WHAT MAKES US SPECIAL

The nursery school is an extension of the function of the home, not a substitute for it; but experience has shown that it brings to the child such a great variety of benefits.(Isaacs 1954)

We have an open door policy encouraging parents to visit/access the setting at their leisure.
We offer an unlimited number of free 1 hourly inductions in order to make the transition from home to nursery a smooth one.
We recognise communication is key to developing a positive parent partnership. This is established through verbal and day to day contact and with written records informing you of your child's progress. We also issue regular newsletters to all parents and hold annual Parents Evenings. See our Latest Newsletter here.
As a memento of your child's time with us we create an ongoing memory book, highlighting each child's achievements and enjoyment whilst in our care.

In September 2008 a new curriculum came into practice to enhance the provision for all those children attending day care under the age of five years old. Known as the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It brings together learning and development and welfare as a whole, ensuring that both go hand in hand in an environment which nurtures all children. The learning and development requirements ensure a varied, fun, play based ethos which takes place throughout the setting. It looks at each child as an individual and enables practitioners to build on each child's next steps and plan their learning journey.

The welfare requirements ensure that the highest standards of care are maintained and contribute to each child achieving the Every Child Matters Outcomes:

Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve

Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well-being

There are four underpinning themes to the Early Years Foundation Stage, all of which we use as a base for all of the work we do, and care we provide. The themes and how we support them are as follows:

A UNIQUE CHILD

We recognise that all children bring positive attributes to our setting which contributes to the diverse needs of our society. All children in our care are special to us. We pride ourselves in the fact that all of our nurseries operate in inclusive practice, catering for every need no matter how big or small, this also includes the needs of the parents.

ENABLING ENVIRONMENTS

All nursery environments are created not only by structure and layout of individual rooms, but are supported by resources, equipment and enthusiastic adults. Our aim is to provide a warm and accepting atmosphere to ensure children feel confident in their surroundings. Individual room environments are created to support the age and stage of development of each child, ad enable active learning, play and exploration. We constantly reflect on our environment and make changes if necessary to support the growing and varied needs of the children in our care.

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

We recognise that children learn best with both physical and mental challenges. We understand the need to provide learning that involves other people, ideas, objects and events to engage the children for sustained periods. Our approach is play based learning providing a balance of adult led and child initiated activities. We provide play opportunities that reflect varied interests and recognise that play with peers and adults is important for child development.

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

We believe positive relationships with children and their families is the foundation to building happy, confident children and members of society.

We use a key person system in all of our settings. A key person has special responsibilities to work with their group of children, offering reassurance, and a feeling of being safe and cared for. The key person is encouraged to build strong bonds with the child's parents/guardians. We also emphasise the importance of positive relationships amongst the children, encouraging and nurturing friendships.