Hatchlings Nursery
Welcome
Welcome to Early Years at City Academy Whitehawk. We are proud to be rated as an Outstanding Early Years Provider by Ofsted (2018).
We understand that the skills, knowledge and experiences children acquire in their early years form the foundations of all future learning. We are therefore delighted to be able to extend our curriculum offer to 3-4 year olds to give our youngest learners a head start to school life.
Our Early Years Mission
Our mission is to provide an outstanding education for our children, enabling each child to be the very best they can be. We strive to develop children’s aspirations, self-belief and self-esteem in a safe, secure and stimulating learning environment through consistently high quality learning opportunities.
What makes us special?
We appreciate that starting primary school is a significant moment in children's lives. We have designed a curriculum and environment which prepares our children to make the best start to school possible.
Working with Reception
Our Nursery classroom is situated in the heart of our Reception setting. Hatchlings share our Studio space with Reception Robins and later on in the year both year groups share free-flow Explore Time to support the Nursery children's transition to Reception. We find that working in this way really supports children in settling into their first year of school with us.
Weekly PE Lessons
The children enjoy visiting the school's gym facilities each week. Here the children have access to our school's specialist PE equipment and enjoy developing their gross motor play. This also supports our children to feel familiar with our school surroundings.
“My child was made to feel very welcome and settled really quickly in the Nursery. I like the fact there is a strong focus on learning through experiences in the setting.”
Whole School Events
Our children take part in Sports Day, our Early Years Nativity and all other school-wide events such as working with Year 6 Ambassadors as part of International Women's Day. This helps our children to feel part of our school community from the very start.
Outdoor Learning
We are so lucky to have a large outdoor area for our children to enjoy. Our outdoor areas spans the entire length of our Early Years building and offers children with lots of places to explore.
You will often find Hatchlings children:
- Painting and exploring water play on the veranda
- Cooking mud pies in the mud kitchen
- Digging in the giant sand pit
- Racing on our bike track
- Climbing on our trim trail
- Playing hide and seek in the trees and willow
- Playing team games in our Paddock!
“I really like the staff in the Nursery setting and they have been really helpful in helping to identify clear next steps for my child to improve their learning.”
Our Timetable
The nursery is structured into two groups and operates during term time only:
Hatchings 1:
Monday and Tuesday: 8:40 - 3:00
Wednesday: 8:40 - 11:30
Hatchings 2:
Wednesday 12:00 - 3:00 (Please bring lunch)
Thursday and Friday: 8:40 - 3:00
Group sizes are very small and are limited to 16 children per Hatchlings group.
We offer places for children in receipt of Early Years Free Entitlement funding of either 15 or 30 hours per week. 30 hours places are limited to four children to ensure that the widest number possible of families can benefit.
How do I apply?
Complete the application form below (this can also be emailed to you by the school office) and either email it back to the school office (admin@caw.brighton-hove.sch.uk) or drop it into the school.
Paper Forms
Paper forms can be provided and can be either collected or posted to you. Please call the school office or pop into see us. The office is open from 8:30-3:30pm Monday to Friday.
If you have any queries about the nursery please call the school office on 01273 681377 and a member of the team will be happy to assist.
Once we have all of the application forms in by the deadline day, Nursery staff will be in contact with you in the coming weeks.