Parents salute Village Twos Nursery as it marks end of first term and prepares to welcome more children

A new nursery provision for two-year-olds at Village Primary School in Thornaby is celebrating the end of its first term after opening in September.

Village Twos Nursery was set up by the school, part of Prince Regent Street Trust, to support children in the local community and offer a “seamless transition” for children into Village Primary School.

With 24 spaces available across morning and afternoon sessions, the provision has already proved “extremely popular” with families in the area according to Gillian Ball, EYFS Leader at Village Primary School and Village Twos Nursery.

“Village Twos presents a fantastic opportunity for babies and toddlers born during the pandemic who are in need of a coordinated and caring start to their education,” she said. “We offer high-quality provision, developed by highly skilled staff. For parents who are attracted to Village Primary School, they can now also send their children to a nursery on site, so they remain in one place.”

“Our curriculum and experiences are tailored to the interests of two-year-olds and the needs of our community. Everything we do is built with an understanding of what children of this age want and need as well as being engaging, exciting and real. We have termly topics, ‘Me and My Family’, ‘Special People and Animals’, and ‘Growing and Minibeasts’, but we start with the basic, prime development areas and ensure that children receive a full varied experience that prepares them for full time school. A big advantage is the school knows where the children need to progress to.”

“The facility we have is absolutely wonderful, and we have invested in some gorgeous resources to support early years’ excellence. We look forward to welcoming more children in January, and spaces are available every half-term.”

Lyndsey Mason, whose son has attended Village Twos since it opened, described it as a “fantastic nursery with friendly staff and good values”.

She explained: “My son absolutely loves Village Twos and he is upset if he cannot come or if it is the weekend as he adores seeing the teachers and the other children. He loves playing, bringing his pictures and creations home, and he talks about his new friends and snack time. He has come on so much with sharing and his speech: before he was only saying one word band, and now he is saying two or three at a time. All my children have done well at Village Primary School and it is the best option in the area. We wanted him to get used to the school before he starts full-time and it is working brilliantly.”

Lyndsey’s partner Scott Sinclair added: “Village Twos is really family-orientated and that is what we like. The staff are approachable and cannot do enough for you. We would both recommend the nursery to other local families.”

Another parent, Laura Roberts, commented: “My son loves it, he asks to go to nursery as soon as he gets up, and literally runs to school. His speech has come on loads. He was hardly talking before, and now he is interacting well with other children outside of school. I would definitely recommend the nursery to others because the earlier they are in, the better for their development. It brings them on and gives them the experiences they need. It both prepares them for nursery and sets them up for school.”

Robert Birtwhistle, Headteacher at Village Primary School, said that he was delighted by the response to Village Twos Nursery. “Early years’ foundations for learning are so important and what we have created is an opportunity to impact the lives of children in our community much earlier,” he revealed. “It is unique to our area – responsive to need, part of the community and led by very dedicated staff who have come from that community – and is also aligned to our overall approach as a school to be public-facing.”

Robert went on to thank Prince Regent Street Trust for its support, which included overseeing the design and build of the facility: “We would not have achieved this without the Trust. It has enabled a really important community project, giving the children the very best start. The Trust team has taken a lot of pressure off us as a school and allowed us to concentrate on the education and development offer at the nursery.”

Free places are available for eligible two-year-olds in receipt of a ‘Golden Ticket’, whilst paid places are £5.48 per hour. For more information, or if you would like to visit Village Twos Nursery, please contact the school on 01642 676768.