1 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Madeley
Nursery
School
2016-2017
Annual Report
Welcome to the annual report to
parents from Madeley Nursery School.
This is a way to share information and
celebrate an amazing year of
collaboration and participation in the
joy and energy of learning. It will
include information about the work of
the Governing Body of the school.
Bringing together a small example of
the interests and identities of the
different learning groups.
2 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Governor statement
This report is a chance to celebrate and share the inspirational work produced here at the nursery throughout the previous
year. The Governing Body are made up of representatives from parents, staff, the local community and the local authority. The
role of the Governing Body is to work on behalf of the parents to achieve continuing outstanding performance at Madeley
Nursery School. Collectively we are responsible for the running of the nursery and work with the head teacher and all of the
staff to achieve this. We provide ongoing challenge and support for all of the staff but especially the head teacher, ensuring
they continue to provide excellent provision for your children.
As a Governing Body, we work through three main committees:
Curriculum Committee- this year we have supported the review of teaching and learning policies and the revised school values
ensuring they are consistent and reflect the unique school approach.
Finance Committee- ensuring financial resources are well spent. The budget is planned and directed for the learning needs of
the children.
General Purpose Committee- providing a rich and stimulating environment for your children and reviewing all of the policies
and procedures to ensure the highest standards of welfare and safeguarding.
All of these committees work together to ensure that Madeley Nursery is a place where all children are happy learners who
work together as friends to achieve the best they can.
We would like to thank Rachel Hunter for her continuing role in maintaining the school website and Facebook page which
provides us with a quick way of sharing the wonderful work that all the children are creating. Please take a look if you haven’t
already done so.
We say goodbye to Lorraine Treen who has retired after many years of loyal service. Debbie Fisher and Ollie Lohan have joined
our team in the roles of site cleaner and caretaker.
We have begun the process to be a UNICEF Rights Respecting School. This supports us to promote the rights of the child. This
has resulted in a review of the values of the school; they now reflect our work both within the local community and
internationally. In addition the school is participating with the ‘Future In Mind’—well-being project, part of the local strategy
for good mental health. Together these strategies are having a positive impact on the well-being, achievement and progress of
every child.
As your representatives, we are always interested to find out about your opinions when you complete questionnaires provided
by the school. Also we would love to hear from you directly and would love to hear from you with any feedback, comments or
questions.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the parents who have continued to donated resources for the outside
area.
We would like to thank all of the staff and volunteers who have worked so hard this year to ensure that Madeley Nursery
continues to be a place of exceptional and inspirational learning.
Finally, thanks also go to the children for their continuing hard work and for illustrating this report so beautifully, we never
forget that the children are at the very heart of what we do.
This report is also available via the school’s website at:
http://madeleynursery.taw.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Paula Clifford (Chair of Governors)
3 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
One of the principles of our approach at Madeley Nursery is to work with
and engage parents, carers and families in active partnerships. This
supports the well-being, learning and development of every child, whilst
giving parents and carers opportunities to make new friends and
acquaintances, that in turn strengthens the local community.
To this end, this year, we have offered family learning sessions in play
and language, getting ready for school and parents roles in supporting
learning. There have been invitations to parents from key-workers for
meetings and whole nursery family days. Families have helped us to
raise money for Macmillan and Comic Relief. A very big thank you!
WORKING WITH FAMILIES
4 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
One of the key priorities at Madeley Nursery is be ‘outward facing’; this enables
opportunities for international training and development of staff, and also exchanges
between children in Madeley and those in other countries. To support these enhanced
experiences, the school applies for external funding, which makes a considerable
positive contribution to school budgets.
This year we have continued to research how digital media can support children’s
creative learning with colleagues from Sweden and across the UK, this project concludes
in February next year but some of the outcomes are available here:
https://wethinkeverywhere.wordpress.com/
In addition 9 members of staff and a governor have been on professional development
study on courses about leadership, outdoor learning, creativity, digital media and special
needs with groups of teachers from across Europe.
International Links / School Improvement / Erasmus+
5 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
A training school
As part of our key priority to be an ‘outward facing’ school, we provide training
and development opportunities to students and other professionals. This is an
essential part of our responsibility as an ‘outstanding’ school.
