A day in the Nursery

The youngest children start their nursery journey in a beautiful, light-filled space, with a separate sleep room for restful daytime naps. Babies can explore their surroundings with cosy areas and sensory activities as well as enjoying getting messy using a variety of different activities.

Our experienced staff work with parents to ease the important transition from home to nursery through an embedded key person system and open communication. The children have free-flow access into the garden, as well as the opportunity to enjoy the School’s magnificent grounds.

As they become more independent, Footsteps provides the perfect place for toddlers to flourish. With access to a range of resources and their own outside area, the children can follow their interests, whilst learning is carefully supported by knowledgeable staff. Creative opportunities, problem solving, a cosy book corner and role play activities all complement each other to facilitate each individual child’s learning and development.

When the time comes to begin toilet training, access to a child-friendly toilet area allows the perfect balance of independence along with the adult supervision needed to succeed.

Following their third birthday, children begin the transition to Stepping Up, a pre-school environment housed in its own area of the nursery. Routines become more structured to prepare children for a school environment. Learning continues through play with the structure needed to prepare for school, and an added emphasis on developing the skills in independence needed to succeed.

During Term Time, children benefit from specialist tuition from Abbot’s Hill School teachers, with sessions of Music, French and PE. The nursery staff support learning through play in both the inside and outside environments, closely following the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum to enhance each child’s learning and development.

Children in their final academic year in Nursery will attend a dedicated morning session each day in our Butterfly classroom. Alongside Prep School staff, the children in Butterflies will continue to access a play-based curriculum but with the addition of phonic and numeracy sessions to prepare them for the transition to school. This initiative is all part of a carefully planned transition programme to ensure that all children are ready for the next step of their learning journey.

We offer a Term Time Only option in Stepping Up, as well as long and short nursery days.