a mix of adult directed and child initiated learning. All our learning will happen outdoors as well as indoors. So we ask that all children attending Little Ridges are prepared for any weather – hot or cold!

Curriculum Information:

Key Person

All children will be allocated an Early Years Educator as a key person.

They will support with the settling in and transition processes, as well as make assessments of your child while they are in Little Acorns. You can speak to your child’s key person, room lead or any member of the Little Ridges team, at any time about your child.

Routine

An example of our daily routine is as follows:

Morning

  • Busy Fingers
  • Welcome and Morning Register
  • Carpet time – Topic based/Literacy
  • Phonics/Mathematics
  • Child Initiated Learning (indoors and out) (CIL) (snack available – milk/water fruit and vegetables)
  • Story/Song/Helicopter Stories

Afternoon

  • Busy Fingers
  • Welcome and Afternoon Register
  • Carpet time – Topic based/Literacy
  • Phonics/Mathematics
  • Child Initiated Learning (indoors and out) (CIL) (snack available – milk/water fruit and vegetables)
  • Story/Song/Helicopter Stories

Children will take part in adult-directed activities as part of their daily focused teaching, and adults will do this during CIL, so that it follows your child’s interests.

Nappies/Wipes

Parents and carers are asked to provide an adequate amount of nappies, wipes and creams for each daily session.

Please have a chat with us about the nappies you use, e.g. disposable or re-usable, or if training to use the toilet. We would also need to know if your child is allergic to a particular brand or has a particular wipe.

 

What your child needs to bring

  • Water bottle (age appropriate)
  • Appropriate clothing for weather
  • Packed lunch (if they are staying for lunch)
  • Spare clothes for any accidents and if they get messy!
  • Wellie boots to be kept at school (if possible)

Please do not let your child bring in toys or personal belongings unless we specifically ask!

Please ensure EVERYTHING is named!

Food and drink in the Nursery

WE ARE A ‘NUT-FREE’ SETTING DUE TO ALLERGIES. Therefore, children must not bring in food containing nuts, regardless of their nutritional value. Please check cereal bars and other similar products as they often have traces of nuts, which are also not permitted.

Packed lunch

  • Children bringing food from home to eat at lunchtime should bring them to nursery in an appropriate sealed container.
  • This should be clearly named.
  • We would encourage you to provide a healthy, balanced lunch in support of our healthy eating policy.
  • Please cut up food to a size that children can chew and eat safely e.g. cut sausages lengthways into small pieces and cherry/plum tomatoes, grapes, blackberries and other soft fruits lengthways.
  • No fizzy drinks, glass bottles, confectionery or sweets.
  • For further guidance about healthy lunchboxes, please click hereor visit:

https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes

WE DO NOT ALLOW ANY NUT-BASED PRODUCTS IN SCHOOL.

TOP TIPS for starting in Little Acorns at Little Ridges Nursery

  • Encourage your child to dress and undress building their independence. (Do the same with shoes and wellie boots)
  • If they still need help with toileting, please practise increasing their independence in this area.
  • Share plenty of stories, foster a love of reading. Encourage them to handle books with care.
  • Join a library and start encouraging children to chose books themselves.
  • Encourage your child to hold a knife, fork and spoon and eat as independently as possible.
  • Listen to and sing nursery rhymes.
  • Count – steps, spoonfuls of food, cars, anything that can be counted!
  • Allow your child to use colouring pencils and felt tips to help build their fine motor skills.
  • Develop their fine motor skills further: use of scissors, cutting paper etc, threading with string and pasta.
  • Talk to your child and encourage them to answer in full sentences and with correct pronunciation.
  • Limit screen time
  • If your child uses a dummy please aim to stop using it before starting nursery as it can affect their speech development.
  • Encourage your child to help tidy up their toys at home – they will be expected to tidy up in nursery!
  • Talk, talk, talk.
  • Establish good behaviour expectations at home.