Nursery 2024 - 2025

Welcome to Nursery

This year, our Nursery children are supported in class by:

• Mr Garth
• Mrs Ali
• Miss Ledger
• Mrs Hartley
• Mrs Kussar

At Greenhill Academy, we believe in nurturing young minds through a play-based approach, inspired by the Development Matters Framework. Here you will find our learning journey throughout the year.

We hope that you enjoy looking at our learning and the exciting activities that we have been involved in.

Our Learning

This year, our topics will be:

• Me and my world.
• Traditional Tales and Nursery Rhymes
• What do I want to be when I grow up? 
• Why Does that happen?
• Growth and Change
• Where in the world I would go?  

Autumn Term

Autumn 1: All About Me

During the first half of the autumn term, we focus on helping children understand their identity and those around them. Through stories like My Mum, My Dad, and Mum and Dad Make Me Laugh by Anthony Browne, children explore family dynamics, emotions, and self-awareness. We also read Every House on Every Street by Jess Hitchman to foster an understanding for diversity in our community.

As we approach the autumn celebrations, we introduce children to a variety of inspiring festivities, exploring how different cultures and traditions shape our world.

Autumn 2: Traditional Rhymes and Stories 

In the second half of the autumn term, we dive into traditional tales and well-loved nursery rhymes. Classics such as Humpty Dumpty, 5 Little Speckled Frogs, The Ants Go Marching, and 5 Little Ducks help children develop language, rhythm, and creativity. These beloved tales are perfect for engaging young learners in imaginative play and helping them develop early literacy skills.

Spring Term

Spring 1: What do I want to be when I grow up? 

As we move into spring, we focus on the important roles of people in our community. Through stories like Busy Day Chef, I Want to Be a Pilot, Oscar and Ben (featuring a special author visit), and Old McDonald Had a Farm, we explore the many professions that support us in our daily lives. From doctors to shopkeepers, and even astronauts, children gain an appreciation for those who help our community thrive.

Spring 2: Why Does that happen?  

In the latter part of spring, we introduce children to the wonders of forces—how toys work, and how the weather and seasons change around us. We engage children with stories like Who Sank the Boat?, Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?, Recipe Book – The Story of the Easter Bunny, and The Toymaker. These stories allow young minds to explore science concepts in a fun and interactive way.

Summer Term

Summer 1: Growth and Change

As the days grow warmer, we focus on observing growth and change. Children will get hands-on by planting seeds, learning about the lifecycle of plants and animals, and discovering the importance of looking after our environment. We’ll read The Hungry Caterpillar, Sam Plants a Sunflower, Eggs to Chick, Jasper’s Beanstalk, and Six Little Chicks as we explore the wonders of nature and how things grow.

Summer 2: Where in the world I would go?  

In the final term, we celebrate the world and its diverse cultures. With stories like Hello London and Lion Hunt, we encourage children to appreciate the beauty of global diversity. This term also focuses on geography and cultural awareness, expanding children's understanding of the world they live in.

Join Us on an Exciting Learning Adventure!

At Greenhill Academy, every day is filled with opportunities to grow, explore, and learn through play. Our carefully crafted curriculum is designed to nurture each child’s unique potential while promoting curiosity and a love for learning.

Let’s embark on this exciting journey together!

Throughout Nursery we assess the children in the following areas-

 Prime Areas of Learning:

• Communication and Language - Listening, Attention and Understanding and Speaking.

• Personal, Social & Emotional Development - Self-regulation, Managing Self and Building Relationships.

• Physical Development - Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor

Specific Areas of Learning:

• Literacy - Comprehension, Word Reading and Writing

• Mathematics - Number and Numerical Patterns.

• Understanding the World - Past and Present, People, Culture and Communities and The Natural World.

• Expressive Arts & Design - Creating with Materials and Being Imaginative and Expressive.

Tapestry

We use Tapestry to share pictures of the children's learning throughout the year, please speak to a member of staff if you need support accessing your child's Tapestry account.

Reading in Nursery

We follow the Little Wandle Phonics scheme, as part of this scheme your child will bring home a reading book at their phonic level and a book for pleasure from our class lending library which they choose. The Phonics book is for your child to read and the book for pleasure is for you to all enjoy as a family. We use Think Equal storybooks to support PSHE by promoting emotional literacy, empathy, and social awareness, while also encouraging early reading skills through engaging, inclusive narratives.

Phonics in Nursery

In Phonics we teach the following:

The following link is for parents to support your child with saying their sounds and writing their letters. There are also some useful videos so you can see how they are taught at school and feel confident about supporting their reading at home.

For parents | Letters and Sounds (littlewandlelettersandsounds.org.uk)