Oakfield Nursery

Welcome

Welcome to Oakfield Nursery school.  We are a maintained nursery school within Oakfield Primary Academy.  We offer funded nursery places for children aged three and four years. The nursery school is open as a term time provision from 8.30am – 3.30pm.  The school also offers breakfast and after school club care.

In the nursery school we have 3 unique spaces: Den, Snug and Studio, all offering high quality early education with care.  The environments are set up as areas where all children are encouraged to independently access resources to support their learning and development.

We feel that our nursery provides an exciting place for all children and also for the adults who work with them. We constantly strive to provide the best possible learning experiences for children.

The website provides information about our nursery. However, it is better if you visit and see the nursery in operation, attend meetings and have discussions with our staff team. We hold regular open days so please keep an eye out for upcoming dates.

Confidence in a nursery comes from knowing and understanding what happens and why. You will always be welcome.

‘Children make strong progress during Early Years’ Ofsted 2018

Where learning,laughter, challenge and community are encouraged and celebrated!

Secure your child a place

To apply for a place in our nursery please complete the application form and send to natalie.smart@golden-thread.org. Once we receive your application we will contact you to discuss your individual requirements and arrange the settling in process for your child and you.  Further details can be found in our Admissions Policy.

In the UK, all children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to 15 hours of free nursery funding a week. This national funding scheme is payable to all early years providers. Families at Oakfield nursery take their entitlement over 5 morning or afternoon sessions from Monday to Friday.

Within the nursery we are offering the 30 hour entitlement.  Please click here for more information on the free entitlement.

We also offers families the option of additional wrap around care before, between and after the two daily nursery sessions. We will always try to work with the needs of the family and support them as best we can.

Each session consists of a flexible drop-off, free flow play session and finishes small group time.

Our Curriculum

All staff in the nursery are committed to offering the highest quality early learning and teaching opportunities to all children. The nursery environment is well resourced with exciting, stimulating and challenging experiences for children to access as they choose.  Staff plan for individual learning and development based on the child’s interests.  Through direct observation and reflection as a nursery team, staff are able to offer a broad, balanced and differentiate curriculum to meet the needs of all children who attend.

The nursery spaces are set up as open plan workshop environments, enabling children to freely access the resources they require. This encourages children to move around independently making their own choices and decisions about their play and learning experiences. We believe that children learn best from following their own interests, having first-hand, hands-on experiences and the time to revisit and repeat aspects of their play, with the support of responsive adults.

Our aim is to provide a safe, secure environment that is rich and stimulating and encourages children to develop autonomy and feel challenged. The atmosphere created places emphasis on fun, enjoyment and the celebration of each child’s achievements. Our children enjoy regular outdoor learning and cooking lessons in our own Nursery kitchen.

We believe it is important to observe the children and have frequent conversations with parents and carers throughout their child’s time in the setting, to find out about their current interests. This information then forms the basis of our planning and helps us to ensure that we are providing a range of appropriate and responsive play and learning opportunities.

All staff use the Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS (characteristics of effective learning, prime areas of learning and development and specific areas of learning and development) alongside other frameworks and assessment tools to plan appropriate learning and development experiences based on children’s individual interests.  We think carefully about how children engage with other people and their environment to support each and every child to be an effective and motivated learner. Staff will observe how children use the resources and the spaces to plan further learning and development opportunities for children in the setting. 

When observing the children and planning for these experiences we use a range of frameworks and assessment tools to assist us.  These are:

• Early Years Foundation Stage (DfE 2021)
• Well-being Scales (Laevers 1997, 2005)
• Involvement Scales (Laevers 1997, 2005)

The keyworkers in the setting will chat to parents more about these frameworks during  home visits and/or the period when they are settling their child in.

For more information on our curriculum and approach to learning and development in the early years, please contact us on 01322 220831 or speak to a member of staff in the Nursery.

Policies

A policy is a clear statement of intention based on the mission, values, vision and aims of the Nursery school as negotiated by all stakeholders.   Please follow this link to relevant policies for our Nursery.

All policies in relation to finance, accounting  and investment can be viewed on The Golden Thread Alliance website:

http://www.golden-thread.org/trust-policies

http://www.golden-thread.org/governance

If you are unable to find any other information or would like a paper copy of a policy, please do contact our School Office who would be happy to assist you.