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Welcome to Fox Cubs Nursery
Welcome to Fox Cubs Nursery Class
Meet the Team
Mr Manchester- Class Teacher
Miss Brown- Class Teacher (Friday AM)
Mrs Coulton- Full Time Teaching Assistant
Key information
Yearly Overview and Timetable Nursery
Key Days:
Monday: Nursery visit our school forest for their weekly Forest School Session. We provide all weather suits and wellies.
Tuesday: Library book changing day. The children will take library books home to be returned the following Tuesday.
Friday: P.E session. Please ensure that children wear P.E kits on a Friday.
Please ensure your child has a named water bottle and that all items of uniform are clearly labelled. It is also useful if your child has a spare set of clothes or a couple of sets of clothes to either keep in nursery or to come in with them each day.
Phonics
We follow the Red Rose Phonics scheme, as do classes throughout school. Phonics in nursery focuses on Phase 1 phonics, this is divided into seven aspects and supports the development of children’s speaking and listening skills.
Aspect 1 – Environmental Sounds
The aim of this aspect is to raise children’s awareness of the sounds around them and to develop their listening skills. A suggested activity might be to go on a listening walk and talk about the different sounds you can hear.
Aspect 2 – Instrumental sounds
This aspect aims to develop children’s awareness of sounds made by various instruments. Activities include playing a variety of instruments.
Aspect 3 – Body percussion
The aim of this aspect is to develop children’s awareness of sounds and rhythms. This can be done through singing songs and action rhymes.
Aspect 4 – Rhythm and rhyme
This aspect aims to develop children’s awareness of rhythm and rhyme in speech. This can be done through listening to rhyming stories, and one of our favourite games, clapping out the syllables in words.
Aspect 5 – Alliteration
The focus is on the initial sounds of words. I-Spy type games are perfect for developing this skill.
Aspect 6 – Voice sounds
The aim is to distinguish between different vocal sounds and to begin oral blending and segmenting.
Aspect 7 – Oral blending and segmenting
The main aim is to develop oral blending and segmenting skills. For example breaking down the word Dog into individual sounds D/O/G and blend together to create the whole word.
Phonics at Home:
Please see the link below for a taste of Phase 1 Phonics. If you wish to support your child with Phase 1 Phonics at home, you can find useful interactive games here.
All of the Colours of the Rainbow
Last half term we have enjoyed getting to know the children and supporting them in learning the routines. We started off the year with the topic 'All of the Colours of the Rainbow'. We have looked at focus stories 'Wow! Said the Owl' and 'The Colour Monster'. The children have had lots of fun learning colours and colour names, experimenting with colour and colour mixing, matching and sorting colours and much more!
Autumn 1 All of the Colours of the Rainbow KO
Seasons and Weather
This half term we have been learning about all of the seasons, seasonal change and the weather. Through play, exploration, and hands-on activities, children have learned about the changing world around them and how weather affects our daily lives. We have enjoyed a range of creative experiences, outdoor exploration, sensory play, music and movement, scientific investigation and imaginative role-play, as well as book focussed learning. Please see our Knowledge Organiser for this half term for more information on learning around the topic.
Autumn 2 Seasons and Weather KO
Keeping Healthy
This half term we will be learning about how to keep healthy, focussing on foods, physical activity, hygiene, 'our bodies', handling tools safely and keeping happy. We will also engage in exciting activities relating to pattern, positional language and sequencing stories and learn about topics such as 'Chinese New Year'. Please see our Knowledge Organiser for this half term for more information on learning around the topic.
Knowledge Organiser Spring One
Information packs always available from the school office and you are very welcome to come and see us for yourself. Ring 01704 225332 or email the school office (bursar@bank-st-stephens.lancs.sch.uk) for a guided tour at a time convenient for you.
Full wraparound care 7.45am-5.30pm (extra charges apply)
Click here for details of wraparound care (breakfast and after school club)
"Every moment in Early Years at St Stephen's is a learning moment"
(OFSTED inspector)
Fox Cubs Nursery is a high quality teacher-led provision, offering 3 and 4 year olds a calm, happy and nurturing pre-school environment. The nursery is part of Banks St Stephen's school and reflects the high quality provision we have in the other classes. The nursery classroom is next door to the Reception classroom and forms our Early Years provision.
