Early Years
We'll shape your daughter's future through an exceptional start in Nursery and Reception at NHSG.
Starting in Nursery or Reception is a big step for your daughter and for you. You want to be sure that your daughter is going to be in the safest of hands and receives the best possible support as she makes the transition into school life.
When your daughter turns three, she can join us in Nursery, before progressing to Reception. It’s our unshakeable belief that it’s during these important years that the seeds will be sown for all her future learning, and at NHSG she couldn’t have a better start.
It’s during these early years that your daughter will question, explore and develop a real thirst for knowledge that will stand her in good stead for the rest of her life. She'll also begin to become independent, and her confidence will soar, under the expert guidance of our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) specialist teaching team.
Working closely with you and your daughter, we’ll make sure she develops and progresses at exactly the right pace for her. And of course, you can take comfort knowing she’s happy, and being watched over and nurtured by friendly and caring teachers and teaching assistants with a wealth of experience.
Outstanding teaching and learning combined with our wonderful Early Years environment will ensure that your daughter’s first steps into school will be the best possible. She’ll make excellent progress and, equally importantly, her first years in school will be joyful, exciting and very good fun!
Parent of a Nursery pupil
We made the best decision in sending her to this fantastic school. The nursery sessions are exciting and fun; my daughter particularly loves her weekly Spanish lesson. The teaching staff are second to none; approachable and nurturing, whilst also providing the guidance and support the girls need to thrive. My daughter's confidence soared within weeks of starting the nursery at NHSG.
A learning journey of discovery.
Girls flourish when they can explore, investigate and engage with the world around them, following their own interests and developing exciting new ones. In Nursery and Reception, we’ll spark your daughter’s natural curiosity and capture her imagination through our exciting curriculum. Your daughter will find her voice and develop her own passions even at this tender age.
Following the educational programmes set out within the Statutory EYFS framework, your daughter will learn through a careful balance of play and focused teaching in our wonderful Early Years learning environment.
Her communication and language, and physical, personal, social and emotional development will be prioritised from day one. She'll also make rapid progress with those all-important literacy and mathematical skills, learning to read, write and build solid foundations in mathematics through playful small group activities and focused lessons. Through our bespoke curriculum, based on high quality texts and creative stimuli, she will learn to understand the world and express herself artistically.
Great facilities in a lovely leafy environment, impressive co-curricular options that keep everyone busy and challenged, all wrapped up in a rock solid ethos about enabling girls to become confident young women in a modern world. Strong curriculum and highly qualified specialist staff ensure exceptional preparation for senior school.
There's so much more at NHSG.
As an Independent School we are able to provide many opportunities to enrich your daughter’s learning experience, going beyond the statutory framework to include specialist teaching in Forest School, Music, Spanish and PE.
Our exceptional environment means that we can deliver a wide range of multisensory experiences through indoor and outdoor learning that will allow your daughter to experience learning that is memorable and fun.
Our co-curriculum opportunities grow with your daughter, and, as well as trips to explore the wider world, when your daughter reaches Reception she’ll be able to join the school choir and take part in a selection of active after school clubs finishing at the earlier time of 4.00 p.m. This ensures that your daughter will be able to experience the co-curricular offer at NHSG without getting too tired after her busy day in the classroom.
You won’t want to miss a moment of your daughter’s learning journey which is why we will be working in close partnership with you and sharing all your daughter’s successes while she is in Nursery or Reception through our online learning journal. You’ll be amazed by how much your daughter will progress.
Bringing out your daughter's unique personality.
Excellent pastoral care underpins our EYFS experience. Every girl is treated as an individual and we will help to bring out your daughter’s unique personality while developing her skills and self-confidence. Girls are praised for effort whilst being encouraged to take risks and learn from mistakes and there’s a strong emphasis on characteristics such as resilience, bravery, kindness, relationships and care for others.
Our EYFS staff team are central to our pastoral care and your daughter will learn about issues that are meaningful to her through circle times, group discussions and quality texts in a warm and supportive environment.
As part of the girls’ personal, social and emotional development we actively encourage a positive approach to wellbeing and healthy living through our PSHE curriculum. Plenty of fresh air, exercise and a healthy diet also underpin our wellbeing philosophy, and our catering partner, Holroyd Howe, offers high-quality nutritional menus.
Everything your daughter needs for the best start.
Your daughter's first days at school will be spent in the most stunning learning environment. You could not ask for a more perfect start! Situated within our Junior School in Sandyford, set in beautiful grounds, extending to five acres, we are able to offer a truly unique setting providing a safe and exciting learning space.
Here, our superbly resourced Nursery and Reception classrooms are designed to stimulate your daughter’s creative thinking and joy of leaning, and our enabling environment is carefully created to allow girls the greatest opportunity to play and investigate alongside caring and experienced teaching staff.
Situated on the ground floor, our classrooms also open straight out into a safe outdoor learning space and our teaching and learning activities see the girls using both indoor and outdoor resources to support learning across the curriculum throughout the day.
We like the girls to have a rich variety of outdoor experiences so, as well as being their own designated learning areas, we regularly explore our wonderful grounds opening up a wealth of opportunities to learn outdoors in the natural world.
After school and holiday care? No problem.
Balancing work and family commitments is never easy. That’s why NHSG offers wraparound care before and after school, and during the holidays, providing reassurance to parents with busy lives that their daughters will be in safe hands.
Seahorse Club - After School Everyday
We know how important wraparound care is. Seahorse After School Club is here from 8.00 a.m. until registration begins and from the end of the school day until 6.00 p.m. We help girls prepare for the day ahead and then round off the school day with fun activities.
