Our Nursery
Take A Virtual Tour
of our Nursery
A safe and clean environment for your child to spend all day, everyday.
Little steps that count
(10 months to 2 years)
Little steps that count
(12 months to 2 years)
Babies & Toddlers
Where Little Steps Come First…
The babies and toddlers need lots of early interaction. We encourage this through circle times, singing songs and rhymes, reading books in a group and individually. Our cosy corner helps children to feel secure along with plenty of love and cuddles, helping children to feel happy and confident.
We provide activities for children that encourage them to use their senses, a range of sensory baskets help them to explore colours, shape and texture.
We also encourage children to take part in messy activities, which can be calming for children. They learn essential skills such as exploring and questioning, which helps to develop creative thinking skills that will be useful as they learn and grow. They discover new things through play and trial and error.
Our early ICT toys encourage children’s communication and language skills along with developing an imagination through pretend play, e.g. Speaking on a telephone, pressing buttons and using real equipment such as iPads and cameras allow children to explore and develop early technology skills.
Big steps towards the Future
(2 years to 5 years)
Pre-School Childcare
Learning to leap…
The Big Steps room is extremely fun and exciting. We have children from 2 to 5 years of age. Children of this age are encouraged to be independent learners, with adults modelling good behaviour and social interactions. We encourage children to explore and learn through play and focus activities and we track their progress through our online learning journals, which are available for the parents to see and add inputs. We take into account all of our children’s interests and ensure that they enjoy learning new things through focus activities and free play.
Children learn in a variety of ways, through playing in a small group, one-to-one and through circle times where we have group discussions about our environment, new things we have learnt about our world such as weather changes, transitions and family events such as birthday and new arrivals.
We take pride in supporting our pre-schoolers prepare for school, by introducing simple math, writing and reading skills.
Big steps towards the Future
(2 years to 5 years)
Life in a day at the Nursery
(2 years to 5 years)
Life in a day at the Nursery
One step after another…
The daily routine is very important for children, parents and the staff. However, we firmly believe that in order to provide more individualised care and higher quality one-to-one interaction, we need to have systems in place allowing us to respond to children’s requirements, showing flexibility and understanding. Naturally, children’s physical needs in relation to feeding, sleeping, nappy changing, etc. have an impact on the routine, and careful planning the learning and play activities around them is essential.
We work closely with parents so that we can enhance our understanding of every child’s home environment and try to simulate it as closely as possible. We feel, in this way we can support each child’s development personally and effectively.
A Typical Day at Little Stepping Stones
One step at a time…
Drop-off and Breakfast
(08:00 – 09:00 am)
At the start of each day, children are welcomed in and parents have the opportunity to update the nursery team on their child. We place great importance on teaching children how to become independent and confident, hence children are encouraged to put their own coat/bag away, self-register and self-serve their choice of breakfast. The child’s Key Person sits with the children and promotes good eating habits at all meal times.
Circle Time | Song / Story Time
(09:15 – 09:30 am)
Children are called to the carpet by a familiar song, and the Staff explains what the children will be doing that day.
Focus Activity | Inside & Outside
(09:30 – 10:00 am)
Key Persons plan activities for each of their children each day, that they feel will benefit their child’s development. The Key Person sits with the children and encourages them to learn new skills as well as develop their existing ones. Activities may include role-play, sensory or creative activities, mark making, math and shape based toys, and social games and puzzles. We encourage children to share, take turns and look after their toys and their friends. A snack is provided during the activities and children can come and choose what healthy snack they would like to have.
Lunchtime
(11:45 – 12:45 pm)
Lunch is a sociable time where children and their Key Person sit together in their Key Groups and have the opportunity to talk about the day and about what they are having for lunch.
Handover
(12:45 – 13:15 pm)
At this time, parents will start to arrive to collect/drop off their children from/for the morning/afternoon sessions. Each parent will be given a Daily Report Sheet with all the information about their child’s day, and their child’s Key Person will have the opportunity to talk to parents.
Circle Time | Song / Story Time
(13:15 – 13:30 pm)
Similar to the morning Circle Time, children are welcomed in. We talk about the morning and how we spent our time as well as what we have planned for the afternoon.
Focus Activity | Inside & Outside
(13:30 – 15:00 pm)
New activities will be set up to suit the children’s needs, much the same as the morning Focus Activities.
Tea Time
(15:00 – 15:30 pm)
Children sit down together for a healthy light tea, sometimes they are able to make their own tea such as wraps or they bake something sweet for pudding! Dietary requirements are taken into account and staff model good eating habits and table manners.
Free Play
(15:30 – 17:00 pm)
Children now have Free Play – During this time the children choose their own activities and play with their classmates, sometimes having more recreational activities such as soft play, sing-song time or learn using the iPads in our ICT area.
Home Time
(17:00 – 18:00 pm)
Parents & Carers come to collect their children at this time. Each parent is given a Daily Report Sheet with all the information about their child’s day, including how they have eaten and what they have learnt. Key Persons have an opportunity to chat with parents about any significant achievements their child has made throughout the day.
Outdoors Play
Children enjoy going to the park, library and the shopping centre on a regular basis. We take them to play Teddy Tennis a few times a week, where they learn new skills with the help of a Tennis coach – how to hit a ball, hold a bat, listening skills and working in a team.
Toileting
All our children are encouraged to be independent with their self-care, they learn to wash their hands, face and have easy access to toilets throughout the day. Staff work with parents and carers to toilet train children and supervise them at all times and encourage them and praise them for good hygiene.
Partnership with Parents
Regular reports and peace of mind…
Learning to leap…
To be able to create an inspiring, happy and educational atmosphere between the children and our staff, we encourage parents to develop a close partnership with us, as we consider this to be one of the most important elements contributing to each child’s overall well-being and development.
Only with the involvement of all parties in creating a relaxed, safe and stimulating environment is our nursery able to flourish and so benefit every child personally. Parents can be reassured that any information received from them is strictly confidential.
Parents are also welcome to participate in ‘settling-in’ sessions during which a gradual adjustment to the new environment is supported by their presence offering them greater peace of mind. Regular meetings with parents create an opportunity to exchange information and discuss individual progress and behaviour in more detail.
