St Paul's Catholic Primary School

We are delighted to welcome you to St Pauls Nursery.  Our Nursery offers a safe, caring, secure and nurturing environment where children grow and learn all while having a fun experience.  We strive to ensure a stimulating environment, encouraging active learning, positive relationships and promote independence for lifelong learning.

Learning is play - based which means that on the whole, children choose the activitiy that they would like to do and their learning is supported and extended by adults in the classroom, as part of their play.  Learning also takes place in daily whole class carpet sessions where we cover the EYFS Curriculum and our Religious Education Scheme.  The children have access to both indoor and outdoor provision in all weathers.  The Nursery children also take part in a short daily group activity.  During this time children are encouraged to develop a range of skills including physical development, maths and personal, social and emotional development.  These activities are planned to meet the interests of the children to make their learning memorable.  

We believe that a strong parent - teacher relationship is key to helping your child be the best they can be.  In order to do this we are available to you to answer any questions or discuss any issues you may have.  You can contact us via email, by calling the office, arranging a meeting and through Tapestry.  Tapestry is our way of showing you videos and photos of your child's learning in action and keep you up to date with their progress.  In turn you are able to upload anything you feel is important to share with us.  

Hope to see you soon.

Mrs Crook

Nursery Teacher & Early Years Lead 

Email: nursery@stpauls373.herts.sch.uk

The Nursery Curriculum is based around the 'Early Years Foundation Stage Framework' (EYFS) which covers seven areas of learning.  These areas are:

• Communication and Language
• Physical Development
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Literacy
• Mathematics
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design

Below are a few documents which you may find useful:

• 'EYFS Framework' - is the statutory framework for the early years foundation stage - Updated October 2023
• 'Birth to 5 Matters' and the 'Development Matters' documents - support the teaching of the EYFS Framework 

Early reading ignites creativity, sparks curiosity, and stimulates the imagination in young children. Often, this leads to role-play as children grow which helps to develop other skills such as empathy, problem-solving, and morality.

In our nursery at St Pauls, we focus on preparing our pupils for the early stages of learning to read. Careful listening, sound discrimination and oracy skills (speaking) are key to success in future reading development so these are the areas we concentrate on. Our language rich environment where we talk, explain, share stories and talk about stories, sing rhymes and songs with repeated refrains helps to develop each child's vocabulary and ignite a love of stories and books.

We cannot stress enough how important talk and stories are in developing children's vocabulary and language, whether these stories are read at home in English or your child's home language. Below are some useful websites which further explain the important of reading to your child:

Below are some helpful websites:

• Active LearnOur online learning environment, with lots of fun books for children to read/share.

• BBC Nursery songsA collection of nursery songs from the Early Learning series Listen and Play and Playtime, both of which are currently available on iplayer and as podcasts

• Book TrustSuggested books for children, advice on how to read with your child, book lists, fun games, competitions to win free books, Children's Book Club etc.

• Love ReadingExpert recommendations and opening extracts of books.

• Oxford OwlPhonics advice and access to free E-Books. Free to register.

• PearsonPublisher’s website designed to give parents help and advice for reading with children.

All effective early years practitioners realise that talk is at the heart of maths learning. Quite simply, most of children's understanding about number, shapes and measures comes from talking about number, shapes and measures, and exploring them through everyday play indoors and outdoors.

Mathematics is one of the seven areas of the early years foundation stage and is used to develop a child's confidence and ability with number but also to encourage their understanding of shapes, space and measures. It is important children are able to do this in a range of ways including adding and subtracting, using quantities and objects and understanding concepts like weight, position, distance and money.

Below are some websites you may find useful:

• Primary GamesYou'll find all sorts of maths content here, all presented as engaging games and challenges.

• TopmarksLots of fun games to play with children of all ages!

Internet-based Activities relating to Number and Place Value

• Chinese Dragon Ordering NumbersLearn to order numbers by playing this fun Chinese Dragon game!

• Underwater Counting GameLearn to count up to 10 sea creatures accurately with this fun underwater themed game!

• Give the Dog a BoneExplore the 100 square.

• Spin to WinCreate the highest number to win the round.

• Eggs to Order (KS1)Ordering numbers according to place value.

