Santa gets a warm welcome at nursery with camp fire

Acorns Nursery at St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School in January, which has 28 children, has created an outdoor wonderland.

Gill Deakin, teaching and learning advisor for early years, said: "It is a magical place to be, where children are guaranteed a great start to their learning journey. All the adults oozed enthusiasm and were so tuned into the unique needs of each child in their care.

"There was a real buzz of excitement and achievement in the room from the children and from the adults, who obviously wanted to be there to help their children grow into independent and fun-loving learners."

She added: "Each child responded with beams of delight to show how much they appreciated the individual time the adults spent with them in their chosen play activity, which was needed for them to grow in confidence and feel valued as they learnt new skills.

"All this stems from the strong leadership of the whole early years unit starting with the two-year-old room, moving into nursery, and continuing into the reception class."

As well as welcoming new children, the nursery is offering the full 30 hours a week free places to parents who only qualify for 15 hours under the government scheme.

Teacher and nursery lead Nik Furnival said: "Since September the school has funded the additional 15 hours which has been a great boost to the children whose development has accelerated and, in some cases, has enabled parents to work or work more hours.”

Phase leader and deputy headteacher Mike Goodall said: "We were thrilled by the advisor’s comments. We work hard to do our best for all our children and to create a seamless transition from nursery to school."