September 2025 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 2025
Important dates for your diary
Visits to nurseries
Reception Teachers will visit to meet children and key workers w/b 9th June.
New parents meeting
Monday 23rd 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 3rd July and times will 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 our return in September dates TBC.
At the parents meeting on the 23rd 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.
At the start of September following the 1:1 parent and teacher meetings the children will come in on each day either in the morning or in the afternoon. You will know which before the end of the summer term term 2025.
Children will start full days in school on: Date TBC
Key Documents for Parent’s to complete
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.
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 be aware that due to some of our pupils having severe allergies we are a totally nut free school. Please remember we have children with other severe allergies too (milk/nuts/ egg). Please consider this when sending children in with food and reminding our children not to share snacks.
Thank you for your understanding.
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: