• Session times and our nursery day

Welcome to Rainbow Nursery

If using a laptop/ computer, pages on this website can be translated into a wide range of languages by clicking on the globe icon at top right of each page.

Key Dates - Stay and Play - please choose 1 date -

Monday 18th November 11.00-11.45 OR Thursday 21st November 2.00-2.45

In Rainbow Nursery we take children from the age of 3 years old. We are a teacher-led school based nursery with fully qualified staff who have years of experience in teaching 3-5year olds. Parents put their children in our care feeling that they will be comfortable, happy, confident and relaxed, knowing that they are in a secure, loving and exciting learning environment. We are part of a popular community primary school and our Nursery children get to know the staff and are an important part of whole school life. When they are ready to start Reception, they find the transition to 'big school' much easier, having built good friendships along the way. We provide the opportunities for each child to fulfil their potential by developing self-confidence, so that they are happy with themselves and with each other and by giving them a wealth of new experiences. 

What and how do our children learn?

'Where will we have an adventure today?'

Our children learn through a wide range of play opportunities as well as directed activities and games with adults that enable them to be the best that they can be. The children share ideas about what they would like to do and learn about, and we make sure this is included in their day to day experiences. We very much encourage children to explore and create their own adventures in learning and as adults we join them along the way enhancing knowledge and joining in the fun. 

We follow the 'Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum' which includes 7 areas of learning and you can read more details about it here:  EYFS Parents Guide

 Between the ages of 3-4 years our main focus for our learners development is :

Communication and Language (Listening, understanding & speaking.)

Personal, Social & Emotional (Self-confidence, managing feelings and behaviour & making relationships)

Physical – (Moving, health, fine motor skills/self-care)

These 'Prime areas' are those most essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning.

As children grow, the prime areas will help them to further develop their skills in 4 'Specific areas'. These are:

• Literacy (Reading - enjoying stories and rhymes and writing - learning to mark make) 

 
• Mathematics (Learning about numbers and understanding their value, exploring shapes and measures)

  
• Understanding the world ( Learning about people and how we are similar and different, learning about nature and the world around us)

• Expressive arts and design (creative activities, art, drawing, making, dancing, music and pretend play)

The 7 areas are used to plan the learning for our Nursery children ensuring they receive a broad and balanced curriculum. The professionals teaching and supporting your child will make sure that the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs. Children in the EYFS learn by playing and exploring. Being active, being creative and critical thinking takes place both indoors and outside. Teachers plan from the children’s interests whilst ensuring a full coverage of the above areas of learning. The opportunites we provide are very visual and practical, and so are very supportive to children developing their communication and language skills as well as to our children who speak English as an additional language. 

Our children love to learn and it shows in everything that they do.  Our curriculum is made up of small group adult led learning alongside  engaging experiences that promote independent learning. In Nursery we begin learning about phonics using the scheme 'Little Wandle'. We make sure they have experienced a wide range of opportunities to develop vital pre-reading and sound descrimination skills through games and play activities ready to join Reception and continue their reading journey.

Rainbow nursery provides the opportunities for each child to fulfil their potential by developing self-confidence, so that they are happy with themselves and with each other, and by giving them care, love and a world of new experiences. We focus on supporting our children to develop a 'growth mindset' which ensures that they can develop the skills and confidence to overcome any obstacles.

One of the key things that we learn about and celebrate is the diversity of our community and the different cultures and religions of our families. We especially focus on helping our children to understand that we are all different but all very special and unique. We encourage our children to share their home experiences and celebrations and to show respect to differences between ourselves and our families. The Christian family at Chester Blue Coat welcomes and values all.

We are open from 9.00am- 3pm each day during term time only. If you want to find out more about session times and a typical day in nursery please click on 'Session times and our nursery day' at the top of this page.

We work in partnership with our families

We recognise parents are every child's first and most important teachers, so when children join us we talk to families to find out all about their little one's needs, likes, dislikes and celebrate the things they have learnt so far. Once settled with us, we share what each child has been doing in the following ways:

• Regularly talking to parents informally at the end of a session to share great learning.
• Inviting families to attend ‘Stay and Play’ sessions every half term so they can come in and join in with activities, see what we are learning and how they may support at home.
• At the end of every term we send home a selection of photographs and observations so they have a record of their child’s learning and can celebrate with their little one the fun things they have been doing with their nursery friends.
• Talking to families if we have any worries about a little one's learning or behaviour so we can support them in the best way possible.
• Talking to families to share celebrations or aspects of significant progress or achievement.
• Regular communication through our ‘School Spider’ app to share school newsletters, special events, information and to celebrate great things your little one has done if we weren't able to talk to you in person.

