Early Years Unit

 Nursery and Reception

Welcome to Our Early Years Unit

Nursery (2–4 years) and Reception (4–5 years)

At Lenthall Infant and Nursery School, our Early Years Unit is where the magic of learning begins. We provide a warm, nurturing environment where children aged 2 to 5 can explore, play, and grow through a rich, curiosity-led curriculum.

Our unit includes:

• Bright Beginnings – our Governor-run room for 2-year-olds
• Carle Class – our Nursery (FS1) for 3–4-year-olds
• Donaldson Class – our Reception (FS2) for 4–5-year-olds

Each class is named after a much-loved children’s author, reflecting our passion for storytelling and early reading.

 Meet the Team

Our Early Years Unit is led by a dedicated and experienced team who are passionate about giving every child the best possible start to their learning journey.

• Mrs Bayliss – EYFS Lead and Reception (FS2) Teacher – Donaldson Class
• Miss Purkis – Nursery (FS1) Teacher – Carle Class

They are supported by our fantastic Teaching and Learning Support Staff: Miss Cooper – HLTA, Miss Turner, Mrs Smith and Miss Machin.

Together, we create a nurturing, engaging, and inclusive environment where children feel safe, valued, and excited to learn every day.

Teaching and Learning

Each day includes:

• Phonics, communication, literacy, and maths sessions
• Afternoon learning through our Lenthall Learning Challenge curriculum.
• Child-led play in our carefully designed indoor and outdoor areas.

We are proud of our outdoor learning spaces, which offer children the chance to explore nature, develop physical skills, and experience the changing seasons.

Learning Through Play

Our continuous provision includes areas such as:

• Indoors: water, investigation, funky fingers, malleable play, writing, phonics, maths, reading, construction, computing, small world, creativity, and role play.
• Outdoors: sand, water, gardening, investigation, maths, reading, writing, creativity, construction, a mud kitchen, and a forest school area.

⚽ Physical Education

Every Friday, we have PE with Coach Lewis from Chesterfield Football Club Community Trust. In winter, sessions are held in the school hall; in warmer months, we head outdoors for sports and games.

📖 Reading at Home

Children take home:

• A decodable reading book (Collins Big Cat), matched to their phonics level.
• A ‘Love to Read’ book to enjoy with an adult.

We encourage daily reading at home. Parents can record this in their child’s reading record, and books are changed weekly.

🚌 Trips and Visitors

We enrich learning with exciting trips and visitors. Past adventures include:

• Yorkshire Wildlife Park
• The Deep
• The Butterfly House
• Local visits to places like the bakery and Dronfield Station.

🥪 Snacks, Water & PE Kit

• Snack: Children receive a free piece of fruit each day, and all under-5s are entitled to free milk. There are no hidden charges in our Early Years setting for snacks, learning materials, or consumables.
• Water: Please send a full water bottle each day
• PE Kit: Children wear their PE kit to school on Fridays
  • Black shorts/joggers/leggings
  • White or royal blue t-shirt
  • Plain dark trainers/pumps
  • Black zipped hoodie or tracksuit top
  • No jewellery, including stud earrings, on PE days