St Joseph’s Nursery
Welcome to St Joseph’s Nursery
Our school‑based nursery is led by an experienced teacher and supported by specialist Early Years teaching assistants. Nursery provides children with their first experience of school life. At St Joseph’s, children are nurtured and encouraged to achieve key developmental milestones, building a secure foundation for their transition into school. Our provision offers a wide range of opportunities for children to learn through active, hands‑on play. Children are encouraged to explore, investigate and develop skills across all areas of learning in a stimulating outdoor setting.
Our Nursery Team
Mrs Dybell – Early Years Lead
Mrs Bell – Nursery Teacher
Miss Wharton – Early Years Teaching Assistant
Mrs Wharton – Higher Level Teaching Assistant
Wraparound Care
Breakfast Club is available from 7.30am ‑ 8.40am priced at £3.50. ‘Joe Zone’ our after school provision is available from 3.15pm ‑ 5.30pm at a charge of £3.50 per hour or £8.00 for full session.
We offer both 15-hour and 30-hour Nursery sessions.
Morning sessions operate from 8.40am to 11.40am.
Afternoon sessions operate from 12.15pm to 3.15pm.
Session Times Snacks, Drinks and Lunchtime
Children enjoy a healthy snack each morning and afternoon as part of our daily routine, and milk and water are available.
Children accessing our 30-hour provision are welcome to purchase a school lunch at cost of £2.75 per day. Alternatively, parents may choose to provide a packed lunch from home.
Our Uniform
Nursery children wear a school jumper or cardigan, along with a white polo shirt and grey or black jogging bottoms (jogging bottoms are great for independence). School red checked dresses are welcome during the summer term. The PE kit comprises black jogging bottoms and a zip‑up black jacket with a white T‑shirt – all non‑branded.
As we access the outdoor area daily, children need a pair of wellington boots to be left in school.
For further information on our uniform, please scan the QR code.
Early Years Learning Environment
Our curriculum is thoughtfully designed to be engaging, stimulating and enjoyable, building upon the children’s existing interests. Through this approach, children’s confidence develops quickly as they are supported, challenged and extended appropriately.
Children have continuous access to high‑quality provision both indoors and outdoors throughout the day. This is further enriched through a range of carefully planned activities linked to the children’s current interests. Regular opportunities are provided to develop social awareness, including educational visits and welcoming visitors into the setting.
Children thrive within a familiar and well‑established routine, so we follow a clear rhythm of the day to provide structure and balance. This includes shared carpet time, phonics sessions, music and movement, story time, outdoor learning and snack time. Learning takes place both indoors and outdoors, allowing children to explore and develop a wide range of skills through high‑quality continuous provision.
Indoor Environment
Inside the classroom, children have access to the following areas:
Reading Area: Reading is a key priority within the Early Years, at St Joseph’s we are committed to creating a rich, language‑filled environment that supports the development of early literacy skills. Our reading area is a calm and inviting space where children can relax and develop a love of books and stories.
Maths Area: A fun, hands‑on area designed to support children’s understanding of number and early mathematical concepts.
Mark Making Area: An area where children can explore a variety of mark making tools and materials, encouraging creativity and early writing skills.
Home Area: A space that allows children to explore their own ideas, develop language and imagination, and take on a range of roles of their choosing.
Painting Area: A messy, imaginative area where children can experiment with paint, glue, and a variety of creative materials.
Construction Area: A dedicated area for our little engineers to build, design, and problem‑solve.
Sand Area: A sensory area where children can dig, pour, measure, and explore texture, supporting fine motor skills, early maths, and imaginative play.
Water Area: An engaging area that encourages children to pour, scoop, investigate floating and sinking, and explore cause and effect through hands‑ on play.
Outdoor Environment
Within our outdoor environment, children have access to the following areas:
Water Play: A fun and engaging area where children can explore water, make a splash, and investigate capacity, pouring and flow.
Mud Kitchen: A messy and imaginative space where children can experiment, mix, and create using mud and natural materials.
Building and Construction Zone: A space for our little engineers to design, construct, and work on larger scale building projects.
Creative Materials Shed: A creative area where children can explore art, design, and construction using larger‑scale resources.
Investigating the Natural World: An outdoor exploration area where children can observe plants, insects, weather, and seasonal changes, encouraging curiosity, questioning, and an understanding of the world around them.
Role Play: An expressive space where children can act out picnic and camping experiences, developing imagination, communication skills, cooperation, and an understanding of the world through real‑ life scenarios.
Maths Games: A playful area where children can engage in a range of number and counting games, supporting early maths skills such as matching, sorting, sequencing, and turn‑taking.
Help Prepare Your Child for Nursery
These are just a few ideas of how you can help to prepare your child for Nursery. You will be doing lots of these already!
✔ Share books and stories.
✔ Go to the public library and share a range of books.
✔ Sing nursery rhymes with your child.
✔ Play turn‑taking games such as snakes and ladders; make sure your child learns how to win and lose as well.
✔ Have play opportunities with other children, especially over the summer holidays.
✔ Talk about numbers and teach your child to count objects accurately; you could involve your child in helping around the house by counting out the bowls or spoons needed to lay the table, counting steps up and down the stairs, look at house numbers or numbers on cars or buses as you go for a walk.
✔ Talk about mathematical concepts such as: taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, full, half‑full, empty, less than, more than, higher, lower.
✔ Let your child handle money and learn to recognise coins.
✔ Talk about shapes and colours.
✔ Encourage your child to dress and undress themselves, including using buttons and zips and putting on their own shoes.
✔ Encourage your child to use the toilet by themselves, including flushing the chain and washing their hands afterwards. We will be encouraging your child to be as independent as possible with this. Please have a chat with us if your child needs any support in this area.
