We want to wish you all a very warm welcome to Alver Valley Schools.

As we look forward to getting to know our new families joining our school community, and as we begin our transition activities for this year, we are once again going to use this webpage as a hub to hold all the information that you need as you prepare for September and your children starting school. Many of you will already have children in our school nursery and so will be familiar with some of the information about the school, but for some of you this will be the beginning of your journey at Alver Valley Schools. We hope that, whichever the case, you will find this page informative and helpful.

Please rest assured that we have a robust transition in place, which is tried and tested over many years that has received positive feedback from parents about how it has supported their child to settle into school life.

This year we will offer a blended transition as detailed below. This means that we are offering some in-person sessions for parents and carers and others for children whilst other activities such as our popular Alver Valley Adventurers sessions will be online. We are also in the process of arranging visits to preschools and nurseries so please do update us to let us know where your child currently attends if they do not attend our school nursery.

Monday 15th May, Induction Information Meeting for Parents & Carers 

This will be a chance to meet the Early Years team and other members of the school community, to hear more about a typical day in school and our starting school arrangements.

The meeting will be held on Monday 15th May, 2:15pm to 3pm or 5pm to 5:45pm. Please note we cannot accommodate children in these meetings so please do ensure you organise child care should you require this. If you are unable to attend in person a video induction is available on our new entrants’ page on the school website.

June and July, Induction Visits for Children

  • Thursday 22nd June, 9:15am to 10:15am – Children welcome to visit the Yr R environment with their parents/carers
  • Thursday 29th June, 9:15am to 10:15am – Children welcome to visit the Yr R environment with their preschool or nursery if your child is unable to attend with their preschool you are welcome to bring your child for that session
  • Thursday 6th July, 9:15am to 10:15am – Children to stay for a visit on their own, without parent supervision

Friday 14th July, Teddies Bear Picnic

Friday 14th July, 10.45am to 11:30am – Families are welcome to come and join us on the school field for an informal picnic where you can meet other families and the Early Years Team. You just need to bring a picnic rug, your picnic lunch and of course a Teddy!

July, Alver Valley Adventurers Online Video Sessions

The Early Years Team have recorded 3 Alver Valley Adventurer sessions for you to take part in at home over the summer holidays. These sessions are excellent for helping your child feel confident and excited about starting school. The sessions will be full of songs, stories and crafts and will give you and your children a special insight into school life as they will meet the teachers and see the school environment in a fun format especially for them. Everything you need to take part will be provided in your special Alver Valley Adventurers bag – these will be ready to collect from the school at the parents meeting in May. The sessions will be on the school website.

Our previous information videos and tours for parents, which have lots of important information about starting school and what to expect, are available on this page. If you are unable to attend our in person parents and carers information meeting this is a good option.

On this page you will also find information booklets, letters and photos, in addition to the Alver Valley Adventurer sessions.

Please do visit other pages on our school website – you will find further information about our wider school approach including Our School Staff, Curriculum, Special Educational Needs Provision, and Forest School. You can also read about our curriculum approach in our ‘Hooks into Books’ article in the Spotlight on Alver Valley section of the website.

In addition, please do follow us on social media for regular photos and information updates on the whole school: TwitterInstagram or Facebook.

To ensure we can stay in touch please make sure you let us know ASAP if any of your contact details change.  This will ensure you don’t miss any vital updates.

Once again, we welcome you and your child to Alver Valley and look forward to meeting you.

Mrs Lockwood
our Early Years Leader and Head of Schools

Alver Valley Adventurers Session 3

Alver Valley Adventurers Session 2

Alver Valley Adventurers Session 1

Induction Meeting 2023 PowerPoint Slides

The EY Teachers Read: “The Day the Mini Beasts Came to School”

Year R Bear Hunt Messy Art Day

Year R Bear Hunt Messy Art day was a fabulous success. Click below to watch our celebration video and find out more on our Spotlight article Messy Art Day

Virtual Tour for Parents of Children Starting School in Year R

Discover Alver Valley Schools

We want to wish you all a very warm welcome to Alver Valley Schools Choosing the right school for your child is a really important decision. In the Autumn term we offer prospective families the opportunity to visit our school with their children to meet the team and see the environment. These bookable open sessions

Photos of our Early Years Environment for Reception Classes

Welcome to Alver Valley Schools Booklet