We have links with universities, colleges and other training institutions to offer
placements to student teachers and nursery nurses. In addition we host work
experience students from local secondary schools. We believe that this is a
good investment for the future of early education across the local area, and it
offers wider experiences and opportunities for the children at Madeley Nursery
to talk and work with others.
This year we have been published as a case study in a book Alternative Approaches to Education: A
Guide for Parents and Teachers by Fiona Carnie (second edition published in 2017)
Enriching the curriculum
We have been focusing on developing our teaching of writing, ensuring that it is interesting for children
and offered throughout the nursery learning environment. Also, we continue to refine and expand our
understanding of the nursery’s project approach to learning. Working in collaboration with others, in
particular, Debi Keyte-Hartland, who is an experienced consultant in creativity and project work.
Part of the approach of our approach is to offer rich, direct experiences to children that will provoke
ideas, and inspire curiosity. To this end, this year we have had visits to nursery from the Big Brum theatre
company when the children enjoyed the ‘Straw Baby’ production based on the Rumpelstiltskin story.
Also visits from the Telford Cooking Bus, the local community police officers and a musician.
A message from the headteacher
This has been another wonderful year of learning and friendship at Madeley Nursery School. It was a
particularly special year, as we have also marked the official 70th anniversary of the opening of the
school by the Local Authority. It has been wonderful to gather memories and photographs from staff,
families and children from the past 70 years. The archive that we have collected will be kept by the
local historical society.
We would like to thank the generous contributions made by parents, carers and families to support their
child; telling us about life at home in celebration books and talking with us at the beginning and end of
each session. As a result the children have made wonderful progress in their learning, their social skills
and their self-confidence.
I would also like to thank the staff team who work tirelessly all year to create the best environment for
children and continually make improvements to the opportunities children have to work and play. Our
long serving cleaner, Lorraine Treen, has retired this year after many years of loyal service to the nursery,
and we have been joined by Debbie and Ollie.
A huge thank you is given to every child, parent, carer, governor and member of staff for helping to
make this a joyful year of early learning at Madeley Nursery School.
Louise Lowings
Headteacher
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Rachel’s morning key group
Enquiry into pipes, tunnels and communication
This group engaged in a deep and
sustained exploration of pipes and
tunnels as means of communication,
stemming from a shared interest in trains.
Their early ideas included theories about
symbols for meaning making “that
means dead end.” - Otto and a deep
interest in measuring. “It’s 38 long” - Xander. “It’s
so long! All the way from here to here.” - Charlie.
’It’s a long journey, 100 weeks.’ Charlie. The
language of measurement was in the context of
trains, pipes and tunnels and led to the invention
of a ‘measure platform’ where trains pulled up
and were measured. “Can you measure my
train?” - Finlay. “It’s 48 wide” - Xander.
Explorations in clay led to a fascination of how
tunnels are made. “That’s not a proper tunnel, we
need to put clay on it.” - Henry. This strong
group of learners continuously re-inforced
their sustained thinking through
advanced pro-social skills. ”Let’s get
building, we can do it” - Xander “I’ve got
an idea, don’t worry, I can sort it out.”
Charlie “Do you like my work, Finlay?” -
Poppy. ‘WOAH! Rachel, look at Poppy’s
work.” - Finlay. The group’s ideas and
7 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
theories coalesced around the concept of a “message machine” which
they built together. The machine incorporated many elements of their
previous ideas (“can I make a marble station?” - Xander) but developed
further their problem solving skills ; “Oh no! The marbles are dropping on the
floor!” - Xander. “We need a catcher” - Olivia. The group evolved the work
to include multiple pipes and catchers which included a signalling system
whereby a stick popped up to show that a marble “message” had arrived.
There was visible delight and joy at the invention of this simple, yet effective
signal. “Message for you! Can you feel it coming down?” - Mila. Children
were interested in the messages as code. “Red is bad, blue is good” -
Grace ”It says m-m-m-mummy” - Olivia. Watching the group working
collaboratively around their message machine, sharing ideas, solving
problems and taking satisfaction in inventing something which “works” was
a privilege. This project had a strong logical, systematic and mathematical
bias, all arising from the children’s own curiosities, but was also strongly
about relationships and working together; “This is the telephone that
connects everyone in the world” - Xander.
