Early Years Foundation Stage
Our Nursery
At Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery we accept children the term after their 3rd birthday during two intakes which take place during September and January.
We accept children who are eligible for 30 hour funding. Follow the link below for further information.
Applications for your child to attend Limes Farm Nursery should be made directly to the school. Initially, a ‘register of interest’ form should be completed and returned to the main office.
The Nursery Manager is Miss N Zelkin
Transitions
During the summer term we offer a stay and play session on an allocated day where the parents can meet the staff, explore the nursery in its working environment and sign the funding form.
Before your child starts Nursery you are required to attend a 30 minute transition visit with your child During September and January intakes we partake in a staggered transition into the nursery setting the children into their new environment over 2weeks.
What is taught in the Early Years Foundation Stage
- Communication and Language: Developing children’s ability to express themselves and understand others
- Physical Development: Promoting children’s physical health, coordination, and self-care skills
- Personal, Social, and Emotional Development: Supporting children’s self-awareness, relationships, and emotional well-being
- Literacy: Fostering children’s early reading and writing skills
- Mathematics: Building children’s understanding of numbers, shapes, and measures
- Understanding the World: Helping children make sense of their physical world and community
- Expressive Arts and Design: Encouraging children’s creativity and self-expression through various mediums
To aid a smooth transition into Reception and Key Stage 1 the Nursery follow the same Phonics and Maths Schemes in line with the main school which are Little Wandles Letters and Sounds Revised and White Rose Maths.
Welcome to the Early Years at Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery
At Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery, our curriculum is ambitious for every child, regardless of their starting point.
Prime Areas of Learning
Personal, Social & Emotional Development
Starting nursery or school is a major milestone, and at Limes Farm we take a carefully planned, personalised approach to supporting every child’s emotional well-being. We encourage our children to be independent, inquisitive, and confident, whether working individually, alongside peers, or in larger groups.
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Transitions: When moving from our Nursery into Reception—or joining us as a new family—we run our dedicated “Getting Ready for Reception” groups throughout June and July. These stay-and-play opportunities help children familiarise themselves with staff, routines, and physical spaces, easing separation anxiety before September.
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Emotional Growth: As children mature, we extend their emotional vocabulary and deepen their empathy for others. We guide them in understanding fairness and resolving everyday playground misunderstandings independently, while helping them recognise when it is time to seek adult support.
Communication and Language
Language lies at the heart of our EYFS provision. Children at Limes Farm are immersed in a language-rich environment through daily storytelling, rhymes, songs, and meaningful back-and-forth conversations.
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Inclusive Communication: We celebrate communication in all its forms—including signs, symbols, and visual supports—ensuring every child’s voice is heard and valued.
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Structured Support: Children learn active listening, turn-taking, and sentence expansion, developing their intonation and "thinking aloud" skills. To support vocabulary growth aligned with our termly topics, all Reception pupils participate in a weekly Language Group. This targeted support is particularly beneficial for children with speech and language needs or those learning English as an Additional Language (EAL).
Physical Development
Physical development builds the stamina and motor control required for future academic and physical tasks.
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Gross & Fine Motor Skills: Nursery focuses heavily on self-help skills—dressing, toileting, recognising hunger or temperature changes—and gross motor movement through daily free-flow access to our outdoor play areas, climbing equipment, bikes, and construction materials.
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Formal Physical Education: In Reception, gross and fine motor refinement continues outdoors and through dedicated daily mark-making activities. Following the first half-term, Reception children begin weekly formal P.E. lessons to develop coordination, spatial awareness, and healthy exercise habits.
Specific Areas of Learning
Literacy
Literacy is closely linked to physical control (mark-making accuracy), communication (vocabulary selection), and emotional confidence.
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Phase 1 Phonics in Nursery: Nursery focuses on sound discrimination, rhythm, rhyme, and Phase 1 Letters and Sounds to build a solid auditory foundation.
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Phase 2 & Guided Reading in Reception: In the second half of Autumn 1, Reception children begin formal Phase 2 phonics. They learn to blend and segment sounds, recognise tricky words, and participate in daily Guided Reading and Writing sessions. Children take home a reading book daily to foster a love of reading at home.
Mathematics
Mathematical understanding is introduced through practical, hands-on experiences across indoor and outdoor environments.
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Contextual & Practical Learning: We explore numbers, shapes, space, and measures through role-play shops (counting and giving change), cooking, 2D/3D modeling, pattern-making, and outdoor games.
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Daily Structure in Reception: Reception features a daily direct-teaching maths lesson alongside two short consolidation sessions each day. We emphasise practical addition, subtraction, sharing (division), and grouping (multiplication), giving children a concrete foundation before moving on to abstract concepts in Key Stage 1.
Understanding the World
We encourage children to be curious about their local community in Chigwell, the wider environment, and the diverse cultures around them.
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Enriching Outings & Experiences: In Reception, learning comes alive during our history workshops, Little City visit, Animalistic encounter and visit to the farm.
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Community & Culture: We celebrate our diverse school family by learning about Eid, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Holi festival, and unique family traditions. Children share their own heritage with pride while learning to listen respectfully to others.
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Technology & Discovery: Technology is introduced intentionally and safely using simple creative software (like digital paint programs) alongside hands-on, practical exploration.
Expressive Arts and Design
We nurture self-expression through dance, role-play, painting, clay work, and music.
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Building Skills: In Nursery, the focus is on process over product—children learn techniques for joining materials, choosing tools, and trying again when designs don't go as planned.
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Creative Independence: By Reception, pupils draw upon their own interests and the work of inspiring artists to create unique, multi-medium artwork. They build the confidence to perform for peers and the kindness to act as a supportive audience.
Nursery Baseline Assessments
During a child’s first few weeks in Nursery, staff conduct a baseline assessment as part of the settling-in process.
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Initial Focus on Prime Areas: Because young children require secure roots in Communication & Language, Physical Development, and Personal, Social & Emotional Development before accessing complex academic tasks, our early provision and initial assessments focus purely on these three Prime Areas.
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Specific Areas Baseline: Once routines are established and children feel safe and secure, we introduce the full breadth of Specific Areas (Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, and Expressive Arts). Baseline judgements for these specific areas are completed towards the end of the first term, providing an accurate, settled picture of each child's starting point.
At Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery we are proud to have gained an Early Years Professional Development Award.
Early Years Policies