“If children feel safe, they can take risks, ask questions, make mistakes, learn to trust, share their feelings, and grow.” – Alfie Kohn
Where Emotional Health Shapes Every Step of Learning
At Holy Child Nursery School, our vision is to create a learning environment where children feel safe, secure, happy, and deeply cared for. We ensure every child is listened to, and every family feels welcomed into a warm, supportive community.
We go the extra mile even before children start school—finding out what interests them so we can bring elements of home life into the classroom. Our dedicated teaching staff share stories on Seesaw long before the first day, helping children feel connected and excited.
Our beautiful environment is designed to promote calm and comfort: soft lighting, hessian-covered boards instead of bright colors, and classical music playing throughout the day to create peace and solace. Recently, we introduced sensory nooks in each classroom, and this year we are working to create a new sensory room. Sensory equipment and toys are always available, and staff spend time with children in these spaces whenever they feel overwhelmed.
Emotional health and well-being are at the heart of our curriculum from day one. We believe children cannot learn effectively unless they feel emotionally secure.
Holy Child Nursery School has been heavily involved in the Being Well, Doing Well project for over a year and a half. During this time, we have completed thorough self-evaluations in collaboration with parents, governors, and staff—gathering views from all stakeholders, including children. The insights from these evaluations have helped us create exemplary action plans, which have led to exceptional work being carried out in this area over the past years.
In September, our focus was on the emotion ‘Happy’. The children explored this theme through story time, discussions, play, and creative arts & crafts activities.
A huge thank you to all the parents and carers who supported their child in creating and sending us wonderful little videos about what makes them happy. These were an absolute joy to watch, and the children loved standing proudly beside their teacher as their video was shared with the class during morning registration.
Our Wellbeing Board is now beautifully decorated with the children’s crafts and words, showcasing their thoughts and creativity.
The ‘Family Tree’ in each classroom looks stunning, and the children are really enjoying sharing and celebrating their families with one another.