8 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Helen’s morning key group
Music in the wild garden
We observe children so as to notice what
they see, to become engaged with their
enquiries and to find out their questions.
Early in the autumn term the group
began to share a common interest in the
natural environment, in particular the concept of
sounds in the wild area.
The tree had played a significant role in
the previous year’s project and provided
a provocation for this years group enquiry
as we remembered our ‘song for the
tree’ . Using a digital tablet an idea was
shared as to how we could give sounds
back to our tree.
“I’m making music for the tree, he says it’s
really beautiful”.
“I was looking at the bird singing to me,
the bird felt happy, it made a nest in my
hair, a bird house”.
9 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
“Catch the sound Kornel, I can catch it ”
The children’s shared interest in the sounds they could hear from the area
led to a dynamic interaction that prompted a physical response from within
the group.
Through our work we continued to notice the children developing their
theories by taking another perspective,
“The tree needs ears to hear the sounds”
“I’m drawing a path for the music to follow”.
Engaged in their shared passion, the group has evolved their social learning
through processes of collaboration in the
10 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Kay’s morning key group
Sharing ideas as a group
Our summer assignment focused around
children finding holes in their environment
and the places they visited. As part of
group discussion they wanted to go on a
hole hunt in the garden. A leaf was found
in a hole and many of the group thought
that there was blood on it, originating
from a bat.
“A bat left the blood.”
The group then looked for blood in other
locations that they thought came from a bat. The
children explored the jungle area finding holes in
the tunnel, shapes in equipment, such as tyres,
pieces of piping, and the climbing frame. In the
wild area they found a tree with what they
thought had more of the bat blood on. Children
imagined that this was the blood to feed the
toads and the mice that they thought
lived there. As part of the enquiry we then
looked at blood patterns of animals and
humans.
Some of the children considered what the
blood looked like, some of them
compared their own cuts and bruises to
11 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
the patterning of the blood samples. The group then drew both blood
patterns and explored the graphic form of a bat.
“It’s got no blood on it.”
“The bat went in my wardrobe and I saw it was going to bite me and I said
no.”
“It’s a meat ball blood coming down there.”
“My blood is like an orange.”
Children are beginning to develop ideas about what blood looks like, what
it does and how it can be used. The act of drawing has made visible their
thinking giving a context for sharing ideas where new ideas can emerge.
12 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Trina’s morning key group
An enquiry about keeping healthy and germs
The summer assignment focussing on
holes inspired a curiosity for children
noticing holes in fruits and vegetables in
the café area. A child brought in and
shared her images and ideas about holes
in her face. Consequently this generated
a rich enquiry for the group about holes
in their bodies and logical, imaginative and
playful theories and encounters relating to their
own biology.
A broad exploration about ‘keeping well’ through
exercise, eating a variety of healthy foods,
digestion and hand washing led to a powerful
interest in germs!
‘My step granddad has got like a big tummy, he
eats lots of chocolate’
You get all fit at dancing classes’
‘It went in my mouth and then it got
tested by my stomach and later it comes
out as a poo or a wee’
‘My mummy says coins make your hands
all dirty’
13 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Trina gathered children’s knowledge of germs through the sharing of their
ideas and representations of germs through theory drawings.
‘You can’t see germs, they are so tiny’
The arrival of a germ disclosing kit in nursery provoked a deeper fascination
about the invisible notion of germs. Applying the disclosing potion on their
hands and revealing germ areas under the ultra violet light offered an
exciting and realness to the group’s theories about germs.
‘I can see blue and white germs’
‘When you have bugs on your hands they have eyes,
‘Germs hate hot water!’
Some complex ideas and metaphors arose through the group’s
representations of germs such as good and bad germs. They began to
make sense of germs in a scientific way.
14 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
particularly hollow vessels and piping. Some
sounds were about communication and
connecting with friends sending messages which
mirror and echo. We used straws as smaller
sound pipes to send messages to plants and
hear what they were telling us.
“He’s sad, he don’t have a home. I love you, I
miss you, you were out of a supermarket
(message to the marigolds).
“He says he wants some water so he can grow,
and food to be strong” (message from the
marigolds)
Susie’s morning key group
Sounds of the Garden
Last year’s summer assignment sparked
children’s curiosity about holes in the
environment. Outside in our nursery garden
children noticed holes as hiding places, homes
for creatures, gaps and spaces , shapes and
patterns and places to catch and send sounds.
