Building a love of learning through play
We know the first five years of a child’s life are the most crucial and we believe the environment they are in must be saturated with a wealth of experiences, to offer them the best opportunities to grow and develop to their full potential.
We follow the EYFS, which sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old. During your child’s time at nursery they will mostly be taught through games and play. We plan activities across all areas of learning and share your child’s progress with you via their online journal.
The areas of learning are:
- Communication and language
- Physical Development
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design
Key Person
Each child has a nominated key person who is directly responsible for their daily needs, your key person is responsible for your child's wellbeing and development and will work alongside your family to ensure individuality and continuity for your children. Your childs key person will observe your child and record their achievements against The Early Years Foundation Stage milestones. Your key person will also provide daily feedback with you at the end of your child's session at nursery so you can find out how their day has been.
Staff to child ratios
We take a maximum of 44 children in our nursery each day and follow the staff to child ratios set out in the EYFS. Our Nursery Managers are supernumerary and all of our Early Years Practitioners are qualified to a Level 3 or above and hold a paediatric first aid certificate. The maximum number of children per adult in any room is 1:8, which is lower than you would normally find in a school nursery.
Health and Safety
Your child’s health and safety is paramount and we ensure the highest level of safety and security in our nurseries. A register of attendance is completed in every room during every session, so we are aware of who is in the building at all times. Risk assessments are carried out daily, weekly and annually within the nursery, outdoors and for outings. To ensure we can monitor access in and out of the nursery we do not use intercom systems. We feel that by having staff answer the front door we always know who is being let in and out of the building ensuring the upmost safety for the children in our care. We also enjoy welcoming children and their families into the nursery and feel it provides a more friendly and homely environment.
Meal Times
We believe it is very important to encourage social skills at meal times as you would at home and the children are encouraged to serve themselves, although support and supervision is maintained. Children are also encouraged to try new things and eat a healthy, balanced diet. Our menus are planned in advance on a three week schedule. All of our meals are freshly prepared on the premises by our cook, Fiona, and the menu is displayed in the nursery porch. Special diets are catered for where possible.
Special educational needs and medical conditions
We cater for children who have special educational needs within our nursery and Connie & Abi are our Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCO). We have excellent links with a wide range of external agencies and professionals. We also support children with a wide range of medical needs. Our staff have had a range of experience and training in supporting children with a variety of additional needs, and we access additional training as necessary to support individual children.
Safeguarding
We have a safeguarding and child protection policy in place and Connie & Leanne are our Designated Safeguarding Leads. If you have any concerns about a child you can speak to Connie or Leanne or contact firstcontact@durham.gov.uk or call them on 03000 267 979.
Alternatively you can contact Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership on 03000 265 770 or dial 999 in an emergency.
complaints and compliments
We love to hear your feedback on our nursery and you can talk to your child's key person and there is always a senior member of staff on the premises who you can speak to at anytime. We also keep a record of compliments and complaints onsite and if you feel we have not dealt with your feedback satisfactorily you can contact Ofsted directly on 0300 123 1231.
Ofsted
Our Nursery is registered and inspected by Ofsted and if you would like to contact Ofsted regarding our nursery their helpline is 0300 123 1231 and their address is: Ofsted, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD. Our last Ofsted inspection was in October 2017 and is available to look at on the Ofsted website, we were graded ‘outstanding’. Click here to view the report
Key Person
Each child has a nominated key person who is directly responsible for their daily needs, your key person is responsible for your child's wellbeing and development and will work alongside your family to ensure individuality and continuity for your children. Your childs key person will observe your child and record their achievements against The Early Years Foundation Stage milestones. Your key person will also provide daily feedback with you at the end of your child's session at nursery so you can find out how their day has been.
Staff to child ratios
We take a maximum of 44 children in our nursery each day and follow the staff to child ratios set out in the EYFS. Our Nursery Managers are supernumerary and all of our Early Years Practitioners are qualified to a Level 3 or above and hold a paediatric first aid certificate. The maximum number of children per adult in any room is 1:8, which is lower than you would normally find in a school nursery.
Health and Safety
Your child’s health and safety is paramount and we ensure the highest level of safety and security in our nurseries. A register of attendance is completed in every room during every session, so we are aware of who is in the building at all times. Risk assessments are carried out daily, weekly and annually within the nursery, outdoors and for outings. To ensure we can monitor access in and out of the nursery we do not use intercom systems. We feel that by having staff answer the front door we always know who is being let in and out of the building ensuring the upmost safety for the children in our care. We also enjoy welcoming children and their families into the nursery and feel it provides a more friendly and homely environment.
Meal Times
We believe it is very important to encourage social skills at meal times as you would at home and the children are encouraged to serve themselves, although support and supervision is maintained. Children are also encouraged to try new things and eat a healthy, balanced diet. Our menus are planned in advance on a three week schedule. All of our meals are freshly prepared on the premises by our cook, Fiona, and the menu is displayed in the nursery porch. Special diets are catered for where possible.
Special educational needs and medical conditions
We cater for children who have special educational needs within our nursery and Connie & Abi are our Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCO). We have excellent links with a wide range of external agencies and professionals. We also support children with a wide range of medical needs. Our staff have had a range of experience and training in supporting children with a variety of additional needs, and we access additional training as necessary to support individual children.
Safeguarding
We have a safeguarding and child protection policy in place and Connie & Leanne are our Designated Safeguarding Leads. If you have any concerns about a child you can speak to Connie or Leanne or contact firstcontact@durham.gov.uk or call them on 03000 267 979.
Alternatively you can contact Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership on 03000 265 770 or dial 999 in an emergency.
complaints and compliments
We love to hear your feedback on our nursery and you can talk to your child's key person and there is always a senior member of staff on the premises who you can speak to at anytime. We also keep a record of compliments and complaints onsite and if you feel we have not dealt with your feedback satisfactorily you can contact Ofsted directly on 0300 123 1231.
Ofsted
Our Nursery is registered and inspected by Ofsted and if you would like to contact Ofsted regarding our nursery their helpline is 0300 123 1231 and their address is: Ofsted, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD. Our last Ofsted inspection was in October 2017 and is available to look at on the Ofsted website, we were graded ‘outstanding’. Click here to view the report
What our parents say
