Welcome to the Owls

The Owls room is for children aged 3 and 4 years old. We start each morning and afternoon session by coming together on the carpet area and welcoming everyone. During this time, we learn which day of the week it is, the date and the month. We observe what the weather is like, and practice our Makaton sign of the week.

We follow a 'free flow' approach in the room, which allows the children to select their own choice of resources, and use them in any way they wish. We also incorporate group times, where the children will come together for a variety of different activities, and social interaction groups.

We have a wide range of resources, both indoors and outdoors, and have areas of continuous provision within the room, for example, a small world area, construction, and role play. We tailor the resources we have and change these when appropriate in order to follow the needs and changing interests of the children.

In the Owls room, we work on school readiness by fostering an environment where the children are confident, collaborative learners, who can also have independence in starting to meet their own needs. For example, we encourage the children to serve their own snacks and pour their own drinks, to get themselves ready to go outside by putting on their own coats and welly boots, to use knives, forks and tools to prepare their own food, and to use the toilet and wash their hands.

We work from the Early Years Foundation Stage Development Matters, where we emphasise that all "children develop at their own rates, and in their own ways". The prime areas of learning are Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication and Language, and Physical Development. The specific areas of learning are Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts and Design. In order to enable the children to develop in these areas, we complete regular observations and plan next steps using Tapestry. Tapestry is an online observation tool that will allow you to see what your child is up to while at home or work, and contribute towards your child's learning journey yourselves by uploading pictures and comments. Your child will have a key person while at Nursery, who you can also speak to regarding your child's learning and development and current interests at home, including any concerns you may have. This will help us to provide your child with interesting and challenging experiences at Nursery, which will also help your child start to get ready for school.