Play & Learning
The nursery is run by a very professional, friendly and caring team, many of whom have been with us for several years, each bringing different skills and experiences to the nursery, with all staff members having the interests of the children and parents at heart.
Our staff care for small groups of children, in accordance with Government guidelines, to ensure your child receives sufficient care, attention, play and learning activities (not to mention lots of hugs and snuggles!)
Although part of the larger nursery community, the children are encouraged to participate in smaller groups to promote their social skills, personal and emotional development and learning, with enthusiasm and confidence. Our Early Years Teacher, Mrs. Goodwin, mainly focuses on working with individuals and small groups within preschool, to provide extra curriculum support when required and to ensure school readiness in the older children.
Each child is allocated their own keyworker who, although not necessarily supervising your child 100% of the time, will closely monitor your child’s progress and help to provide a continuity of care so as to reduce any potential anxiety caused by separation from their parents/carers. The keyworker will also be the main point of contact for the family, enabling personal relationships to be built between the child, key worker and the parent/carer. A record of how your child is developing will be recorded and monitored by your child’s key worker. As the child’s parent/carer you may have online access to these at all times.
Toddle In aims to provide a safe environment where children will have fun and make friends. Children can explore and learn through creative and imaginative play, of both a structured and unstructured nature. Their opportunities for free play enable them to make their own decisions and develop their independence. In turn parents and carers can feel assured that their child is in good hands.
Activities will vary according to individual needs and the children’s ages and will cover many aspects of learning. Available activities include sand play, water play, clay and dough, cooking, role play, reading and writing activities, creative activities, construction, toys, jigsaws, small world activities and music and movement activities, amongst others.
Pre school children are visited weekly and offered the opportunity to participate in French lessons, dance classes and soccer skills (extra charge applies). They also have the opportunity to visit the elderly residents of a local care home where they join in with dancing, singing and games.
We love to get out and about to explore our community and local environment whenever possible (higher staff ratios apply) and love to visit local parks, shops and markets, the pet shop, the library, the vets and sometimes even further afield by bus or train. Our school leavers also get a Christmas trip to the local pantomime and a summers day out at Thornton Hall Farm.
We also enjoy welcoming visitors who can teach us more about the world in which we live. Some of our many visitors have included the fire brigade, local police officers as well as police dogs, a lolly pop lady, a dental nurse, an ice cream van, a magician and the creepy crawly roadshow. We’ve even been visited by Spider-Man! And every Christmas, we also get a visit from Father Christmas!
Throughout their time at Toddle In, each child will have their own personal online profile (Tapestry) compiled which will contain evidence of their progress and samples of work for them to take with them when starting school.
Tapestry builds a very special record of a child’s experiences and journey through their early years, using an online learning journal designed and developed specifically for EYFS. Using photos, videos and diary entries, Our staff, along with you as parents, ‘weave’ the story of each child and how they are progressing. The Tapestry platform then works seamlessly to enable these memories to be kept as a permanent record of each child’s unique life. All information held in the platform is kept securely, and can be downloaded and shared as required. Parents are able to view their child’s progress, and how much fun they’re having – online, through the platform as nurseries share observations. Parents can also upload their own thoughts and comments.