The staff at the Telford nursery are being helped with maths training to help them deliver fun and engaging sessions to children ahead of them starting school.

All 60 employees at the ABC Day Nursery chain in Telford have already undergone specialist training in letters and sounds.

The maths training will be conducted by Adele Conlon, owner of Shropshire Tutor, which already delivers Little Learner programmes to children across several nursery sites in Telford and Shrewsbury.

Penny Hustwick, owner of ABC, which has sites in Lightmoor, Hollinswood, Hadley and Preston On The Weald Moors, said the training will enable staff to promote early years learning with children more effectively in readiness for them to make the transition to primary school.

She said: “Last summer all staff underwent letters and sounds training with Adele. It was a fun and engaging programme which has given staff the confidence to develop a range of fun activities centred around letters and sounds and phonics.

“Nursery Practitioners are not allowed to teach children in the same way as teachers do at school. It’s their role to aid learning through play and much of the training was about staff developing fun ideas and games to engage children.

“It’s proven a real success and staff are now looking forward to undergoing similar training with Adele in maths.

“Children are expected to learn and know so much more at a younger age nowadays and this is particularly evident since the National Curriculum was changed in 2014.

“They are expected to have a good grasp of English and maths by the end of their reception year so the more we can do in our pre-schools to help prepare children for school the better.

“Many of our children already take part in the Little Learner sessions delivered on site by Shropshire Tutor.

“They have so much fun.

“It’s fabulous to see them so engaged at such a young age and we hope this further training will enable staff to build on Adele’s success in English and maths.”

Miss Conlon, a former primary school teacher with 20 years experience, said she was thrilled to be working with ABC Day Nursery staff again this year.

“It should be an extremely fun training course and will give Nursery practitioners and managers some great ideas on how to get children in interested in numbers and other mathematical skills.

“More and more nurseries are seeing the importance and benefits of introducing children to maths and English from an early age.

“It sets them up for school where they are now expected to learn so much more.”

All four ABC Day Nursery sites are rated Outstanding by Ofsted. For more information click here or call 01952 427477.

To find out more about Shropshire Tutor click here or call 01952 427919.