Welcome to Highmoor Nursery School
At Highmoor Nursery School, our staff are passionate about nurturing inquisitive young minds, creating a secure and happy place for children to learn and thrive.
About Us
Offering Nursery and Pre-school education for children aged 18 months - 5 years since 1993, we are based in the beautiful surroundings of green fields and the rural village of Highmoor, in its light and spacious Memorial Hall.
Our vision is to create a happy, caring space that helps children reach their full potential. Our staff put nurture at the centre of their care, recognising each child's individual needs, encouraging positive self-esteem and confidence.
We build strong partnerships with parents and carers, between us helping children develop an enthusiasm for learning and celebrating their achievements. This ensures they are able to begin their education happily, healthily and successfully, whilst fostering consideration for others and the world around them. We aim to offer a high-quality provision providing a child-centred approach to learning, within a safe, happy and stimulating space. We are confident in our ability to maximise each child's full potential in all aspects of their development and we provide a well-resourced environment which is a balance between child and adult-led learning.
Please see our curriculum page for more details.
Ofsted Rating - Good
"Children play, explore and learn with enthusiasm in this inviting setting. They engage well in activities led by members of staff, and they direct their own play from a wide array of exciting activities on offer. Children form trusted and affectionate bonds with the manager and staff, who genuinely want them to reach their full potential." - Ofsted Inspector, Sonia Panchal
Please see our latest Ofsted Report
Activities
At Highmoor Nursery School, we also provide additional activities in order to support the curriculum and the EYFS. These extra-curricular activities are run in-house, or by specialists that provide a professional service specifically tailored for our Nursery's current themes and topics, as well as the children as individuals.
Outdoor Multisports
These sessions are focused on creating a safe and structured environment in which children can explore and stretch their physical capabilities whilst having fun. The sessions are based around creating a journey which introduces various physical and cognitive challenges for the children.
Music
The music classes at Highmoor Nursery School are taught by Chez of Starlight MDV and are a fun and interactive way to learn movement and rhythm. Singing is also an excellent tool to encourage language and communication skills. Each week has a different theme which encourages children to sing together, incorporating songs that involve counting as well as learning about shapes, colours, animals and lots of other things! The session also uses a different prop every week such as scarves, tappers, bean bags and parachutes, all of which use different motor skills and movement.
French
Our French classes are held with the Red Kites every Thursday, with the help of "Phillippe" our resident French puppet dog. We look at the basics of French such as saying hello, our names, numbers, colours, animals etc which over the term build up into a meaningful vocabulary. Using well known nursery rhymes, translated into French, and visual, hands on props to play with, our aim is for the children to easily recognise the new words they are learning.
Cooking with Mrs Bun the Baker
Mrs Bun the Baker is a qualified Early Years teacher with twenty years’ experience and a degree in Catering Management. She runs the weekly cooking classes at Highmoor Nursery School and combines her knowledge with her teaching skills, cooking up and creating magical moments in her fun cookery classes. These sessions allow our children to gain a love and understanding of food as well developing their fine motor skills.
Forest School
Our qualified Forest School leader enables us to take our children into the nearby woods for hands-on outdoor activities. They are free to explore the area and learn about their environment using rope swings, den building and much more. Forest School helps to teach children how to problem solve and manage risk as well as encouraging their independence and team building skills.
Teach Me Tennis
Our tennis sessions are aimed at introducing the sport in a fun, organised and structured manner. Ollie involves the use of a racket and lots of the appropriate movements needed for tennis and he will ensure that during every session, all players have the chance to practice the shot of the week in a format that works for them. Ollie also uses imagination and storytelling to involve all the children in the start of their tennis adventure.
Yoga
Yoga for Early Years children is dynamic, fun and engaging. Sophie uses multi-sensory methods and exciting games to keep children motivated and moving. She designs yoga adventures and stories to suit the ages, abilities and needs of each child. Children can practice exercise and movement, improving balance and strength, in a non-competitive environment and it can be used as a tool to develop imagination, creativity and vocabulary. Young brains are very busy, so we always try to end the session with some moments of calm relaxation to help children steady their minds and learn to breathe mindfully.