To find out more about what we do in Nursery and Reception at Chester Blue Coat school please Google search 'What to expect in the Foundation Years' and look for the image below. It will give you information about what your little one will be experiencing in in the curriculum in our school and our role in supporting your child's development.

Be Ready, Be Safe and Be Kind
Our school has three simple rules: ‘Be Ready, Be Safe and Be Kind', generated through discussions with staff, pupils and parents and which are applicable to a wide variety of situations. These rules are explicitly taught and modelled by all members of our school community and that learning begins in our Nursery. By following these three rules we ensure all our children feel happy, safe and secure and are ready to have lots of fun learning.

What to do if you would like your child to join us in Rainbow nursery:

To apply for a place please contact the school office during term time on Tel: 01244 455275 or Email: admin@chesterbluecoatce.cheshire.sch.uk

We will do all we can to accomodate your session requirements. All children joining us will have a home visit followed by an initial short visit to the setting, followed by morning or afternoon sessions as chosen by you. A gradual transition into a new setting gives young children the best possible start so they feel happy and secure saying good bye at the door and coming in ready to join in the fun. Putting the child at the centre of what we do is something we feel passionate about. Please see our terms and conditions here for joining our nursery to ensure we can meet your childcare requirements.

Families joining our school are entitled to 15 hours free care in our Nursery. You may choose 5 morning sessions, or 5 afternoon sessions or (once children are settled) you may choose 2 and a half days - it all depends on spaces available, how you feel your little one will cope, and your preferences. You may wish to have your child with us for longer periods. If you would like to apply for 30 hours free childcare funding follow this link to find out if you are eligible and what to do  :https://www.gov.uk/apply-30-hours-free-tax-free-childcare

What will we be doing this half term in Rainbow Nursery:

Please see below to find out some of the activities that your little one will be experiencing this half term (Autumn 2):

Literacy - Favourite 5 Stories: Our 5 key stories for this half term will be read frequently and help develop and extend vocabulary, speech and sentence structures, rhyming and counting skills and so much more :

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson 

Kindness makes us Strong by Sophie Beer

The Three Billy Goats Gruff - different versions are available

The Squirrels who Squabbled by Rachel Bright 

Dear Santa  by Rod Campbell 

PSE - The children will learn to confidently come in to Nursery and engage in all the activities we have to offer. They will make new friends and begin to learn how to share and take turns. They will selct and use resources independently and follow simple rules and instructions.

Understanding the world - The children will be encouraged to talk about what they see and explore how things work. They will start to talk about their family and things they enjoy doing at home.

Mark making -  Children will learn to make marks using different tools and give menaing to those marks. They may choose to use painbrushes of different sizes to paint with water on the floor outside or drawing with chalks or crayons. 

Phonics – We follow the ‘Little Wandle’ phonics scheme and we will be doing daily Rhyme Time to introduce the Nursery rhymes Hickory Dickory Dock, The wheels on the bus, 1,2, Buckle my shoe, Hey Diddle Diddle, Jack and Jill and Mary Mary Quite Contrary. This will teach the childrens listening skills and help them to learn about syllables, rhyming, alliteration and sound knowledge. If you want to learn more please click on the following link. Little Wandle phonics in the nursery

Number/Mathematics – The children will learn to recognise small quantities without counting and talk about where they see 1,2 or 3 items. They will join in with repeats in rhymes and stories and learn about routines such as getting ready for lunch and hometime. The children will also learn about positional language such as in, on, under, over, behind and will begin to explore shapes and objects building their vocabualry with words such as sharp, pointy, round, curvy and flat

Physical Development - Children will develop their gross motor skills by climbing, running, hopping, skipping, jumping and balancing using the eqipment outside. They will learn to put on their own coat and use tools like painbrushes, scissors and pencils. 

We are looking forward to supporting your children on their continuing learning journey through Nursery

Kind regards,

The Nursery Team