We are a two form entry Primary school offering 60 Reception spaces for children age four to five. The two Reception classes are next to each other and share a cloakroom and toilets. Both classes often work together as one big unit with the children working with adults from each class and being able to access learning in both classrooms. We also have a large purpose built outdoor area that the children access every day and a Forest school that we visit once a week.
In Foundation Stage we have 17 areas of learning which are sorted into Prime and Specific Areas. We have an exciting, engaging environment that is carefully planned to meet the children’s interests and learning objectives. Our curriculum follows a play based approach where children learn through their own exploration, as well as in short adult led sessions for phonics, maths, topic and motor skills. These adult led sessions are hands on and engaging, and focus on the key foundational knowledge and skills the children will need to achieve well in school. As well as following the children’s interests, we use a topic based approach to ensure the children gain a wide covering of knowledge. This curriculum has been designed specifically for children living in Wombwell and follows key threads that children will learn about in later school years. Where possible we invite visitors into school or go on short visits into the community to give the children real life learning experiences. We regularly hold parent events where parents are invited to come into school to share in their child’s learning.
If you would like any more information about our Nursery or to come and look around please feel free to ring our office on 01226 272740 or email KingsOakOffice@watertonacademytrust.org
Session Times and Attendance
Our FS2 sessions run from 8:40am until 3:10pm. We also have an on site breakfast club that children can attend from 8am for a small fee. Throughout the year after school activity clubs are run by our teachers and outside companies, FS2 can access a club one day a week from Spring Term. These clubs run from 3:10pm – 4:10pm.
Children in Reception are expected to attend every day, our school office will monitor children’s attendance and parent’s must inform the school if their child will be absent.
Admissions
Parents can apply to our Reception through Barnsley Council admissions, information for this can be found at the link below. Children can start Reception from September of the school year in which they will turn five. We may occasionally have places mid year to accommodate children moving into the area, however this depends on cohort numbers. New parents should contact Barnsley Admissions for more information.
If you would like to visit our school please contact the school office and we will be happy to arrange a convenient time to show you around.
Transition Arrangements
Once you have been informed your child has been given a space at our school a member of the school team will contact you to arrange a home visit. Two members of staff will conduct a short visit to your home, during this visit a member of staff will fill in some forms with you and the other member of staff will interact with your child, this is also a chance for you to ask any questions you may have. The purpose of this visit is to build home-school relationships with you, and your child and also for your child to meet us in their own space where they feel comfortable. This will help their transition into school as they will be familiar with one of the staff and the staff have been able to find out information about what is important to them to help them settle e.g. what they like to play with, names of a pet to talk to them about etc. You will then be invited into school in July for a stay and play session with your child to meet the staff. In September your child will begin their stay and play sessions on their own, to begin with this will be for a short amount of time with a smaller group of children, this will build each day over the week to gradually build up the time in setting and the number of children. The following week your child will then start full sessions if they are ready. This process is flexible and can be extended if we feel your child needs longer to settle. We appreciate a staggered start can be disruptive to parents and we endeavour to keep this as short as possible, however this approach has been proven to be beneficial to a smooth transition into school so all children will need to go through the transition process before starting full days.
Our Setting