September 2024 Intake

Welcome to Norris Bank Primary School

We are delighted to welcome you to our school and hope we can give you a bit of an insight into life at Norris Bank.

Please watch this video to meet our Head Teacher and the Early Years Team.


New Starters

Reception Classes for September 2024

Important dates for your diary

Visits to nurseries 

Tuesday 11th June & Thursday 13th June.

Reception Teachers will visit to meet children and key workers.

New parents meeting 

Monday 24th June 5.00-6.00pm

This is an opportunity for you to meet all the staff who will be supporting your children in September and to find out more about Norris Bank Primary School. You will receive an information pack with all of the paperwork needed before your child starts with us.

Teddy bears picnic

This will happen on Thursday 4th July times to be confirmed at the parents meeting. This event is for the children only to meet their teachers and some of the other children in their class.

Getting to know you meetings September

1:1 Parent and teacher meetings will be held on Tuesday 3rd September, Wednesday 4th September and Thursday 5th September.

At the parents meeting on the 24th June you will be able to sign up for a meeting on one of those days with your child’s class teacher and supporting staff. This will be an invaluable opportunity for you to share any information with us and ask any questions you may have about starting school at Norris Bank Primary School.

Key Documents for Parent’s to complete

Photo Consent

Local Visits

Data Collection letter

Data Collection Sheet

ICT agreement

 

We expect our children to achieve the highest possible standards according to their ability, to develop their talents to the full and to become more sensitive, confident and positive members of society.

Our ethos is Learning and Growing Together which is reflected in our GROW values.

Wall display of GROW artwork

Early Years Curriculum

In Reception, your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through seven significant and interconnected areas of learning and development.

There are three prime areas which begin to develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences. They run through and support learning in all other areas. The three prime areas are:

  • Communication and language
  • Physical
  • Personal, social and emotional

These prime areas are essential for your child’s development and future learning. They help a child develop skills in four specific areas of learning:

  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Understanding of the world
  • Expressive arts and design

None of the seven areas can be delivered in isolation. All areas are equally balanced and as important as one another.

Children in Reception learn by playing and exploring, being active and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outdoors.


Outdoor Learning

In Reception we are really fortunate enough to have our own outdoor space. It’s a safe place where children enjoy exploring and learning in a fun and exciting way. It can provide many challenges and a sense of adventure where children are actively involved in driving their own learning. We encourage our children to learn about their surroundings and the world they live in – from watching plants grow, observing butterflies in the garden to taking exciting risks on the obstacle courses and so much more.

Our children use the outdoor area for lunchtime play. It enables them to play with their friends and continue to develop their friendships. We find that being together in this space helps children to settle into school quickly and helps some children overcome any anxious feelings they may have about being with children they may not know yet.

It is also our outdoor classroom – jam-packed with natures resources and filled with exciting opportunities to learn and discover. We never let the weather stop us – even in the rain we wear our waterproofs and wellies and get going. Who doesn’t love splashing in puddles? We have various learning stations such as a stage for role play, camp area, music area, sand pit and a mud kitchen. We often build dens where we can share stories and songs as well as use the safe space to talk to each other.


A Typical Day in Reception
  • 8.40am  –  Doors Open
  • 8.50am  – Doors and Gates closed
  • 9.00am – Register and carpet time
  • 9.15am – Indoor and outdoor provision with focus and independent activities
  • 10.00am – Snack time
  • 10.15am – Carpet time
  • 10.30am – Indoor and outdoor provision with focus and independent activities
  • 11.15am – Phonics
  • 11.35am – Wash hands
  • 11.45am – Lunchtime
  • 1.00pm – Carpet time
  • 1.15pm – Continuous provision with focus and independent activities
  • 2.15pm – Story time
  • 3.15pm – Home time

Snacks and Lunch

All children are provided with a healthy snack as part of the National Free Fruit scheme. We eat snack together at circle time.

Children are eligible for the free milk scheme until their 5th birthday. You can register online or complete the form and return to FREEPOST COOL MILK if you would like your child to receive milk.

Lunchtime is a very important part of a child’s school day and we have a great team to support your child at this time.

Louise is our school cook and she has a small team who prepare dinner on site using some foods from our school garden. She works with each class so she gets to know each child well and her door is always open to speak to parents.

Please note that we are a nut free school as we do have some pupils with severe nut allergies.


What our Parents Say

“Reception is all about learning through play and Jack adored being a part of it. Mrs Thomas’ is exactly what you’d want in an early years teacher – she is warm, fun, approachable and nurturing. This means that each individual child is supported, celebrated and … loved! The children are encouraged to explore in the outside space and challenge them selves in the classroom helping them to become great, independent little learners.”


My daughter couldn’t have been in better hands starting her school journey at NBPS. Despite being shy and lacking confidence at the start, she settled in brilliantly with the support and enthusiasm of Mrs Thomas. She made lots of new friends and learned so much, despite constantly telling me “We don’t do any work in Reception Mummy, we just play. She ended the year with so much more confidence and her newfound knowledge and abilities far exceeded my expectations.


James is our second child to go through Early Years at Norris Bank and unsurprisingly we were not disappointed with our experience. He started out only being able to write his first name but by Christmas he was reading books and able to write some sentences, building them into basic stories. The learning through play has been fabulous too and James has loved every adventure. We have been thrilled with James’ time at Norris Bank so far.  We have felt secure in the knowledge that he is being nurtured and cared for in the best possible way.


Further Information

If you would like to know more about Norris Bank Primary School, please take a look around our website. In particular, you may find the following pages useful: