Settling into Nursery at Mount Carmel...

Drinks and snacks

Mount Carmel is part of the Healthy Schools scheme and every child receives a free piece of fruit or a vegetable every day. This is a government initiative aimed at encouraging healthy eating. Your child will be encouraged to try to eat a piece of fruit or vegetable, every day.
Please provide your child with a re-usable water bottle, filled with fresh water daily. This needs to be named and will be kept on their shelf, above their peg.
Your child will be given a carton of milk, during the Nursery day. Over the summer please help your child to unwrap a straw, insert it in to a carton and drink a drink without any support from an adult. Don’t worry if your child can’t manage this on their own, Nursery staff will be able to help.

Accident/Incident email

If your child is hurt or involved in a minor incident in school you may receive an email to let you know what has happened. We use a system called ‘Medical Tracker’ which helps us to report any injuries and allows us to communicate with you. Nursery staff will also speak to you at the end of the session to let you know what has happened. You may notice that your child will be wearing either a red or green wristband. If your child is wearing a green wristband they have had an injury below the shoulders. If your child is wearing a red wristband they have had an injury above the shoulders. A member of staff will phone you in the unlikely event of a more serious accident or if your child is taken ill.

Communication with Nursery staff

A member of Nursery staff opens the door in the morning and afternoon. If there is anything that you need to tell us that may affect your child’s day, please let us know. Sometimes we may ask you to make an appointment to see us after school if there is something that needs discussing in further detail. You could also send an email via the school office and this will be forwarded on to us, info@mountcarmel.ealing.sch.uk

Please let a member of staff know if anyone different is picking up your child.

If you know at the start of the day that your child is to be collected by someone different please let the Nursery staff know. If your plans change please contact the school office as soon as possible. You will receive a phone call if someone else arrives to pick up your child and we have not been notified; this is part of our school safeguarding.

Please be on time…

At drop off time the Early Years gate opens at 8.30am and the Nursery door will be closed at 8.40am. If you arrive late and the door is closed, please bring your child to the office. A member of the office team will bring your child down to the classroom.

At pick-up time the Early Years gate is opened at 3.20pm and closed at 3.30pm. Again, if you arrive late and the gate is closed, please come up to the office. Your child will be waiting for you here.
Please be aware that any lateness is unsettling for a child and we encourage you to drop-off/pick-up your child, on time.
If you know that you may be late, for example due to an appointment, please let the office know in advance. You can email them info@mountcarmel.ealing.sch.uk or call them on 
It’s also very important to explain to your child the reason for the change in their daily routine.

Home Learning

Once the children have settled they will be given a ‘Home-Wow’ book. This will help your child to share weekly learning, that we set, from home. Please help your child to complete the task by sitting next to them and talking to them about what they are doing. PLEASE DO NOT DO THE TASK FOR THEM. This book can also be used to share exciting news with us or information about what has been done at the weekend/during the holidays.
We will set the home learning on Friday and expect it to be returned by the following Tuesday. This home learning can be found on our school website, 'Nursery Home Learning'.

Website

We communicate learning, important dates and general class information through our school website, on the 'Our Week in Nursery'. There will also be a weekly school newsletter that will provide further information about school life. This is emailed out on a Friday.

Book Bag Bundles

Once a week, once settled, your child will bring home a Book Bag bag containing a variety of 5 books. Please share these books with your child. Talk to your child about the illustrations, what is seen and what is happening on the pages. Teach your child to handle books carefully and to look after them. We encourage the love of books from the start of Nursery and we share stories every day.

You can help your child prepare for Nursery by doing the following:

• Have positive discussions with your child to make them feel excited about coming to Nursery. We understand that you or your child may feel anxious about this big change (this is to be expected) but please be positive.

• Share the photos under the tab 'Our Setting Gallery' to help familiarise your child, with the grown-ups and the setting.

• Support your child to use the toilet independently, including washing hands. We also encourage the children to blow their own nose and to put any used tissues in to the bin, please practise this at home.

• Encourage your child to dress themselves. We go out in all weathers so it’s really beneficial for your child to learn how to put on their coat, independently.

• When we eat lunch in the hall the children are encouraged to use a knife and fork (we do help them to cut their food). This could be practised before your child starts.

• Practise the school morning routine, including getting dressed and eating breakfast in time to leave. Practise the school run so that you’re prepared for the school morning journey.

There will be a welcome meeting in the first half term when you will receive further information about Nursery life.

Nursery Daily Routine

This is an example of what our day might look like. We build up to this through the first term and we will adapt to suit the needs of the children.

8.30am- -Gates open and children self-register

8.40am–Carpet time (Good morning song, Prayer, counting children, day of the week, focussed activity)

9.00am-Choosing time/Focus activity (outside/inside)

9.50am -Tidy up time

10.00am-Carpet time

10.15am-Choosing time/Focus activity (outside/inside)

10.50am—Tidy up time and look at a book

11.00am-look at a book/story and start getting ready for lunch (toilets and wash hands)

11.15 am—go to the hall for lunch then choose outside/inside

1.15pm - carpet time

1.30pm-choosing time/focus activity

2.50pm-tidy up time/look at a book

3.00pm -Carpet time - story

3.10pm-start preparing to go home.
Prayer/goodbye song

3.20pm-3.30pm-Home time

Please note that times change.