Orchard Nursery

read moreFirst and foremost, welcome to the Orchard School website and thank you for taking the time to visit us digitally. The founding of Orchard School and Nursery in 1991 was based on the observations I had of very young children and their 100% enthusiasm for life. From the outset, Orchard School has been designed to nurture that eagerness which exists within all children, keep their 'why' questions coming and encourage the 'how' - no matter how challenging they are to answer on occasion. Witnessing their irrefutable belief that 'I can do it' in the face of many fruitless attempts is humbling to behold, and helping to cultivate that attitude and influence children in taking a fresh look at a problem, encouraging them not to give up and sharing the delight as they relish the emotional rush of success is what makes being part of Orchard School as special today and it was all those years ago.

read moreWe seek to be an inclusive school; welcoming children from all backgrounds and make certain every application is treated on merit and in a sensitive manner. We have no specific catchment area and attract children from Barton le Clay and the surrounding district. Our provision extends from nursery until the age of nine plus, though there are limited places for those children under three. It is our expectation that children entering nursery will transfer to the main school until the end of year four (nine plus) when they will make the move into Year 5 in their new school.

read moreOrchard Nursery opened in 1991 in the rural location of Barton le Clay, Bedfordshire, providing early years education for two to five-year old's. The nursery offered an extended day, primarily for working mothers and offering an age appropriate curriculum developed by the National Children's Bureau. At the time, Orchard produced early learning goals formulated for the age group, taking best practice from the educational philosophies of Highscope, Steiner, Montessori and Te Whariki to provide a holistic approach and test the theory that an excellent nursery education lays the foundation for academic success and a lifelong love of learning.