• Splat SquareSplat the numbers in different colours. Play games, look for patterns and learn your numbers to 100!

St Josephine Bakhita, was sold to slavery at a young age.  She is known as the patron saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.  Her Feast Day is on Februray 8th, also known as the World Day of Prayer, Reflection and Action Against Human Trafficking.

Curriculum enrichment means bringing the curriculum alive; making it exciting and most importantly making it memorable. We do this by inviting visitors, going on trips and having special days and activities. 

'Myself' is a topic children always find absorbing! It offers opportunities to explore diverse aspects of life experiences and visit other mini-topics such as the senses, growing, old and new; and of course developing new friedships and connections with others and share their likes, differences and dreams. 

Every week we plan around a book. This encourages children to really get to know the book well and by the end of the week they often know the story off by heart. We explore the story, the characters, the words and the themes. We have lots of fun playing with the words, the rhymes and the alliteration. Below is our selection of books we will be focusing on this half term for the topic 'Myself'.

Rhyming helps babies and children learn about words, sounds and language formation. Hearing and using rhyme, rhythm and repetition helps children develop early literacy skills. The repetition of words, ideas and skills is important for early brain development, as it creates secure foundations for early learning. So we have a focus song each week to give our children the best chance for the future. The songs below will be our focus rhymes of the week during our topic 'Myself'.

Teaching children about what lies beneath the sea nurtures their natural sense of curiosity and wonder. Many children are fascinated by the vastness of the ocean, and introducing conversations about things like the sea life creatures and plants will engage and nurture their inquisitive minds.

Under the Sea is a topic which inspires imagination and wonder. Unfortunatly we cannot travel under the sea to answer all the children's questions however we use a range of texts to help, these are listed below.

Below are the texts that we will be focusing on this half term. We will be exploring all different jobs that people have that help us in our lives!

Below are the rhymes and songs we have linked to our topic for this half term. 

This topic presents children with opportunities to explore new life, seasonal changes and life cycles. Children will get lots of opportunities to explore the beauty of nature in spring time.

The texts we have chosen to explore this half term give examples of new life and the changes that happen in spring. Hopefully conversations will happen and we will get some interesting conversations from our little ones. We have planned focused activities based on the stories. 

Below are the rhymes and songs we have linked to our topic for this half term. 

Welcome to our exciting new topic for nursery: Animals Amazing Animals! Over the coming weeks, we'll delve into the fascinating world of animals that gallop, fly, and live in our world around us every day. From colourful butterflies to giant gorillas, we'll explore their habitats, behaviours, and importance in our environment through fun activities, stories, and hands-on experiences. Get ready to embark on a journey filled with wonder and discovery as we learn all about these amazing animals!

Each week, we'll immerse ourselves into the enchanting world of these animals, sparking curiosity and fostering a love for the wonders of the natural world.

Learning songs and rhymes about animals is super fun for kids aged 3-4! It helps them learn new words and sounds, and rhymes make it easy to remember things. Plus, singing and rhyming together with friends is a great way to have fun and learn together. It also helps their brains get super smart and ready for school! Below is the list of chosen songs and rhymes however we always like to add in a few more as we go along.

Welcome to our exciting new nursery topic – At the Seaside! Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring the wonderful world of being beside the sea! We will be discovering and exploring what creatures live there and what activities we can do on the sea and the land! Through fun and engaging activities, we will learn about sea creatures, boats, coastlines, and more. To make our exploration even more special, we will have the opportunity to experience an beside the sea workshop, giving us a hands-on understanding of this enviroment! Get ready for a fantastic journey of learning and adventure!

To enrich our exploration of the seaside topic, we have carefully selected a range of key texts to support our teaching and engage the children. These stories, along with other carefully chosen texts, will help us bring the seaside world to life, fostering curiosity and enhancing learning through captivating narratives and vibrant illustrations.

Rhymes and songs are powerful tools for enhancing memory and making learning fun. With our new topic of At the Seaside, we are excited to introduce a collection of engaging and educational songs to our curriculum. These catchy tunes will not only help students remember key concepts about different elements of the seaside but also add a lively and interactive element to their learning experience. You can find the new seaside-themed songs attached below. Let's get ready to sing along and explore together!