We have also been using digital resources
outside (iPads, cameras) as part of our research
into digital media outside to support children’s
learning.
This reflective account will focus on one particular
curiosity of the children which is related to sound
making.
“A sound can be loud or it can be really quiet,
medium quiet”
Children’s Research
Children have been interested in the power of
making sounds with their voices into holes,
15 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
We thought about sounds we could send to help the plants The group made new
compositions with their recorded sounds and have begun to think about mark making
and theory drawing to represent sound and offer an additional context for meaning
making.
Children used an app on the tablet to record their sound
“Plants grow when the sing starts to go.”
“They like dinosaur sounds.”
“Drinking sounds.”
“Princess sounds.”
Children’s ideas are complex in form, rich in expression and creativity if we choose to
work in ways that are supportive and conducive to children’s thinking and enquiry.
16 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
We strive at nursery to fully include children with special educational needs and
disabilities into the life of the school. We ensure that everyone has equal access to the
curriculum through individual education plans. We have a range of policies and
practices to ensure that our provision is inclusive and that facilities are adapted to allow
for this. We have disabled toilet facilities, ramped entrances to the building and garden
and one-to-one support assistance if required. We work closely with other professionals,
such as speech therapists and occupational therapists that enable us to support every
child. As a staff team we have regular training and meetings to keep us up-to–date with
our knowledge.
All policies are available on request at nursery or via the nursery website. Further
information for parents about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities can be found
at the following websites:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers
www.parentpartnership-shropshireandtelford.org.uk
Staff and governors with particular responsibility for SEND are:
Helen Torr Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)
Helen Beale SEND and Equality
Caroline Babb Disability and Equality
This year children are moving on to many
new schools.
Aqueduct 5
Barrow CE 2
Beckbury CE 1
Coalbrookdale & Ironbridge 6
Dawley CE 2
Holmer Lake 2
John Fletcher of Madeley CE 20
John Wilkinson 2
Ladygrove 1
Lawley primary 1
Lawley Academy 1
Lightmoor 2
Old Park 1
Randlay 1
Sheriffhales 1
St Mary’s RC 11
William Reynolds 1
Woodlands 5
Stay at nursery until January / April 2018 2
Goodbye and good luck to everyone at
their new schools.
17 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Contact Us!
If you would like to contact the Governing Body, please use the details below:
Paula Clifford (Chair of Governors)
C/O Madeley Nursery School
Bridle Road
Telford
TF7 5ET
(mark your letter confidential)
Governors in Post 2016/ 2017
Paula Clifford Local Authority Appointment (Chair)
Anjum Masood-King Elected parent Governor
Ian Lakin Co-opted Governor
Helen Beale Co-opted Governor (Vice Chair)
Jeremy Withers Elected Parent Governor
Julia Fellows Associate Governor
Gemma Drury Elected Parent Governor
Clare Jones Elected Parent Governor
Emma Dickenson Co-opted Governor
Deb Shaldon Associate Governor
Jeanette Battye Elected Parent Governor
Caroline Babb Associate Governor
Jeremy Lowe Co-opted Governor
Helen Lawrence Co-opted Governor
Louise Lowings Head Teacher Ex-officio
Helen Torr Elected Staff Governor
18 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Pupil Premium
We have high expectations for every child who attends Madeley Nursery School as we
believe that every child is competent including children identified as being ‘socially
disadvantaged’ and therefore eligible for pupil premium.
Pupil premium monies are allocated by the government to early years settings and
schools to support children from deprived backgrounds based on eligibility for free school
meals and those in Local Authority Care. Madeley Nursery School uses this money to
support these children to reach their potential.
Children’s progress and the impact of teaching and learning funded by pupil premium is
tracked and reviewed each term as part of whole school strategies for monitoring
progress and target setting for all children. Their progress is monitored by the Governors.
We allocate pupil premium money on strategies that have proven impact including;
excellent teaching and learning, developing the home learning environment, widening
life experiences and staff training. These strands are identified in The Learning Together
About Learning (LTAL) Project published in April 2016 by Early Education (The British
Association for Early Childhood Education.
