Nursery Plum
Plum Class Mornings: 8.45 am-11.45 am
Plum Class Afternoons: 12.15 pm – 3.15 pm
Plum Class All Day: 8.45 am- 3.15 pm
Welcome to the Plum Class information page. Here we will keep you up to date on everything that is going on at Nursery. We are very excited to welcome and the new and old Nursery children to the Plum class. A big thank you to all parents who were so welcoming during home visits, we hope both yourselves and the children found these useful.
The staff working in the Nursery this year are:
- Miss Laura Clayton (teacher – maternity leave)
- Mrs Mandy Greaves (teacher – maternity cover)
- Mrs Nadine Philips (teaching assistant)
Our Daily Routine
The Nursery day is divided into two sessions, morning sessions are from 8:45-11:45 am and afternoon sessions are from 12:15-3:15 pm. We also have some all-day places available.
Please arrive promptly to drop off and pick up your child. At Dashwood we encourage the children to become as independent as possible. Therefore, we ask that you support your child to hang up their belongings on their own and recognise their own name on the self registration board. Children can then settle at an activity they enjoy, while you say goodbye.
There are range of daily activities set out for the children to do in the Plum class and we support children’s learning through their play experiences. We call this time ‘Discovery Time’. Adults are on hand during Discovery time to facilitate children’s learning through exploration and conversation, ensuring children are always working towards meeting their next steps in an engaging and enjoyable way.
We also have carpet sessions daily where your child will be encouraged to sit nicely and listen to the teacher as well as listen to each other. During these carpet sessions we practise skills such as counting, story-telling and mark making. If you would like to continue to practise these skills at home with your child, there are links to helpful activities on the ‘useful links’ page.
Other parts of our weekly timetable are made up by PE and Forest School sessions. During PE we work on physical movements and coordination skills. We cover things such as climbing and balancing on equipment, ball skills, dance and games. Children do not need a PE kit, but they will be encouraged to independently take off and put back on, their shoes and socks for this session. Forest School is the name of our outdoor learning time which takes place in the school’s wildlife area. These sessions will be on a Friday and children can some to Nursery dressed in their own clothes which you don’t mind getting muddy.
During the day, staff record the children’s learning and development using the online journal Tapestry. Parents are also given access to this, to enable them to monitor what their child has been doing, as well as add any achievements from home. More information on Tapestry can be found here:
Our Curriculum
Each term we will be focussing our activities and environment around different stories and topics. We plan these from the children’s interests. For example, in Term 1, the topic is Traditional Tales/Fairy Tales, with a story focus on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Children often enjoy re-telling these focus stories at home and recreating characters through role play.
Here is the overview of the topics for this year:
Plum Curriculum Plan 2023-2024: click here
At Dashwood Nursery, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum, which consists of 3 prime areas of learning and 4 specific areas of learning. We tailor each child’s learning to their developmental stage in the EYFS curriculum, ensuring every child can access activities at their own level.
Prime areas:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication and language
- Physical development
Specific areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding of the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
For more information on the EYFS curriculum please look at the following link:Guidance to your child’s learning and development in the early years foundation stage
Finally, please see a member of staff if you have any more questions or queries about the Plum Class at Dashwood Banbury Academy. We pride ourselves on creating positive relationships with parents as well as children, therefore a member of staff will always make themselves available to speak to you.