Nursery

Children learn and develop more from birth to five years old than at any other time in their lives. When we give every child the best start in their early years, we give them what they need today. We also set them up with every chance of success tomorrow.

The Development Matters guidance sets out the pathways of children’s development in broad ages and stages. At St Nicholas we assess nursery children against their age related expectations (ARE), whether they are working below their ARE, at their ARE or above their ARE. Our experienced staff are happy to discuss your child’s learning throughout their nursery year.  

At St Nicholas we have used the 2020 Development Matters guidance to design an effective early years curriculum, building on each child’s strengths and meeting the needs of each child we work with.  The curriculum consists of everything we want children to experience, learn and be able to do by the time they leave Reception. At St Nicholas Nursery, we want children to be ready for each step of their educational journey. By the time children leave Nursery for their next step into Reception we want them to be able to:

  • State first and last name.
  • Identify letters in their  name and begin to write their name.
  • Sort objects by colour, shape and size.
  • Understand sequencing (first, middle, last)
  • Rote count to 10.
  • Count out objects from 1-5.
  • Recite 8 nursery rhymes
  • Talk about 10 traditional stories. 
  • Be independent in self-care (toileting, feeding and putting their coats on). 

We also want to develop learners who have a firm base upon which to build further in the future.  Characteristics of effective learning which can be seen below are also incorporated into our assessment of your child’s learning journey and overall development.