The detailed action plan for effective use of pupil premium monies will be included in the
overall school development plan and monitored by the Finance, Personnel and
Curriculum committees of the Governing body. The full plan and details are available on
the school website at :
http://www.madeleynurseryschool.co.uk/documents/Pupil_Premium%20_Plan_2016-17.pdf
or in paper format from the school office.
School Fund
Since April 2004, the Local Authority has delegated financial responsibility to
governors. School Fund receipts & payments account for the years ended
31st March 2016 and 2017 are shown opposite.
Every penny counts and we really appreciate the donations made by
parents. The money helps to pay for food for the children, books and new
equipment.
Please remember to donate £1 a week. There is a change of system next
school year, from September 2017 key-workers will have collection boxes
for donations; termly cheques for donations are also acceptable and can
be handed to Paula, in the office.
Many thanks to all who contributed.
19 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Balance at 1st April 2015 £2,338.46
Income 2015/16 Expenditure 2015/16
School fund £1447.17 Food £1,199.36
Interest 0 Flowers / plants £4.80
Donations 0 Toys / materials £58.48
Raffle 0 Books/posters/stationery £15.40
Photographer £227.58 Christmas gifts £148.57
Sweatshirts £231.00 Sweatshirts £130.00
Miscellaneous 0 Miscellaneous £1,136.25
Funds received re: school
budget
£8,944.02 Funds paid to school budget £9,9,439.62
Photographer project £775.00
Totals £10,849.77 £11,065.85
Balance at 31st March
2016
£284.38
Balance at 1st April 2016 £284.38
Income 2016/17 Expenditure 2016/17
School fund £1,516.20 Food £1,167.35
Interest 0 Flowers / plants £25.04
Donations £1,000.00 Toys / materials £63.41
Raffle £132.10 Books/posters/stationery £15.40
Photographer £225.70 Christmas gifts £10.00
Sweatshirts £203.00 Sweatshirts £175.00
Miscellaneous (charity) 186.00 Miscellaneous (inc. charity donations) £589.38
Funds received re: school
budget
£23,107.01 Funds paid to school budget £23,107.01
Photographer project 0
Totals £26,370.41 £25,137.10
Balance at 31st March
2017
£1,517.56
20 Madeley Nursery School—’A PLACE TO CREATE AND CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING’
Thank you for supporting the school’s ongoing school improvements; through developing
and embedding the school values, principles and aims.
Our aim is to create and celebrate a community of learning where there are
endless possibilities to discover together through curiosity, creativity and
play.
The school is a place of citizenship - being part of a
strong community
Our school is an integral part of the community. It is a
place where every child, family and educator has both a
right and responsibility to contribute to and support
their community. We define community as being both
immediately located around the school and stretching
out to include the wider global community. We believe
that citizenship encompasses people and cultures as well
as environments and ecologies. That as citizens, children
should be creators of culture not passive consumers.
The school is a place of research
Working together to question and improve, our school is
a place where children, families and educators work
together to improve the quality of learning and teaching
experiences, therefore promoting high aspirations, levels
of well-being, good dispositions and achievement for all.
We believe that a researching school relies on developing
a 'listening pedagogy, where all protagonists collaborate
and co-operate in reflective dialogue, respecting and
encouraging different opinions and ideas, being open to
change and innovation.
The school is a place of partnership with children and
families
We consider that a genuine, respectful and active
partnership between children, their families and the
school are central to successful learning. This principle is
interrelated and underpins the other school principles
and reflects our relational and community ethos.
Partnership involves parents, families and staff working
together to benefit children in relationships where each
recognises, respects and values what the other does and
says. Partnership involves responsibility on both sides.
The school is a place where every child is viewed as
competent and full of potential
All children have an innate ability to learn from birth. We
believe that every child has an incredible capacity to
learn and develop through engagement with others and
with the world. This principle has inclusion and diversity
at its heart and is made visible through the pedagogical
approaches of the school. Where learning is seen as
crossing the borders that separately define disciplines,
curriculum and concepts.
Promoting these values
Pro-social behaviours
Self-regulation
Collaboration
Equality
Compassion
Creativity and innovation
Confidence
Exploring the world
Effective communication
Resilience and perseverance