Seahorse Holiday Club
Making plans for childcare can be a challenge during the school holidays, but, when your daughter joins NHSG, you can be sure that our Seahorse Holiday Club is there to support you when you need it. Operating for the majority of the school holidays during the week and from 8.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m., your holiday cover worries will be over.
The charges for our Seahorse After School Club and Holiday Club are shown in the fees section on this website.
Open Days. See for yourself.
The best way for you and your daughter to gain a real sense of everything NHSG can offer in our EYFS environment is by visiting us during one of our Open Days, or, if more suitable, to arrange a private visit. As well as viewing our excellent facilities, you'll be able to meet members of our experienced EYFS team and our wonderful pupils, and find out in more detail how your daughter can flourish at NHSG.
Making sure your daughter has a flying start in Nursery and Reception.
Mrs Amanda Hardie
Head of Junior School
My role is to bring our vision of academic excellence, learning and innovation in the Junior School to life and the Early Years are absolutely critical to this. I work closely with Mrs Gingles and the EYFS team, to ensure they have everything required to deliver an outstanding EYFS provision, from the physical environment and classroom resources to teacher training and support.
Mrs Kate Gingles
EYFS Phase Leader
I am passionate about making sure our pupils’ first days at school are the magical and joyful experience that they deserve. My role is to ensure that our EYFS curriculum is the best it can be for our youngest girls and to support the EYFS team to deliver this through teaching and learning of the highest quality. I will work with you and the class teacher to make sure that your daughter is reaching her full potential in Nursery and Reception and that she is having the most wonderful time doing it.
School travel made easy.
The school run can be stressful. Our reliable, fully chaperoned, school mini-bus service offers a variety of routes from across the region, and can be as flexible as you need it to be. Our early years travellers love the experience! We even run a shuttle bus service between our Junior and Senior School sites. Our school bus service also helps to reduce the numbers of cars on the road (which our planet will thank us for).
Term dates.
It's always helpful to know when the School terms start and finish, as well as the holiday periods.
Nursery & Reception.
Average school fees per term 2022-2023
+Term pupil turns 3 years.
(please see note below)
Nursery - No charge
*Part time
(after deducting 15 hours free early education grant)
Nursery £256
**Full time
(after deducting 15 hours free early education grant)
Nursery £1,685
Reception £1,752
**Full time
Nursery £3,085
Reception £3,206
Lunch
Nursery £238
Reception £238
After School Club
(16.00 - 18.00) Per 30 Minutes
£2.50
After School Club
£1.80
Seahorse Club
£42.00
Seahorse Club
£25.00
Seahorse Club
£7.00
Please click here to see Junior School Year 1 - 6 fees
+Your daughter can join our Nursery from the day of her third birthday and, from that date, until the last day of that school term, no Nursery tuition fees will be payable. Nursery tuition fees will only become applicable from the beginning of the term after pupils turn 3 years old, so, for example, if your daughter's 3rd birthday is on the 20th September, there will be no Nursery tuition fees due in the Autumn Term, and they will only start to be due from the start of the Spring Term. Lunch and milk fees, if applicable, will be charged for that term based on the number of days they are taken.
All girls can attend Nursery on a part-time basis for a minimum of five mornings per week. We do encourage full-time attendance from as soon as possible to ensure that the girls benefit fully from our educational offer.
As NHSG is an approved childcare provider you can benefit from the Government’s early education and child care funding providing 15 hours free per week. This funding is available from the term after your daughter turns 3 years old until the end of the term in which she turns 5 years old.
N.B: Fees vary per term when applying the 15 free hours early years funding and the fees shown above mainly represent an average cost per term. The tuition fee shown for Part Time Nursery is the maximum fee you would be charged for any term.”
*Nursery part time fees shown are based on five sessions per week. Your daughter can attend for more than five sessions per week depending on your requirements
**Nursery full time fees are based on ten sessions per week
Please speak with our Admissions Team to calculate the fees for your daughter which will depend on your daughter’s eligibility for the 15 hours early education funding and the number of Nursery sessions she will be attending.
Tax Free Childcare
If you receive Tax Free Childcare, you can use this to pay towards Nursery Fees, Afterschool Care and Seahorse Club. TFC cannot be used towards fees from Reception upwards.
Please note:
Fees cover tuition as part of the regular curriculum, textbooks and scientific materials. Fees also include non-residential curriculum trips.
Fees do not cover tuition for optional extra subjects, which are charged for directly by the School or the self-employed peripatetic teacher. The costs of stationery are also additional to the fees.
Tuition fees do not include School lunches. All pupils up to the end of Year 13 are required to have School lunch and the cost is added to the fees account and collected at the beginning of every term.
Payment of fees
Fees must be paid for by the Bank Direct Debit system and the necessary form can be provided either by the School or from the Trust Head Office. The fees may be paid either termly in advance or by monthly instalments (four per term).
Acceptance fee
A deposit of £350 is charged on the acceptance of a place, and is held until the pupil leaves the School. It will be refunded as soon as is reasonably practicable after this and, in any case, no later than 12 weeks after the end of term, less any outstanding fees or additional charges due to the School. It is forfeit if a pupil is withdrawn after the place has been accepted.
NOTE: This website is for information only and does not form part of any contract between the parents and the Girls’ Day School Trust. This is because the information has necessarily been prepared well in advance of entry of a pupil to the school and inevitably there may be subsequent alterations.