Children are welcomed into nursery by our dedicated staff team.
The Ladybirds team are specifically trained to work with children under two years of age and have excellent knowledge and understanding of how to support early learning and development. The minimum staff to child ration is 1:3.
Our Squirrels team are experienced working with children aged two and over, they recognise that children are becoming more aware of their feelings and emotions and are developing their own identities. The minimum staff to child ratio is 1:4.
Our Hedgehogs and Owls are welcomed into nursery by our dedicated staff team, who are experienced working with children aged three and over. The team have received training which helps them to support the children’s independence, development and their transition to school. The minimum adult to child ratio is 1:8.
Any children who are new to the Nursery, or children moving from another group, will be assigned a Key Person (find out more about the Key Person Approach here).
A typical day in the Ladybirds
Children have daily access to ‘continuous provisions’ including, sand, water, playdough, paint and mark making resources. The team enhance these provisions by adding materials that support children’s interests such as, animals and bricks. We also have a range of resources that are available for children to independently access, examples of these are, books, musical instruments, heuristic materials and role play resources.
Throughout the day we play music, sing songs and explore movement. The music played always reflects the time of day, from quiet calm times to exciting play times.
The team regularly focus on identifying and responding to repetitive patterns in children’s behaviour (known as schemas). Schemas are central to young children’s learning, some examples of these repetitive behaviours are, lining up objects, transporting objects from one place to another and having a fascination of spinning. When our team build on these schemas, powerful learning can take place.
The Ladybirds have their own dedicated area within our Outdoor Learning Area. They have access to a sand pit, mud kitchen and have many opportunities to engage in natural play.
Ladybirds have many opportunities to go out into the local environment, for this we have a six-seater Turtle Bus and double pushchairs.
A typical day in the Squirrels
Children have daily access to continuous provisions including sand, water, playdough, paint and mark making materials. We also have a wide range of resources that are available for children to independently access, examples of these are, books, role play resources, block play and jigsaws.
Each day a group of Squirrels participate in our ‘Little Forest School’ which is led by a fully qualified Forest School Practitioner. The children spend most of their day in our Outdoor Learning area, including mealtimes and sleep times. They engage in a range of activities, exploring the natural world around them. The ‘Little Forest School’ ensures that children are well prepared for the Forest School when they transition to the Owls and Hedgehogs. The Squirrels also love to explore our local environment, we often visit the local pet shop, woods and library.
The team actively encourage the children to be as independent as possible with their self-care routines and ensure that they are confident enough to ask for help when needed.
A typical day in the Hedgehogs and Owls
The Hedgehogs and Owls have a range of resources that can be accessed independently during free play where staff will support language development and social interaction. Examples of these include construction, books, play gym and role play resources. Continuous provisions such as sand, water, playdough, paint and mark making materials are provided daily.
We also have a book of the week which can be related to the current season, holidays or special events, or children’s interests. Carpet times enhance children’s communication and language development as well as their social and emotional development, as they talk and listen to their friends.
A group of Hedgehogs and Owls participate in daily Forest School outings. We currently use the local woods, where we have set areas to visit. These areas have been named by the children, The Den, The Fairy Path, The Climbing Tree and The Mud Slide. Children engage in free play, explore the changing seasons and enjoy bug hunting, tree climbing and role play using natural resources.
Children also have daily access to the Outdoor Learning Area and have regular opportunities to explore the local environment.
We recognise that making the successful transition from nursery to school is of vital importance. To help support the transition to school we invite schools to visit Nursery and we talk to our children about the new things that will happen in their new environment.
Our facilities
Our nursery has been designed for its purpose. We are continually reviewing and developing our facilities and reflecting on our practice, to ensure both our indoor and outdoor environments provide rich, varied and safe spaces for children to learn and develop and that our practice is evidence based and fully reflects the needs of the individual children we care for.