Nursery areas
3 months to Rising 2 years
Little Nurture Group at Penrith
Buttercups Suite at the Meadows
At each nursery our practitioners in the room are baby specialists and operate a 1:3 ratio.
Our Baby Rooms are spacious and carefully planned so that our children are nurtured and provided with a safe, calm and responsive atmosphere to develop positive attachments and form their first relationships with other adults and peers and this reinforces and develops key attachments which are vital for their personal, social and emotional development.
Our babies are provided with a wide variety of sensory activities to stimulate them and encourage their curiosity and exploratory impulses as they make sense of the world around them. Practitioners support babies' in-built language abilities by talking and listening to them and tuning in to their needs. Our nurseries are both Sing and Sign affiliated and practitioners use signing to support baby communication through “say it and sign it”.
At Kiddlywinks we follow your babies’ routines at home as much as possible which we take from you during the settling sessions.
The babies have their own designated sleep room which is attached to our baby room.
We provide messy and textured play activities to introduce our babies to new experiences which use all their senses. This could include; play dough, shaving foam, jelly, dry rice, wet and dry pasta, “gloop”, paint, sand and water play. We offer simple problem solving and schematic activities to encourage babies to explore and learn through repetition and positive experiences. Our babies are encouraged to learn through positive reinforcement and praise, and the activities we provide allow for this to happen at all times. We provide plenty of books with quiet places where conversations and book sharing can take place. Babies listen to music, songs and rhymes (repetition is helpful) and make music, all of which are beneficial activities for developing speech, language and communication skills. Music is powerful because babies learn to listen out for different parts of the song. We offer a selection of instruments for older babies to shake or bang. Games (e.g. peek-a-boo) help a baby to learn about turn-taking in conversation.
Mirrors are a useful resource and are used in games that focus on the baby's face or features.
We take the babies to our garden or learning meadow outdoors to enjoy the fresh air and to introduce them to the world around them. At our Penrith nursery our budding explorers are provided with an abundance of walks within the local community such as the local park, cafes, pet stores and the local town and library. Whilst over at The Meadows babies enjoy rural walks and visits to Rheged to explore soft play and engage socially in the hustle and bustle of the community.
Regular baby weaning and nutritious snacks and drinks are provided for the babies during the morning and afternoon sessions, as well as individual children having their bottles as per their home routine.
We have daily reports that can be accessed through our nursery diary App that give you information about nappy changes, food, activities they have done and any other information required.
An individual learning journal is maintained for each child by their key people, and their individual targets and progress will be recorded through this. All of the babies in this room are provided with well planned activities that are tailored to their abilities and individual needs, which enables them to grow in confidence and feel secure in the environment.
Your baby will enjoy being able to explore:
- A cosy area for snuggling and books
- Creative play (finger paint and gloop)
- Sensory play including music and sounds
- Treasure baskets filled with natural materials
- Physical play as they become more mobile
Little Nurture Group at Penrith
Buttercups Suite at The Meadows
18 Months to Rising 3 years
Moovers and Groovers Suites at Penrith
Daisies exploration Studio at The Meadows
Our spacious carefully planned environments provide a vast array of free flow access to provide plenty of room for young children to explore and mix together while learning through play.
Our Toddler Rooms are fun and set in a sensitively stimulating and safe environment where children are supported and encouraged to learn and develop at their own pace. It consists of defined areas which are well resourced and suitable for the age and stage of the children in the room. Activities are planned to meet the individual needs of our children while simple challenges help to develop self-esteem and foster a sense of accomplishment as they progress across all areas of learning.
As the children in the baby room progress, children begin to show an increasing independence and obvious pleasure in moving, communicating and learning through play, children become ready for new challenges and increased social engagement as they begin to develop their skills and abilities in enjoying playing with other children. Children reach this milestone at different times and as a result we plan transitions for children into the toddler room when they are emotional ready to do so. This can be any time from 18 months onwards Through discussion with parents we will arrange inductions for the child to gently introduce them to the toddler rooms and carefully take the lead from the child to make transitions smooth and happy for them.
In the toddlers room children have a slightly more structured routine to their day whilst learning through a wide range of fun activities and experiences planned for their continued learning and development by all the toddlers’ teachers but particularly their key person who will get to know them really well.
Around this age children display a greater competence at moving and talking and pretending. They are amazingly self motivated and have a built in natural desire to be curious and inquisitive. As they are given freedom to explore and experiment, they learn through first hand experiences whilst they make sense of not only themselves as a unique person but of the world around them. They also show increased confidence in themselves and their skills at making relationships, learning about emotions, and the impact they have on others and the pleasure of beginning to engage in two way play with a like minded friend.
The general routine of the Toddler room incorporates time for music and movement sessions, developing social routines and life skill, outdoor play, quiet time, cookery, creative play, independent free play, as well as adult led activities that ignite new interests and maximise learning potential.
The children in the toddler room are able to explore, investigate and learn throughout their day without pressure and at their own pace. Dependant on which nursery they attend they all get time in the nursery’s garden, learning meadow, mud kitchen and soft surfaced activity play courtyards. These environments and resources will provide them with an outdoor extension to their indoor activities.
Our local community is very important to us and we make use of the many opportunities that are available to us. The children will be involved in regular walks around the local community and engage in outings to the local, shops, cafes, green spaces and businesses. They will also have the opportunity to partake in activities that are provided by outside professionals such as Sing and Sign, Zoo Lab and local services like the police and fire service visits.
Busy little people often still require sleeps and under the watchful eye of their designated team children can rest and refuel using our toddler beds, in preparation for their next adventure!
Potty Training
At this age some children will be experiencing the change from nappies to potties and toilets.
The Nursery team can support you during this time of transition and work together to support the unique needs of your child. We also provide books that parents can borrow to introduce their child to Potty Training.
Whatever the challenge, you can be assured that our staff are well trained, motivated and committed and work alongside parents/carers during this transition.
Moovers and Groovers at Penrith
Daisies Exploration Studio at The Meadows
Rising 3 years - 5 years
Pre School Suites at Penrith
The Primroses at The Meadows
The Pre-school suites provide environments that promote curiosity, wonder and awe, where children can take their own ideas and follow their own interests whilst carefully skilled practitioners sensitively teach and enable children to extend their knowledge and skills. It provides a busy, friendly environment in which children have the opportunity to form friendships and build on their knowledge and understanding.
We provide activities for the children that enable them to develop skills which will be used in later life, namely social and communication skills.
We take a holistic approach to learning, recognising that children often cover lots of areas of learning in the course of doing one activity. We support children to be successful in their early literacy skills by ensuring they are immersed in a “language rich” environment. This includes interest tables, areas for children to mark make and “write” throughout the provision so that they are able to understand the value of communicating through the written word.
We have a two way community library and select a “Book of the Month” to spark children’s interest in literacy and plan exciting, educational and stimulating activities around this to inspire children too. Social skills are further enhanced but we ensure that children’s unique and individual personalities are celebrated to enable them to have the confidence to contribute within the room, to make friendships and to engage with adults. Of course, our educational approach is combined with care and attention to every child. We encourage and support children to explore arts, music, dance and technology to develop their learning further. We provide opportunities for children to be excited about mathematics and science, to problem solve and find things out for themselves, as well as enriching and scaffolding their learning.
Our approach and rich learning environments ensure that the seven key areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage are fully covered. Children have individual assessments throughout the year which monitors and reviews their progress and gives us the opportunity to include you in how, together, we can continue to ensure that they make progress during their time at our nursery - supporting their future. We make learning fun so that our children feel positive about learning and feel confident and competent, as this will enable them to succeed at school and beyond.
