New nursery for Thatcham Park
A NEW nursery, named Stepping Stones, has been opened at Thatcham Park Primary School.
The school has updated its foundation unit to include the nursery, exclusively for two-year-old children.
Teachers welcomed the cohort on September 6, when schools went back, after a summer holiday of plans and preparation.
Last week, the school held an official unveiling where headteacher Alison Webster and chairman of governors Martin Parsons formally cut the ribbon.
Early Years and Key Stage 1 leader Rhiannon Dargan worked on the project and said that there has been a “really positive” response.
She said: “It was really exciting, we have been excited about this for ages and now we are doing it.
“We wrote a curriculum and it has been really well received.
“It’s really lovely because they learn in a different way, the curriculum is different.”
The nursery offers a variety of sessions including morning, afternoon and all-day slots for the children, which Mrs Dargan says is something that families need.
She said that introducing children to an educational environment at this age would make up for the “lack of opportunities” they had during the pandemic.
“Those little ones were born just before Covid started,” she said.
“School education is all about turn-taking and building relationships and communication.
“I am really positive it is going to have a really good impact on our children.”
As for this being adapted elsewhere, Mrs Dargan said: “There’s a lot of schools looking at it, conversations are happening.”