Welcome to the Hazlegrove Nursery

Our Nursery is a lovely first step into the Hazlegrove community. Children learn that the school is somewhere they can have fun, and they start to build relationships with staff, and friendships with each other.

The Nursery has a dedicated area within the Pre-Prep, but the children are also able to take advantage of the excellent resources Hazlegrove has to offer. This means your child will have access to a wonderful array of activities including dance, music, swimming, sports and forest school, all without leaving school grounds as well as a termly trip off site which parents are welcome to join. Friday morning is swimming morning and you are very welcome to join your child for their swimming session.

Children can join our nurturing Nursery from 24 months of age. We will support you in toilet training your child whilst they are in school and share your child’s day with you (including sleeping, eating and toileting patterns).  

Our Nursery enables children to develop key skills in their early development and provides them with secure foundations, giving them the best start to their educational journey here at Hazlegrove.  Each week, children have the opportunity to explore Forest School, become water confident in our swimming pool, dance with our specialist ballet teacher and develop their motor skills in sports sessions, including tennis.

If you are interested in finding out more or enrolling your child, please contact our Admissions Department where the Admissions team will happily discuss this further with you ([email protected] or 01963 442606).  Places are limited so early contact is advised and priority is given to those children who will continue through to Reception and beyond. 

We looking forward to welcoming you to Hazlegrove and joining with you in your child’s first steps in education!

The Nursery Day

The children are welcomed from 8.00am ready for the morning session which starts at 8.30am.  Collection times are flexible and will depend on whether the child is just attending the morning session, whether they are staying for lunch or taking part in the afternoon session.  It is also possible for children to stay and join in with the after-school activities in the Pre-Prep until 5.50pm. 

The Nursery operates during term times which run in line with the rest of the school.

Activities

Our children spend most of their time in the exciting and stimulating surroundings of the Nursery and its outside play area. 

The language rich environment ensures our children quickly and easily become aware of sounds and begin the process of learning to read.  From day one, the children are encouraged to 'mark make' - the precursor to writing and drawing which allows for self-expression and helps the children to develop confidence.

Right from the start, the children participate in a wide range of activities which are often led by specialist staff.  They also go for lots of walks in and around the school and enjoy the wonderful Hazlegrove grounds. Activities include Forest School, Ballet, PE, Dance, Tennis, Music and swimming in our own 25m indoor swimming pool.   

Food in the Nursery

Hazlegrove has its own team of caterers and so has complete control over the sourcing of food and the menu planning. Healthy snacks are provided with milk or water at morning break time and again during the course of the afternoon for the Foundation Stage children (Nursery and Reception). Those nursery children staying for lunch will enjoy a delicious and varied hot meal in the school dining room, with staff on hand to help encourage good table manners and eating habits

Parental Involvement

Please get involved! You are welcome to join your child for swimming sessions and take part in various trips throughout the year, or come along to our Squirrels sessions or coffee mornings and meet with other parents. 

We encourage parents to:

• Share their observations or their child's development
• Work in partnership with the teacher to enable their child to thrive and to make the best possible progress

Starting school...

Children in our Nursery move into the Hazlegrove Pre-Prep Reception Class in the September when they are four years old.  For children whose birthday falls in the summer, we are happy to discuss with parents the most appropriate time for their child to start school.  

Towards the end of the Summer Term, we aim to run a couple of introductory sessions allowing those children moving up, and those children joining Hazlegrove for Reception, to meet their new teacher and to have a chance to be in their new classroom.