OUR NURSERY

Battle Abbey Nursery is an integral part of Battle Abbey School and is nestled under trees within the lovely grounds of the Prep School. When your baby joins the Acorns, you can be assured of a warm welcome and the very best care for your child. It takes a very special practitioner to work in a Baby Room. You need bundles of energy, the patience of a saint and the willingness to sing all day long. We are fortunate that we have a very well qualified, dedicated team and work closely with you to meet your child’s needs. We use a platform called ‘Famly’ where we can exchange news and keep you updated throughout the day. This is especially useful for the babies, to record their daily routines, and is continued throughout the Nursery to track and record children’s progress and development.

Saplings children are full of energy. By the time children are ready to join this class, they are curious, independent and don’t want to sit still! Children join Saplings when they are around 2 years old. We offer a variety of transition sessions to make the move as smooth as possible, whether they are new to our Nursery or moving up from Acorns. Our large airy classroom provides the freedom to explore both indoors and out, and has its own sleep room for when children are ready to snooze after lunch.

Throughout the Nursery we follow the child’s interests as much as possible. Rooms are laid out so that resources are easily accessible and children can make their own choices. The main focus at this age is language and communication. Practitioners recognise the importance of positive interactions, so will watch, listen and engage sensitively with the children to support their play and learning, while helping them manage being a 2 year old! Sand and water play is available every day, as well as mark making and lots of sensory, messy activities to encourage children to use all their senses and build on their fine and gross motor skills ready for writing at a later stage. Children will get dirty, but this is all part of the journey. Be prepared for lots of muddy clothes!

Oaks is our pre-school classroom, and children move into this class the year before they are due to start school, sometimes earlier depending on class sizes. Here they start to really look after themselves, from filling up their own water bottle on arrival, to spreading butter on their crackers for snack and helping with little jobs throughout the day. The Oaks Garden is an adventure in its own right, under a canopy of trees their play area is full of mud, slugs and worms just waiting to be explored.

Preparation for school is subtle, and built into every play opportunity. Managing friendships and emotions, working together, sharing and listening to each other are big skills to master, and this is carefully managed alongside other learning experiences to promote language, maths and early literacy skills. As the year progresses more challenge and preparation for school is incorporated into the nursery day, but still very much within a play based environment.

Most, but not all, of the Oaks class transition to the Reception class which is housed just across the playground from the Nursery building. As pupils progress through Oaks they gradually spend more and more time in the Reception classes indoor and outdoor areas, and with the Reception class teacher, to fully prepare them for eventual transition. By then the class and teacher will be very familiar to them and as they will be going with their existing friendship group and staying on the same site, the move to Reception is ordinarily a very easy step for them to take without worry or concern.

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework is the legal document that guides our provision, from ratios and safeguarding, to teaching and learning. There is no set way to deliver Early Years provision, and Early Years settings may use a variety of tools to help plan and assess children’s development and are free to create their own curriculum to demonstrate their own values, aspirations and ethos. At Battle Abbey Nursery we are developing our own curriculum, our Mulberry Milestones, to reflect our goals and intentions for your child as they progress throughout the setting.

We put a lot of emphasis on the prime areas of learning, Communication and Language, Physical Development and Personal, Social and Emotional Development, as well as developing key life skills such as problem solving, having a go, and keeping on trying.

Children learn best when their basic needs are met, and when they feel safe and secure. Our aim is to create a child centred environment, where your child feels recognised and valued, and to instil a love of learning through curiosity and play.

When a child reaches school age, they may progress on to Battle Abbey Prep School, or to other local primary schools. Our Reception Class is extremely popular amongst nursery families. A full transition programme in the last term provides many opportunities for children to become familiar with the school, making the progression into Reception as smooth as possible.

As an Early Years Setting, we welcome families and children from all backgrounds, and are able to adapt and cater our provision to ensure children receive the very best possible start in their education. If a child appears to need additional help or support, we will work closely with families, the East Sussex SEND Early Years Service or other agencies to make sure that the right provision is in place both during nursery, and beyond.

We use Famly as our day-to-day way of keeping in touch and for recording children’s progress by sharing posts, photos and observations. We love hearing about what they have been doing at home too!

Children are allocated a key person, and this person is usually your first port of call if you need to tell us something. Staff are on hand at the start of the day if you need a quick word, and to feedback to you at the end of the day. Each term we send an update of what your child has enjoyed and some ideas for further learning, as well as offering opportunities for you to come in and chat to your child’s key person about your child’s development.

Battle Abbey Prep School and Nursery are passionate about providing our children with exciting outdoor learning opportunities. Waterproofs and wellies are a must, and children are able to explore our lovely grounds, sometimes enjoying a hot chocolate or snack under the trees, before going off on a bug hunt, making bird cakes or simply playing amongst the autumn leaves.

The Nursery has access to the School Wellbeing Garden which includes a number of natural habitats, a living willow yurt and a footprint based on the tree of life. The children also regularly play on the Prep School’ s playing fields which include a wet land environment, orchard and a wheat field. The Nursery shares the Prep School’s focus on sustainability and actively contributes to the wider School’s green curriculum concept.

Engagement with nature remains a corner stone of the Nursery’s ethos of learning through adventure.

Mealtimes are very much a learning opportunity; staff sit and eat with the children to support children’s communication and social skills as well as teaching them good manners and independence.

Children attending for breakfast are offered a selection of cereals and toast. Snacks, fresh fruit and milk are provided in the morning and afternoon. A healthy hot lunch is cooked on site, with vegetarian and other options available to meet all dietary needs. Children attending the extended day have a light tea before home time. Menus are updated seasonally, and feature a range of family favourites, so there is always something for even the hungriest or fussiest of eaters to enjoy.