Seesaw 1
"The goal of early childhood education should be to cultivate the child's own desire to learn."
We are a 40 place nursery close to the town centre and take children from when they are babies until they go to school.
We have a reputation for flexibility as we try and provide a service to meet the diverse needs of the modern parent. We offer full or part time care, and attending in school holiday times is optional. Children are provided with a healthy snack and we cook lunches and teas on the premises. Children may bring a packed lunch.
The nursery hours are from 8 am to 6 pm and is open 50 weeks of the year, closing for a week at Christmas and again at Easter. This does not incur an added fee, although holidays taken in school term time are charged for.
We are in receipt of workplace vouchers, and government entitlement for 15 and 30 hours. The government entitlement hours can be used mornings, afternoons or all day, but with a minimum of 2 1⁄2 hours over a morning or afternoon session.
Pre School
We follow the early years foundation stage curriculum. This is planned for in an imaginative way designed to stimulate the natural desire for children to play and learn. At this age, the children initiate much of the fun for themselves and really begin to enjoy nursery life! Emphasis is put on the children enjoying and learning in the outdoor spaces that we have enriched with lots of learning opportunities.
We use the Development Matters in the early years foundation stage curriculum which is tailored to meet the needs of each individual child. It covers the 7 areas of learning which are as follows: Personal, Social and Emotional, Physical, Communication and Language, Understanding of the World, Mathematics, Expressive Arts and Literacy.
We actively encourage parents to be involved in this learning process by contributing to their ‘learning journal’ which documents each child’s progress through examples of work, photo’s and observations.We have a ‘hands on’ approach to learning which encompasses the characteristics of effective learning;
Playing and Exploring - investigating materials and ideas through explorationActive Learning – encouraging trying, involvement and achieving, creating and thinking critically – considering their own ideas, making links and choosing ways to do things. We also plan short trips into the local community and invite people into our setting like the police, lollypop person, or a visit to the local fire station.
As part of our commitment to create an environment which children progress and thrive, we have employed a senior manager with a BA Hons in early years to support and mentor all staff. This enables us to engage with the children through small group work on a regular basis.
Tiny Tots
The tiny tots at Seesaw 1 are aged from 1 to around 3 years old. They are looked after on a ratio of 1 adult to 3 or 4 children depending on whether they are in the older or younger group. For most of the children this is the first time they have been cared for outside their families and the initial priority is to help them to settle in and become familiar and confident in their new surroundings. Generally they are celebrating their new found agility and have to be given lots of opportunity to practice their physical skills, running, jumping, crawling and climbing.
Much of this takes place in the garden which they have access to in all weathers. Many of the skills that form a firm foundation to becoming an independent learner begin in this group.
They are learning to sit up to eat, feed themselves, try new foods, use a potty and how to communicate with adults and other children. Playing co-operatively with other children is also learned in this group ready for the firm friendships that form when they are in pre school.
