Little Cedars Day Nursery

Babies have their own specific area at the nursery where they can enjoy exploring and learning through play. The well-equipped Baby Room is thoughtfully designed and allows them to settle in gently in a very peaceful, welcoming environment. The room is stimulating but tranquil and includes multi-sensory equipment, a baby-only play area and a large variety of high quality toys for the babies to interact with. The Baby Room has a very high staff-to-baby ratio, with a minimum of one staff member to every three babies. In this way, close relationships can be formed, babies receive the attention and care that’s so essential at this young age and learning opportunities can be maximised. Each child at Little Cedars is assigned their own ‘key worker’ who closely monitors the progress of learning and development for that child. Part of this includes a progress folder that is regularly maintained, forming a continuous record that parents can access at any time.

Toddlers between a year old and 2 years of age have their own, designated area called ‘First Steppers’. Here, they have every opportunity to learn and develop to each of their best abilities, using an enormous range of high quality toys, educational tools and resources. A key focus is on development of their gross and fine motor skills including hand-eye coordination, movement, manual skills and balance. This is important during the earliest of years because movement and physical activities are known to play significant roles in the creation of new nerve connections in young brains. First Steppers also introduces children to activities like listening to music, enjoying sensory experiences and social interaction with other children. These help the toddlers with early communication skills (listening, understanding, speaking etc.) and indeed the children will usually learn their first words during this early phase at the nursery.

Children aged from two to just over 3 spend their time in our spacious Toddler zone. This consists of a number of different areas, which span both indoors and outdoors. These are very varied in nature and include distinct areas for mark-making, messy/creative play, construction and quiet reading. There is also a sensory area to explore and a very popular role-play zone. From indoors children can move freely to the outside spaces, which are equally well equipped with a huge variety of outdoor playing and learning equipment. The nature of each zone is regularly adapted so that children remain excited and engaged by the activities, equipment and resources available. Indeed, specific playing and learning activities and their exact make-up are guided the nursery key workers, who will have identified the individual interests and needs of every child. Once children reach the age of two, they each have a Progress Check, which is part of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework requirements for early years education and care. This important written assessment reports on each child’s developmental and educational progress to date, which parents are invited to discuss with their child’s key worker.

At the age of 3, children move to the Pre-School Room. It is here that they prepare most for transitioning to school at age 5. This is achieved using the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework for education and care, which helps nursery staff guide every child towards their personal bests in terms of education, social development and ability. Lesson plans and play activities are tailored for each child in order to accomplish this. A key focus is, of course, on literacy and numeracy; however the EYFS curriculum covers a much wider gamut of learning and development including arts and crafts, music, dance, IT, communication, comprehension, physical development (motor skills, physical fitness etc.), role-play and much more. The children finish nursery with greatly enhanced skills and abilities as well as well-developed social skills, improved self-esteem and independence. Ultimately, this phase builds a fantastic foundation for every child, enabling them to ‘hit the ground running’ when they start school.