Nursery - new
Our Beautiful Apple Tree Nursery in the Heart of the Close
Welcome to our nurturing 'Apple Tree' Nursery, happy home to our Early Years children. This is where magic happens before our eyes every day! There is nothing more exciting than seeing our youngest children gaze with awe and wonder at life and its mystery unfolding before them, and we revel in providing the very best opportunities to nurture their curiosity, enthusiasm and love for learning. Our nursery children have the best of both worlds: a bespoke early years setting led by highly qualified practitioners nestled within the warmth and excitement of a wider school community where wider specialist opportunities are on offer. Combine this with woodland walks, forest activities and extensive outdoor play featuring as a natural part of their everyday experiences, our nursery children sparkle with joy each day and develop confidence with every step they take.
Exciting Changes going forward
We're delighted to announce some exciting changes to our Nursery provision, starting in January 2025. These changes are all about offering our families the flexibility they deserve in today's busy world.
All Year-Round Provision
We recognise that every family has different and specific needs. Whilst we will continue to offer our term-time only programme, we're excited to introduce a brand new All Year Round (50 weeks) option for all Nursery pupils.
Ultimate Flexibility with Term Time Plus
For families who choose our Term Time only programme, we are introducing ‘Term Time Plus’. This allows you to add additional weeks of Nursery care during school holidays, subject to availability. This means you can have peace of mind knowing your child is cared for when you need it most.
Investing in Your Child's Early Years
We believe these changes will provide you with greater options and flexibility during your child's important early years. We're committed to growing and enhancing our setting, and we're confident these expanded options will give your family the support it needs.
Nursery Admissions
Salisbury Cathedral School Nursery welcomes children from age 2 and provides a joyful introduction to school life. Children can attend full-time or for a preferred number of sessions, ensuring a balance that meets the individual’s needs and provides both nurture and stimulation in their learning journey.
The recommended number of sessions for all our children is usually a minimum of three days. Fewer sessions may be considered for 2-year olds at the discretion of our Head of Nursery. We really do recommend that pupils increase to five mornings as a minimum in the term before moving to Reception.
We work with your child on an individual basis to support them as they settle into the Nursery. Typically, a parent and child will attend together for an hour in the first instance. Subsequent visits aim to help children feel comfortable and confident in their new environment, but the timings and duration of these will be agreed upon between you and the Head of Nursery.
Nursery Life
Our pupils take their first steps into the joys of nursery life when they join the Pippins class at just over 2 years old moving into the Russets class as they turn 3 years old. In Pippins, they are immersed in child-initiated play, where they can choose from a whole range of activities to spark their curiosity, and suit their needs and desires throughout the day. Their play and learning takes place in a beautifully equipped set of large, light classrooms, all enjoying free-flow into the outside learning area and enclosed garden. In addition, the children enjoy exploring the wider outdoor environment, with woodland walks, forest activities and exciting outdoor play featuring in their everyday experiences. Being within a wider school community brings further benefits, too. Our children have opportunities to experience sessions from specialist teachers, whether that’s learning their first few steps in Dance, their first words of French or taking their first strokes in our heated swimming pool. Being able to make the most of our extensive school site and its facilities with the support of key workers and close connections with older pupils helps our youngest children develop confidence in every step of their little lives.
Whether you choose for your child to join us at age 2, 3 or 4, individualised learning is right at the heart of all we do at SCS. Our passion is to develop the whole child and, at the root of this has to sit happiness. Our little people need to feel safe, nurtured and loved, every moment of the day. Our staff have the highest qualifications and we provide generous ratios to ensure your child has warm and nurturing care throughout their time with us. In this way, they are able to build meaningful relationships with all the adults in the Nursery and are able to develop their skills through rich and immersive activities in all seven areas of the Early Years Framework.
We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and cover seven areas of learning and development through immersive, inter-disciplinary themes that encourage the children across the early years age range to explore, investigate, play creatively and above all, have fun!
The three prime areas are:
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication and language
- Physical development
There are four further specific areas of learning and development:
- Mathematics
- Knowledge of the world
- Literacy
- Creative development
We chart each child’s progress against these seven areas carefully to ensure we are providing tailor-made opportunities for them to develop at the right pace, with just the right amount of challenge. Children develop at such different rates in their early years that we need to make sure we get the balance right: we don’t want our little ones to be bored, but we also don’t want them to be overwhelmed so we work hard to create the right experience for each individual. As well as thematic learning activities, children are given exposure to phonics and numbers so that when they are ready, they are able to develop some of the core building blocks for their future curriculum.
There are so many benefits to joining a nursery within a school setting: it’s like a big family and we celebrate everyone in it! Our facilities are excellent and as well as their gorgeous tailor-made home, the children enjoy making use of the whole school site, whether it be the dining room for delicious home-cooked meals, the library for story time or an adventurous walk in the woods and gardens in search of the Gruffalo! The children come to know and feel secure with all the staff in our community so they feel comfortable with increasing numbers of people; they join the Pre-Prep for assembly; they take part in events to show their families what they’ve been up to; they develop lovely relationships with older ‘buddies’ in the school who enjoy playing games with them at break times or reading stories to them at ‘quiet time’, and, when the time for Reception comes, our nursery children are ready to make the exciting leap into in the ‘big school’ environment, knowing we’re right with them, every step of the way.
Every day is an open day at Apple Tree Nursery so please come and see us!
