Our aim is to nurture your child’s learning by providing the activities and opportunities for your child to learn through exploration, discovery and problem solving. There are quiet times with stories, singing and gentle music.
Our purpose-built nursery has under floor heating and double glazing and provides a bright and airy space where our children can move around freely.
The indoor environment provides a safe, secure yet challenging space for children. For some children the indoor environment is like a second home providing a place for activity, rest, eating and sleeping.
We are in a rural location and the premises are surrounded by open countryside. Children get to go outside every day, wherever possible. Being outdoors offers opportunities for children to do things in different ways and on a different scale to being indoors. It gives children first-hand contact with weather, seasons and the natural world. Outdoor environments offer children freedom to explore, use their senses and be physically active.
Children are involved in gardening activities such as growing and cultivating plants and vegetables, the nursery has its own vegetable patch and poly-tunnel and the produce is used for cooking activities and snack time. Children also are able to help with the day-to-day care of the nursery animals which at present are chickens, ducks, and fish. They especially enjoy finding and collecting the chicken and duck eggs.
Even our youngest children play outside, come rain or shine. We have double buggies, with rain covers, for walks in the grounds and equipment for our babies to use in the garden. In the summer we get the paddling pool out and on rainy days the children put on their waterproof coats and wellies to splash in the puddles.
Outdoor Learning Opportunities
The philosophy of our Outdoor Learning opportunity was based upon the desire to provide young children with an education which encouraged appreciation of the wide, natural world and which would encourage responsibility for nature conservation in later life.
Allowing children out into this environment and allowing them to use real tools needs careful planning, high adult ratios and experienced leadership, as well as an outdoor environment which would enable the educational benefits to be fully explored.
The children are committed to spending the major part of their Outdoor Learning session in the outdoor – rain, shine, snow or forest. They explore and use natural materials found within the environment.
The children quickly learn boundaries, both physical and social, within which they must work. They respond to the sense of freedom and adhere to the few rules laid down for their safety.
Within this secure environment it is possible to encourage the children to move away from close adult interaction to become more responsible for each other and for themselves. There is also more emphasis on observation of nature as the children will see their environment in all the seasons. Follow up activities and discussions in the classroom include both recall and observational painting of items collected and treasured, and the outdoor pre-school environment helps to continue activities that reflect the Outdoor Learning practice.
Please visit the Ofsted website to access our latest report – www.ofsted.gov.uk
Collaboration between parents/carers and childcare staff is central to our philosophy
We recognise that home life is of fundamental educational importance and that each child’s personal experience, both in and outside of the nursery, is the foundation of learning. The sharing of information between home and nursery is therefore integral to ensuring that we gain the best possible understanding of your child and their needs. Families will be actively encouraged to contribute to their child’s developmental records.
We believe that families are the prime educators of their children and they are therefore always welcome in our nursery.
When you collect your child from the nursery you will be given a summary of your child’s day by a member of our team. This will cover what your child has eaten, how long they have slept for and the activities they have been involved in. Staff will always be available to discuss any concerns/needs when you drop off or collect your child.
We also have the Family app for parents to use on their phone or tablet. The app allows you to see pictures and updates of your child’s time in Nursery, especially helpful for parents whose children are new to settling in the Nursery.
The children follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum, which is delivered through the medium of “play”. The activities we provide give the children a ‘hands on experience’ and are open-ended, allowing scope for individual exploration.
The children explore materials alongside others, enabling them to share ideas and gain valuable social and language skills at the same time.