The Giles Infants' School has a splendid purpose-built nursery. There are places for 63 children, divided between morning and afternoon sessions.

Morning Sessions: Starts at 8:30am and ends at 11:30am
Afternoon Sessions: Starts at 12:30pm and ends at 3:30pm

Please try to collect your child promptly as small children can become very distressed if their parents are late.

Admission Procedures

• You will be notified by the Hertfordshire Education Authority (LEA) the year before your child is due to start nursery that the process will be commencing online.
• Online you can access all the information and dates.
• You can list up to three schools.
• Your most preferred school should be listed first.
• The school will then offer places based on numbers avaliable. You will be contacted by the school which is able to offer your child a place.
• In most cases this will be your first choice.
• There will be one yearly intake, in September.

If there are more applications than places the school will then apply a series of admission rules. These rules have varied during the last few years but current rules are available at hertsdirect.org/admissions.

The whole procedure will be repeated in the following autumn when the LEA will invite you to apply for your child's Reception place. Admission information is available online at hertsdirect.org/admissions.

Settling In

We very much hope that parents will help their children to settle comfortably into their new environment. For some children the transition from home to school is easy, while for others, separation from parents is difficult.

It is important that there should be a relaxed and unhurried introduction to new experiences provided by the school. The first phase should be shared with your children in the nursery and will ensure confidence and security.

After this initial period some parents still enjoy continuing to take part in the day-to-day life of the nursery. Parents help is most welcome throughout the year.

Nursery Curriculum

The nursery offers a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities designed to promote the cognitive, physical, emotional and social growth of its children. Children can enjoy experimenting with sand, water, paint, clay, glue, wood and many other basic materials.

They enjoy looking at books, listening to stories and learning songs and rhymes. They can play in the band, dress up in the role play area, play with a variety of toys and games and engage in food technology.

The nursery allows them to make decisions, to take turns with each other, to share the attention of the adults and to establish relationships with one another.

By the end of their time in the nursery, the children should be more confident capable and ready for the more formal learning of the Infants' School.