Welcome to Bowerdean & Mapledean Nursery Schools

A warm welcome to both of our wonderful Nursery Schools . We are a unique Buckinghamshire County Council split site maintained Nursery School. Both schools serve the community of High Wycombe with Bowerdean Nursery at Wycombe Rye and Mapledean Nursery at Cressex.

Our Nursery places children right at the heart of all we do. We try to make every day a ‘best day’ for our children as we support their learning through play. We do not put limits on achievement but aim to provide positive experiences that will enable all children to flourish and develop in a safe and secure environment.

Our staff are all highly qualified Teachers and Early Years Educators and are skilled in making children’s learning memorable and fun. We observe our children closely and track their progress carefully. We offer individual support to children with additional needs, helping all children to make exceptional progress. We plan activities that challenge and extend children’s understanding and help them to be independent learners who are willing to have a go and try out new ideas.

Five consecutive Outstanding Ofsted inspections is testament to the high quality Early Years Education our children receive. We are not complacent however and are always striving to improve things to give our children the best possible start.

In 2017 we formed a Federation with Henry Allen Nursery School in Amersham called the Growing Together Federation with one governing body overseeing both schools. There are only two Maintained Nursery Schools in Buckinghamshire and we now work very closely benefitting from each others expertise.

We recognise that parents are key to their children’s success and want to work in close partnership with you. We are always keen to speak with you so please talk to us about anything you need to know or if you need any help.

I hope you will find the website useful, please feel free to contact us if you require any additional information.

Best wishes

Zoë Staines

Headteacher - Bowerdean Nursery

What is a Maintained Nursery School?

Maintained nursery schools are local authority schools. They provide education and other services to children under 5 and their families. They:

• Provide high quality early education, led by specialist headteachers, and delivered by qualified teachers and nursery nurses.
• Integrate care, education, health and other services for children, so that all aspects of a child’s development can be supported.
• Put parents and families at the centre of their work.
• Share their expertise with other early education and childcare providers, so that all children benefit.
• Are concentrated in disadvantaged areas: 64% are in the 30% most deprived areas of England.
• Give priority in their admissions to disadvantaged children and children with special educational needs and disabilities and have the expertise and skills to support them successfully.
• Are successful at “closing the gap” between the most disadvantaged children and their peers.

They are able to do this because of the quality of the education they provide. 57% of maintained nursery schools are rated outstanding by Ofsted, and 39% are rated good. No other part of the education sector even approaches this standard. Moreover, in other sectors, quality of education provision is linked to the affluence of the area, while the quality of nursery schools is consistently high regardless of local levels of deprivation. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools confirms this: “The only early education provision that is at least as strong, or even stronger, in deprived areas compared with wealthier areas is nursery schools” (Ofsted, 2014).

‘Maintained nursery schools: the state of play report’ March 2015

Early Education