Early Years

Laying strong foundations through play, curiosity, and care

At Heaton Park View Nursery, we’re passionate about providing high-quality early education that nurtures each child’s natural desire to learn and grow, setting them up for a lifelong love of discovery.

🧑‍🏫 Our Staff

All of our team members are either qualified to Level 3 or above, or are currently working towards this. Some staff hold up to a Level 6 qualification in Early Years, ensuring a high standard of care and education throughout the nursery.

We always work within the correct government ratios to maintain safety and quality interactions.

🌟 How We Support Learning

Our educational programme allows us to adapt:

  • The learning environment
  • Staff interactions and questioning
  • Carefully chosen resources

This approach is underpinned by the 7 areas of learning outlined in the EYFS, supporting each child in a well-rounded and holistic way.

📚 Our Curriculum

At Heaton Park View Nursery, we believe that every child deserves the best possible start in life. We aim to support each child to reach their full potential by tailoring learning to their individual journey.

We work closely with parents and carers to gather information about:

  • Children’s current interests
  • Learning at home
  • Family events and routines

This helps our keyworkers provide rich, high-quality learning experiences through engaging interactions and a stimulating environment filled with opportunities for exploration and discovery.

“Good parenting and high-quality early learning together provide the foundation children need to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.” — EYFS 2021, Page 5

🔎 How We Deliver This

We use a ‘focus week’ approach to deepen our understanding of each child. During this time, we gather insights from:

  • Keyworker knowledge
  • Parent and carer input
  • Children’s voices and choices

This information helps us to enhance the learning environment and create meaningful experiences that reflect each child’s interests and stage of development — both indoors and outdoors.

📝 How We Assess Progress

During a child’s focus week, keyworkers and key staff collaborate to create a detailed learning journey observation, supported by a wide range of evidence. This assessment identifies the child's current progress and their next steps.

We celebrate children's development through personalised ‘Wow Moments’, and all observations are:

  • Linked to the 7 areas of the EYFS
  • Connected to the Characteristics of Effective Learning
  • Used to shape our overall nursery curriculum

These insights are regularly shared with parents and carers to ensure you are fully involved in your child’s learning journey.

In addition, we carry out termly assessments which are also shared with families. This provides another opportunity to work together and strengthen the home–nursery learning partnership.

Learning Journey Cycle

A Parent’s introduction to Early Years Wellcomm and Wellcomm Primary Speech and Language Toolkits

We Wellcomm screen all children with parent/carers consent. Find out more about Wellcomm below...

What is Wellcomm?

  • Wellcomm is a speech and language toolkit that is designed to assess children’s speech and language skills. Not how they talk but the language they use and the language and grammar they understand.
  • The first Wellcomm Toolkit is designed from birth to 6 years old, so is generally used in Nursery, Reception and Year One.
  • The second toolkit (Wellcomm Primary) is used from 6 years to 11 years, so is used in Year One and beyond.

How is Wellcomm assessed?

  •  It is a paper based assessment – completed 1:1 with the child
  •  Universal (all children are assessed)
  •  Each assessment takes on average between 10-20 minutes per child
  •  It should be completed in a quiet environment, ideally with an adult the child knows
  •  Gives a RAG (red/amber/green) rating
  • Judgements are based on observations, discussions with you as parents and the assessment toolkit.

What happens after my child is assessed in Wellcomm?

  •  If your child has been assessed as a ‘Green’ in Wellcomm and they have been assessed in the correct age for their assessment, no targeted support is required.
  •  If your child is assessed as an ‘Amber’ your child would require interventions for a period of time.
  •  If your child is assessed as a ‘Red,’ your child may need external support or targeted support for an extended period of time.

What happens in a Wellcomm intervention?

  •  Your child will be involved in interventions at least once a week. They will complete a range of activities based around the areas that they did not fully understand from the assessment.
  •  The teacher or TA will use Wellcomm’s Big Book of Ideas to support them in delivering speech and language interventions.
  •  You may be sent home photocopies from the Big Book of Ideas with activities that you can complete at home to compliment the intervention carried out in school. } You can also access the website www.ecdlp.co.uk. Go to the ‘Our Big Ideas’ menus for the activities. Ask your child’s class teacher to confirm which section your child should be working on.

How else can I support my child at home?

Below are some activities you can do at home.

For more information on supporting your child at home, visit the Wellcomm website here

  • TALKING and LISTENING as much as you can to your child.
  • Use everyday opportunities to talk with and listen to your child as they share things that are of interest or importance to them. Show your child you are interested in what they are saying when they are speaking by giving nods, smiles, sounds, supportive words and gestures.
  • Repeating phrases back to your child if they use the wrong grammar or incorrect vocabulary. Encourage your child to copy you.
  • Reducing and setting limits for screen time e.g. tablets and phones.

MAXIMUM 2 HOURS PER DAY FOR 5+ YEAR OLDS (not including educational use).

  • Reading with your child; read to them daily as well as listen to them read. Establish a routine after school for both reading and homework.
  • Teaching your child songs and nursery rhymes.
  • Completing homework/learning activities together e.g. learning sounds, spellings and maths activities. Ensuring there is always a quiet place to complete
  • Providing resources for arts and crafts activities such as painting and drawing.
  • Visiting your local library (as well as the Central Library in Birmingham), museums and other places of interest.
  • Creating regular opportunities to play with friends.

Are You Ready For Your Child To Grow At Heaton Park View?