Early Years Care & Education

The childcare team in our Baby Room has been selected for their caring, calming and gentleness towards this age group & will provide your baby with lots of love, cuddles & attention which is a must in these first few precious months. We pride ourselves in meeting the needs of all the babies in our care. Therefore, liaising with parents/guardians is of utmost importance to ensure that the dietary needs, sleep patterns & comforting preferences are met.

Babies at this early developmental stage need lots of visual, sound & sensory experiences. These will be provided through mobiles & toys, which are appropriate to the individual stage of the babies, to encourage playful responses & develop communication & interactive skills. Tactile experiences are also a very important part of early childhood development. This will be provided through a range of different textured toys in the form of wood, plastic or cloth & early experiences with paint, water & sand. Musical experiences will be provided through singing, musical instruments & listening to songs & lullabies.

As the babies become more mobile & robust in their play, toys & equipment are provided that offer a wide variety of developmental experiences, encouraging skills such as language development, shape & colour recognition & early mathematics. Creative times can be messy, but fun, with children participating in activities such as painting, sticking, sand & play dough. Stories & singing help the children to expand their vocabulary, knowledge & confidence.

When your child reaches approximately 24 months, we will assess their development and, if they are ready, visits will be planned to our Toddler Room.

We have many different activities in our Toddler Room to offer these children who are now developing at a fast pace & are eager to experience that little bit more.

Stories, singing rhymes & conversation play an important part in helping children expand on their ever-growing vocabulary, knowledge & confidence.

Imaginative play is available on a daily basis, which may be in the form of a home corner, hairdresser, a bank or supermarket. All forms of role-play encourage social, emotional & language skills.

Each session will include a creative activity (e.g. painting, collage, cutting or mark making etc.) of which a selection will be used for display purposes &  some will be sent home.

We provide a wide range of toys, games & construction activities encouraging children to take turns & form relationships with other children by developing co-operative play & other social skills.

We hope that your child’s time in our Toddler Room will provide them with a good foundation in simple colour, number & shape recognition by way of learning through play. Most of all we wish to equip them with the social skills to enable them to move smoothly up to our pre-school when they are at the right stage.

When your child reaches approximately 36 months, we will assess their development, and if they are ready, visits will be planned to our Pre-School Room.

Our Pre-School Room is a bright & stimulating environment in which our children are motivated & encouraged to learn & build onto their existing knowledge & skills.

Our Pre-School room has an ongoing curriculum which is based entirely on learning through play. We use varied activities such as construction toys, books & stories, tactile play, arts & crafts, role-play, mark making, computer skills, puzzles & games to achieve all the learning goals as set out in the governments framework guidelines. The activities used in these sessions are suitable for all children & can be easily adapted (either expanded or simplified) to meet the needs of all the children. Staff give children 100% support & guidance where needed through appropriate interaction during play activities.

Children will have the opportunity to take part in activities which will concentrate on the early skills of writing & numbers & early I.T. skills. This is introduced by the use of structured activities & projects, which will coincide & link in with the educational play activities set out for each day. An introduction to an alternative language will be offered. We also present a varied programme of enrichment activities such as pilates, toothbrush club, trips & visitors.

The children in our Pre-School are also helped to become more independent (e.g. putting on their own coats, going to the bathroom etc.) & are encouraged to use appropriate manners & behaviour both in & out of nursery.

The Pre-School staff team play a key role in transitioning the children in our care into their allocated primary schools. They ensure that all relevant information is passed onto the child’s new setting to guarantee the smoothest transition possible.