Supporting Your Child at Home

At St Barnabas Nursery, we believe that children thrive when home and nursery work together. There are lots of simple things you can do at home to support your child's development. The nursery team will regularly share your child's achievements, along with their individual targets and next steps, so that you know how to continue supporting their learning at home. Working together helps us to provide children with consistent experiences that build confidence, independence and a love of learning.

 The ideas below focus on the three prime areas of learning and will help your child build confidence and independence as they grow and learn.

 Communication and Language

You can support your child's communication and language skills by:

• Reading stories together every day.
• Singing nursery rhymes and joining in with the actions.
• Talking about your day and encouraging conversations.
• Looking at family photos and discussing people and events.
• Playing listening games such as I Spy.
• Encouraging your child to ask questions and express their feelings.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

You can support your child's confidence and independence by:

• Encouraging them to make simple choices.
• Helping them take turns and share during play.
• Talking about feelings and emotions.
• Encouraging them to tidy away toys after use.
• Helping them learn simple routines.
• Praising effort, resilience and kindness.

Physical Development

You can support your child's physical development by:

• Encouraging outdoor play, throwing, catching, and kicking a ball, running, climbing and balancing.
• Practising dressing and undressing independently.
• Encouraging handwashing and toileting routines.
• Using cutlery independently at mealtimes.
• Drawing, colouring and mark-making.
• Playing with playdough, threading beads and building with blocks to strengthen fingers and hands.

Remember, everyday experiences provide the best opportunities for learning. Small, regular activities can make a big difference to your child's development and confidence.

 Preparing for Reception

You can help your child become school ready by encouraging independence, developing communication skills and establishing positive daily routines. Simple activities such as dressing independently, following instructions, sharing with others, talking about experiences and enjoying stories together can make a big difference. By working together, we can help your child feel confident, resilient and ready for a successful start to Reception.

Simple tips such as:

• Putting on their own coat
• Managing toileting needs
• Recognising their name
• Listening to short instructions
• Sharing and taking turns
• Enjoying books and stories

Useful Websites

Best Start in Life
Advice and support for families to help children learn, grow and thrive in their early years.

 DfE School Readiness
Supporting children to develop the key skills they need for a successful start to school.
🔗 https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/09/04/starting-reception-top-10-skills-children-should-have-before-school/

Tiny Happy Minds
Resources and activities to support children's emotional wellbeing, resilience and confidence.
🔗 https://www.tinyhappyminds.com/

Dingley's Promise
Supporting inclusion and providing guidance for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Screen Time Guidance for Under 5s

Practical advice and guidance to help families develop healthy screen habits and support children's wellbeing and development.

Little Wandle for Parents

Videos, nursery rhymes and practical advice to help support early language, communication and reading development at home.

We encourage all families to explore these resources to support their child's development, wellbeing and readiness for learning.