Our Nursery Day

The nursery is open during term time and adopts the same term time dates used by the school, which often makes it much simpler for those families that have siblings in nursery and in school.

We open our doors at 8.45am and offer a combination of morning and afternoon half day sessions, as well as a full day session, whereby we will work with yourselves to help choose the right combination of sessions to suit the needs of your child, as this can often vary as they begin to grow and develop in preparation for school life.

The Nursery Curriculum

All Ofsted registered early years providers in England, which includes nurseries such as ourselves, childminders, pre-schools and reception classes must follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), a framework set out by the Department for Education (DFE). The framework sets the standards for learning, development and care for children from birth to five years of age.

The EYFS explains how children will learn and ensure their readiness for school, through focusing on 7 areas of learning and development. Initially, 3 prime areas; Making Relationships, Communication & Language and Physical Development. As children continue to grow, the prime areas will support the development in the specific area of learning, which include, Literacy, Mathematics, Knowledge and understanding of the World and Expressive Arts.

Children are unique and will learn and develop at different stages and different rates across each of the areas of learning, where we ensure that the nursery provision and activities are tailored to meet the needs of the individual child, offering a fun, stimulating, happy, safe and secure environment in which to learn. We want children to encourage to be happy and confident in their love for learning as they carry on their educational journey into school. 

The government produced a document entitled, ‘What to expect, when? Guidance to your child’s learning and development in the early years foundation stage.

https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/files/2015/03/4Children_ParentsGuide_2015_WEB.pdf 

Meet the staff 

Our Nursery Manager, Miss Boardman has worked at Little Lions' for a number of years progressing from an Early Years practitioner to Nursery Manager and is supported by a Deputy Manager and three Early Years qualified practitioners.

“I’m extremely passionate about early years education and I believe in the importance of meeting the needs of the 'unique child' and ensure that all children in my care are able to access to high quality learning opportunities to meet their individual needs and outcomes. I am committed to delivering high quality care and ensuring all children grow in confidence, build on important social skills and learn at their own pace in an enabling and creative environment. ”

Miss Boardman  - My passion for Early Years

Continuing the Learning Journey

As a nursery we are very much a part of the early years unit at St Mark’s and our children families are strongly supported by all the staff within the school, to ensure that they are made to feel part of our school family. Our Headteacher, Mrs Ferguson and Head of Early Years, Mrs Booth work in partnership with our nursery team to support the children’s learning and development, in ensuring that they achieve their full potential and positive outcomes.

Preparing and supporting our children on their learning journey is vital, whether that be initially starting nursery, moving nursery rooms or the transition into school. We work closely with all staff and parents from an early stage to ensure that each transition is made as seamless as possible for all children. The majority of children choose to continue their education with St Mark’s school and because of our relationship, the Reception team and children already know each other really well, the children are familiar with the learning environment, planning and support is already in place and starting school is seen as a natural progression for all. For those children who spread their wings to other schools, we provide them with as much information as possible, to ensure that they know our children well, just as we do.

Funding  

There are currently three separate government funded childcare schemes that offer free childcare for children aged two, three and four years  and each has its own eligibility criteria.

• Two Year old funding - 15 hours free government funded early years education. Free early education and childcare for 2 year olds (wigan.gov.uk)
• Three Year old funding – 15 hours free government funded early years education.

(This scheme is open to ALL 3 and 4-year olds. Parents / carers should be able to start receiving the childcare from 1 January, 1 April or 1 September following your child’s 3rd birthday).

• 30 hours free childcare - 30 hours free government funded early years education.

For further information, please refer to the following government website https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ or contact nursery for further information.

Further Information 

For further information or to request an application form, simply ring the school office or contact:

Mrs J Hill (Manager)

Little Lions’ Nursery

St Mark’s CE Primary School

Alexandra Street,

Newtown,

Wigan, WN5 9DS.

Tel: 01942 748 618 

E:enquiries@admin.saintmarks.wigan.sch.uk

Nursery Fees

If you do not qualify for one of the government funded childcare schemes or you simply wish to top up your child’s nursery sessions, the following fees apply;

£4.50 per hour
Morning Session - £13.50 Afternoon Session - £13.50
Nursery is open term time only 9am - 3pm

For those children attending a full day session and requiring a school dinner, the cost is £1.65.

(We request that parents pay their fees / dinner money on-line through ‘Parent pay’, which is very simple and straightforward school payment method. For more information, please contact the school office.

Opening Times

We offer the following sessions;

Morning session: 08:45am - 11.45am      

Afternoon session: 12:15pm - 15:15pm        

Full Day Session: 09:00am - 15:00pm

Early Starts and late finishes are also available for those children attending a full day session.

We will discuss with you the best combination of nursery to support your child, however we do recommend that they attend a minimum of two sessions in a week, which establishes a good routine in a little person’s life.