Lydalls Nursery School Handbook for Parents and Pupils

(Handbook Appendices)

Lydalls Nursery School Uniform (Optional)

Lydalls Nursery School is a Local Authority maintained nursery school, which has existed on its current site for over 70 years. The current building was opened in 1995 and it was further developed in 2001 to provide Daycare facilities for children aged 2-5. Lydalls Nursery School receives a regular full school Ofsted inspection.

What is a Maintained Nursery School and what makes them different?

A Maintained Nursery School is a local authority school that specialises in early years education. Like other schools, it is led by a Headteacher and a Governing Body with teaching and learning delivered by a team of teachers, nursery nurses and teaching assistants. Like all schools we are subject to regular rigorous Ofsted inspections. In a Maintained Nursery School the Headteacher and the teaching team are all early years specialists. This makes our provision very special indeed.

Children’s well-being and involvement is at the heart of our work. We use our deep understanding of how children learn to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and ensure that children make great progress from their starting points by using our assessments to plan for next steps in their learning.  Our knowledge of child development means that we think ‘stage’ rather than ‘age’. This means that we can support and challenge the wide range of children who we work with.

Maintained Nursery Schools also focus on developing and supporting children’s dispositions and attitudes to learning at a time when they are actively curious and questioning. Staff are highly skilled at extending children’s learning ‘in the moment’ by making a comment, asking an open ended question or offering an alternative point of view.

Maintained Nursery Schools place a great deal of emphasis on developing a high quality, stimulating environment for early learning, both indoors and outdoors, through play, problem solving and exploration. The environment and the Nursery routine is very carefully planned to provide a balance between child initiated and more structured, adult led learning. At Lydalls Nursery School we have invested very thoughtfully in fixed outdoor equipment that allows the children to challenge themselves physically in a carefully managed way. We have also created special areas inside, such as our sensory room and our book den. Pictures of the learning environment at Lydalls are regularly posted on our Facebook page.

There are six Maintained Nursery Schools in Oxfordshire and we work increasingly closely together. As specialists, we often lead and deliver training for colleagues in other settings across Oxfordshire. At Lydalls Nursery School we have particular expertise in speech, language and communication and literacy.

The Nursery School offers a funded education place for children from the term after their 3rd birthday until the term during which they turn 5 years of age. Children’s names may be placed on the waiting list for Nursery from their 2nd birthday. The Nursery provides 60 places per session. The Nursery is open from Monday to Friday during term time. Term Dates and Holidays are displayed in the entrance hall and on this website.

Children are offered a part time place of either 5 mornings (8.45-11.45) or 5 afternoons (12.45-15.45) per week for a total of 15 hours per week. We do not split the 15 hours universal entitlement with any other setting or provider. Limited top up sessions are available and there is a charge for these sessions. If your child has taken up the 30 hours offer this is from 09.45 to 15.45 Monday to Friday. An early start option is available from 08.45-09.45 and there is a charge for these sessions.

There is no charge for Funded Nursery School sessions, although we do request a weekly, voluntary donation of £1.50 to help purchase consumables.

We work closely with, and receive regular visits from a range of support agencies, including educational psychologists, speech and language therapists. Lydalls Nursery School works in partnership with local pre-schools and the Didcot Partnership of Schools. The Nursery is used as a training placement for teachers, nursery nurses and work experience students. We are also used as a model of good practice by the Local Authority. Parents and members of the local community are encouraged to come in to school to support our work.

If you would like to know what our Parent Community think about Lydalls please see some of their comments below:

“Our child had a fantastic two years at Lydalls. It has been such a caring and nurturing environment and his confidence has grown so much. We always knew we wanted him to attend Lydalls after our eldest child attended 3 years before. He loves Forest School and enjoys making creations with wood. He has a special bond with his keyworker Sally and loves all the staff at Lydalls and runs in to Nursery happily every day. We will miss everyone at Lydalls and are very grateful for all the help and support that Lydalls has provided to us as a family over the years. Thanks for making his time at Nursery such an amazing experience” Parent Comment 2025

“We are truly grateful for the wonderful care and support our child has received during his time at Nursery. He has been so happy here and it’s been lovely to see how much he has grown in confidence, especially with his language and social skills. He always looks forward to his days. A heartfelt thank you to Lucy who has been such a kind and supportive key person to him and to Sarah whose warmth and encouragement have also made a big difference. He felt secure, understood and valued and as Parents that means everything” Parent Comment 2025

“We have seen our little boy grow in confidence and a big part of this is Lydalls Nursery School. He has a difficult time learning but with the patience of the staff he has grown in so many areas. We are truly grateful to all of you that have helped him on his journey” Parent Comment 2025

“Our child absolutley loved his time at Lydalls, so much so that even when he was poorly he was distraught when we kept him at home! He has made some lovely friends whom we hope to stay in touch with. I cannot thank the staff enough. He started out so shy and reserved and has grown in to a confident young boy and I’m convinced it’s because of this Nursery School” Parent Comment 2025

“All the teachers are fantastic but especially Claire-Louise who has been our childs key worker. She is brilliant and has always kept us up to date with everything. We will definitely miss everyone at Lydalls but we will see you all again when his younger brother comes here! If he thrives as much as our older child I will be an extremely proud and happy mummy! Thank you” Parent Comment 2025

“Before sending our child to Nursery we were both quite anxious but Lydalls Nursery School have been amazing. The home visit we had put our minds at ease and gave us all the information we needed. Every single staff member was so welcoming and polite and supported us if we had any concerns. Joanne has been an amazing key person and has helped him come out of his shell and become more confident. He has really loved attending Lydalls. He has made friends he talks about frequently and he absolutely loves the staff. We couldn’t have asked for a better setting for our son and we are so sad to be saying goodbye. Thank you all for being amazing. We will forever be grateful” Parent Comment 2025

“Thank you for all the love and care you have poured in to our child. He has loved his time at Lydalls and we are so sad to be moving on” Parent Comment 2025

“This was the first structured environment that we had encountered and we couldn’t have imagined a better place for him to learn and take his first steps in socialising. He was always delighted to go in. The committed staff and careful resourcing make it a truly magical space. We are so appreciative of how you foster curiosity and adventure with the variety of activities you put in place. The quality of care and respect the adults show the children is outstanding. He has learned to call everyone at Lydalls his friend and he means it! Sally has embodied all of this and we could not have hoped for a better keyworker. Thank you to all” Parent Comment 2025

“I would like to say a heartfelt thank you for all the care and support our child has received from everyone at Lydalls. It has been such a joy to watch them grow, learn and become more confident each day at Nursery. Thank you for helping ingrain in him vital skills during his time here. This has been an important part of this early years on which he will look back with warmth and appreciation” Parent Comment 2025

DfE Financial Benchmarking – Lydalls Nursery School