Nursery (2 – 4 Years)
WELCOME!
Starting nursery education should be a happy time for you and your child, but it can also take some getting used to – for parents/carers and the children!
At Lillington we will work with you to ensure your child’s transition into nursery is as smooth as possible, working together along the way to give the best start to their school life!
For up to date information of availability in our nursery please email nurseryadmin@lillingtonprimary.com
Fees and Charges
We offer spaces for 15 and 30 hour funded sessions for 3 and 4 and year olds. We provide morning or afternoon sessions, please see times below:
-Morning Sessions: 8:30am to 11:30am
-Afternoon Sessions: 12:30pm to 3:30pm
Children with 30 hours funding can attend all day from 8:30am to 3:30 pm and will stay for lunch, there is a charge for this. If you are not funded for 30 hours you can pay for the additional AM or PM session and this is charged at £14.00 per session.
Your 2-year-old can get funded early learning if you live in England and get any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit, and your household income is £15,400 a year or less after tax, not including benefit payments
- the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
Your benefits will not be affected if you take up the 15 hours early learning offer.
2-year-olds can also get funded childcare if they:
- are looked after by a local authority
- have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
- get Disability Living Allowance
- have left care under an adoption order, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order
No income thresholds apply.
If your child is in receipt of 15 hours of early learning for families receiving some additional forms of support, you may also be eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP). EYPP is paid to childcare providers and gives them additional funding to support learning and development for children. You can see if you’re eligible for EYPP on GOV.UK and speak with your provider or local council to apply.
If you and your partner (if you have one) are working, you may also be eligible for an additional 15 hours under the working parent entitlement. If you’re a working parent and you’re not eligible for 15 hours early learning for families receiving additional forms of support, you may still be eligible for 30 hours under the working parent entitlement.
Government funding is intended to pay for 15 or 30 hours a week of high quality, flexible childcare. The 15 or 30 hours must be able to be accessed free of charge to parents.
Government funding does not cover
- meals
- nappies
- additional hours
- additional activities, such as trips
So you might be asked to pay for these things. However, these charges must not be mandatory, or a condition of accessing a funded place and you can speak to your provider about what alternative options they may have.
If you’re not eligible for 15 hours early learning for families receiving additional forms of support, you may be able to get childcare if you’re working under a separate scheme.
If you meet both sets of eligibility criteria, you must apply through the 15 hours early learning for families receiving some additional forms of support scheme.
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
Non-UK citizens
If you’re a non-UK citizen who cannot claim benefits and your immigration status says you have ‘no recourse to public funds’, you may still get free childcare for your 2-year-old. You must live in England and your household income after tax must be no more than:
- £26,500 for families outside of London with one child
- £34,500 for families within London with one child
- £30,600 for families outside of London with two or more children
- £38,600 for families within London with two or more children
You cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or investments.
Uniform
Whilst uniform is not compulsory in our nursery for children who attend nursery, our 3 years old class parents can opt for their children to wear the school uniform – some parents find the uniform an easy option for a nursery wardrobe. Pre-loved items are available from the school office. The uniform comprises of a navy blue jumper or cardigan, white polo shirt, blue and white checked summer dress, grey/black trousers/skirt, white/grey/black socks or tights and black shoes.
Logo jumpers and cardigans can be ordered at http://www.catballou.co.uk All other uniform can be found at any local supermarket. Nursery children do not wear school ties.
Lunch
For children attending full time (30 hours) parents need to provide a healthy lunch and pay a £5 daily lunch fee.
Here are a few tips:
Always make sure grapes are cut lengthways.
Limit sugary and high fat treats such as cakes and crisps.
Children need good hydration. Water is always best but sugar free squash is also appropriate.
No nuts or bars that contain whole nuts.
Stuck for ideas? Try this website for some different options: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes
Meet the Team!
Our Day
Morning sessions start at 8:30am until 11:30am.
Afternoon sessions start at 12:30pm until 3:30pm.
For children attending full time (30 hours) their day starts at 8:30am until 3:30pm.
The first half hour of each session begins with settling in activities and optional breakfast/snack.
The timetable for each session follows the same structure:
First Days
We understand that if your child is upset when you go to leave, it can be incredibly hard. But please let us assure you, this it totally normal and we will call you if needed. We will also call to let you know how well they are doing once settled!
We do not underestimate how difficult it can feel but from experience we know that children settle very quickly when they know there is a routine and their visit to Nursery will be each weekday.
Put your feet up and leave it to us – for a few hours at least!
Your Role
As well as daily chats, you will be invited to a parents meeting each term. This is a great chance to look through your child’s learning journal and discuss their attainment and progress so far.
There is also an opportunity for you to add to your child’s learning journal. In each cloakroom area there are ‘Notes from home’ slips for you to let us know what your child has been up to outside of nursery.
Each half term you will be invited to a Nursery event where your child will take you around their Nursery, showing off their learning and getting you involved!
Our Day
Group Time!
We have two group times in each session. Our first group time allows us to:
-Sign ourselves in
-Welcome our friends
-Practice writing our name
-Wake up with Dough Disco
-Take part in short, daily phonics sessions.
We meet again for a focused group session in which we visit our book of the week and engage in a variety of maths, and phonics sessions following from our interests.
During our choosing time, children freely access the indoor and outdoor environment. Each area of the environment is set up with the children’s interests in mind and aims to develop the children’s knowledge and key skills.
Our Nursery Rules
- We use kind hands and feet.
- We always use kind words with our friends and teachers.
- Inside we use walking feet and quiet voices.
- When we have finished with something we put it away.
Preparing your child for Nursery
Comfort
Your child needs to know you are going but will be back. A clear kiss and cuddle goodbye and a big welcome when you return is so important.
During the first few days/weeks your child may need a comfort from home to stay in Nursery with them. This is completely fine. We will liaise with you when it is felt this is no longer needed. The comfort should be something your child uses at home for this purpose e.g. soft toy or blanket. Keep all other toys safe at home, we wouldn’t want them to get lost or end up broken.
Preparing your child for Nursery
WALK!
Walk the Nursery route a few times – talking about their ex-citing new adventure and all the friends they will make.
WALK! Again…
When we say walk, we mean walk. Building up physical resilience and developing your child’s gross motor skills is vital at this early age. As much as possible (if not all the time) leave the pushchair, scooters, bikes at home and walk to and from Nursery together.
TALK!
We all know talking to and with your child is vital to their development. Even if they haven’t got the language yet, listening to you they soon will. Speech can be incredibly hindered by a dummy. By the age of 2, a dummy is not needed for comfort. Let the Dummy Fairies whisk them away!
What to bring
- Spare clothes, just in case!
- Nappies and baby wipes, if appropriate
- A pair of named wellies that can be kept in school
- A weather appropriate coat
- Lunchbox if your child is staying all day.
We provide each child with their own labelled water bottle. This is filled with fresh water and is accessible throughout the whole session.
Voluntary donation
We ask for a voluntary donation of £2 per half term to support children in their learning by allowing us to purchase resources to help with the children’s interests.
