What makes learning at our setting unique? Here are some of the things you need to know that tell you about our core values.
Outdoor Play
We strongly believe that children have a right to play outside as well as inside at all times- and with the right clothing, throughout every season. Young bodies and minds need space to grow, run and explore using all of their senses and muscles- for healthy full bodied experiences, growth and development. To do that- you need space. And we have lots of it!
We have an extensive outdoor play area with access to climbing, building, imaginative and creative play, an enormous sand pit and a range of equipment that supports a child’s physical development .
In addition, we also have a very large grassed, natural play area where we have freedom to roam in nature and provide activities that are inspired by the Forest School approach. To find out more about Forest Schools click here.
This grass area includes a mud kitchen, a willow den, a hill with a tunnel through it, a fire circle where we cook food together and a rope swing! We have a parents campfire evening at the start of the winter and celebrate ‘International Mud Day’ in the summer.
Partnership with Parents/Carers
Fundamentally we think that parents and carers are their child’s first and foremost educators. When a child first starts, we encourage their parents/carers to spend time in nursery to support them with settling in and getting to know their key person. We invite parent/carers into the Nursery as visitors, volunteers or to help out at special events. Parents and carers are always welcome to come and join in the fun and we value the relationship we build with you during your child’s time here.
We use an online software application called Learning Journals, as the platform to capture and track the progress of your child which we share with you as the main carers. We welcome you to add posts from your home life too, so the child can celebrate with us their world outside of nursery. This journal will be regularly reviewed and we invite you to be part of the process so that we work in partnership at the beginnings of your child’s educational journey.
We also have a fabulous lending library that we welcome all families to borrow books from to share at home.
Learning through Interests and Schemas
It is very common for children at this age to practice things repeatedly. Many parents ask us if playing the same games over and over again or lining things up in rows is normal, or if they should worry about obsessions over characters such as ‘Thomas the Tank Engine ‘or ‘Peppa Pig’- this is all part of normal development. These small ‘obsessions’ relate to schemas and to how children make sense of the world. It is their way of practicing doing things and eventually, they will move on to new things.
We capture children’s schemas through observations and record them in their Learning Journeys. If you notice anything at home that seems to be a pattern in play, we’re always interested to hear from parents and carers about it!
Celebrating Our World
We are lucky to live in a very multi-cultural and multi-lingual city! We celebrate this diversity and welcome all of our families here. Each half term we invite families in to share a ‘bilingual story’ where parents or carers can read a story in their home language alongside an English version read by a staff member. This enables children to hear stories perhaps in their home language or begin to understand that there are many different languages spoken in our world. We also acknowledge and celebrate festivals the children celebrate at home, so welcome you to share these with us.