Most of our nursery children move up to Reception here and so the transition from Nursery to Reception is easy and stress free, both for children and parents. On the other hand, we welcome all children to attend Fox Cubs, regardless of Reception school choice, so please visit our provision and consider whether we are right for your child's needs.
In Fox Cubs we very much recognise the value of outdoor play and exploration. Our exceptionally large outdoor learning area next to the classroom is currently undergoing a full renovation. The children also enjoy a beautiful and extensive forest area, with many native trees and abundant wildlife, including squirrels, hedgehogs, a wide variety of birds and even a pheasant! The brand new pond area (safely gated) gives the children opportunities for pond-dipping and we have a wild flower meadow and beds with flowers, fruit and vegetables. The gardening club provides all-year crops for picking in a number of raised beds round the school.
The quality and quantity of the outdoor space we enjoy at St Stephen's is quite unique. The children thrive in the outdoors (we provide all-in-one warm and waterproof jumpsuits for every preschool child) and we strongly believe that outdoor learning promotes children's development and is vital for their well being and mental health.
The nursery children have frequent learning sessions in the school forest. Whether inside or outdoors, our nursery team recognises the importance of learning through play and putting children's interests at the heart of all we do.
The nursery offers the highest standard of pre-school education, as it is led by a qualified teacher. The OFSTED inspector, an Early Years specialist, commented in her verbal feedback when she visited the Nursery and Reception classes in September 2021,
"Every moment in Early Years at St Stephen's is a learning moment".
Physical fitness and fundamental physical skills are promoted at Fox Cubs. Each week the children enjoy a PE session led by a qualified coach from West Lancashire Sports Partnership. Their teacher and teaching assistant always supervise and accompany these sessions of course.
Mr Manchester is the full time Nursery class teacher. The nursery children also have the full time support of Mrs Coulton, the nursery's highly experienced teaching assistant. The maximum number of children we can have in nursery is 26 and currently a limited number of spaces are available. Please don't delay if you need a place. We are also taking advance bookings for 2024.
Opening Times and Fees
Nursery class is open from 8.45am till 3.00pm. The main sessions are from 9am-12 noon and 12 noon-3pm. Each hour costs £5, so a half day morning or afternoon session is £15 and a full day is £30. These hours can be paid for from childcare vouchers. See link below for full information on childcare vouchers.
Help Paying for Childcare (Lancashire County Council)
Funded Childcare for 3 and 4 year olds
15 hours free childcare is available for all children aged 3-4 from the term after they turn 3, as well as 30 hours funded childcare for some parents of 3-4 year old children. Childcare may be cheaper than you think or even free and of course you can combine paid sessions with funded sessions.
Please see the links above for more information and Mrs Ousey in our school office will also be happy to help.
Wraparound care (breakfast and afterschool club) is also available from 7.45am till 5.30pm. We aim to provide good value for parents, as we are a non-profit making school provision. Please see our Wraparound page for further details.
There are lots of different activities to enjoy at after school club (wraparound care). Here the children are enjoying dressing up and creative role playing. We provide unlimited fruit and water and some children bring their own snacks - it's up to you. We also have a friendly breakfast club, where children are offered a choice of breakfast.
Uniform: As you can see from the photos, most nursery children choose to wear a comfy adapted version of the main school uniform (good value and washable).
The school offers nutritionally balanced hot lunches daily, freshly prepared in the school kitchen. The children can choose between 2 hot choices and a variety of sandwiches and filled jacket potatoes plus fruit, salad, milk and water. Some nursery children are entitled to free school meals, others pay for a school meal (£2.40) and others bring a packed lunch. Mrs Ousey will register you for lunches, which are payable online. Lunchtime is part of our school day and there is no extra charge for lunchtime supervision, as it is part of our sessions. Lunches are supervised by nursery staff. Children attending all day eat lunch from 11:45 till 12.15. Children staying for a morning session go home at noon and children coming for an afternoon session will either start at noon and have lunch or come a little later at 12.15 after having had lunch at home. It's up to you.
Breakfast club and after school club (see Wraparound Care information) is available if you need it. For payment options please see the Wraparound page or ring the office. Wraparound care provides a nurturing home-from-home environment, where children can play and socialise with siblings and other children in a relaxed environment, led in their activities by experienced staff.
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