Staff who love little people

"The staff are always very friendly and welcoming and they all have a fantastic relationship with my son.  Through their excellent care and range of activities it has been a pleasure to see my son develop" J Church (parent).

We are very proud of our staff. We will only ever have staff caring for your child who we know are passionate about little people and excited to spend time each day with your child getting to know them and helping them to learn and grow. Our staff are kind and gentle, will never shout at your child and are properly trained in being an excellent role model to the children. We work on the basis of promoting positive behaviour rather than managing bad behaviour and the children thrive in this environment.

We follow Ofsted’s requirement to have enhanced CRB checks (the highest level of checks currently available) on all our staff including the nursery cooks and even our nursery caretakers. References are also always properly checked so we know who we are employing. If ever we have other people visiting the nursery, such as students or dance or french teachers or Zoolabs vets bringing in animals for the children to see, they are never left alone with the children.

 All our staff have qualifications in childcare and we encourage and sponsor all our staff to study for further qualifications. Many of them are already qualified to degree level or above in education or childcare or are currently studying for their Foundation Degree in Early Years childcare.

 We sponsor all our staff getting a paediatric first aid qualification and support anyone who wishes to develop a specialism in any aspect of childcare.

 In addition it’s very important to us that we can be sure that our staff all know their job so every month we do a staff training programme which reviews our policies and procedures and the curriculum. We ask the staff to review different aspects of their job, maybe do some practical projects and then test their knowledge.

 We will always ensure we have the following ratios of staff to children in each room:

Babies                              1 : 3

Toddlers   (age1-2)            1 : 3

Tweenies  (age2-3)            1 : 4

Preschool  (age 3+)           1 : 8

 Key person system

 Every child at the nursery has a member of staff who they will spend special time with and build a special bond with. This is their Key Person. The key person knows your child really well and will ensure your child feels cared for and safe and secure.

 The key person will help with settling in to nursery and respond sensitively to your child’s needs. They will usually attend to your child’s nappy changes or toileting, feeds and need for cuddles or someone to talk to. They will help your child build relationships with other staff and children in the nursery. They will usually be the person to feedback to you on how your child’s day at nursery has been.

 The key person will also monitor your child’s progress and do regular observations to ensure your child’s progress is appropriate for their age. They will ensure that your child’s individual interests are included in the weekly and daily planning.

 When moving up a room their key person will work closely with the staff in the new room to ensure a seamless handover to a new key person and make sure the move is a fun and exciting experience for the child (usually children can’t wait to join the bigger children in the next room!!)