Toddler room is full of fun and we encourage learning through play.  Our aim is for Toddlers to develop skills, confidence and build relationships. We recognise it is important for children to explore their own interests and surroundings while playing. The Toddlers are given a choice of activities daily, but we also plan activities based on the children’s interests and next steps.  Practitioners are spontaneous throughout the day and are ready to take the lead from the children.

In Toddlers the children are around 18 months – 30 months.  In Toddlers we encourage independence and toilet training, the children are encouraged to say please and thank you. Toddlers are encouraged to drink from an open ‘Doidy’ cup with handles and eat with a spoon and fork.

As part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) it is good practise to assign each child a key carer, we do this in every room within the nursery, although we very much work as a team and all practitioners get to know the children in our setting. We extend toddlers development by providing good activities that link to our curriculum, we have topics for toddlers to enjoy and we create artwork with them where they use different skills. Practitioners encourage and model good language to toddlers, at this age we expect to see their vocabulary grow, we read stories and sing lots of nursery rhymes to help with language skills. 

We ensure toys and puzzles extend from the play they have had in baby room to encourage progression.  We provide many toys where the parts connect so toddlers must work out how to build, we have small word play to encourage imagination and language.  Toddlers play outside each day where possible, we have a mud kitchen, water play, a slide, diggers, small bikes and much more.  Sensory play such as playdough, water, sand or pasta play is always available to toddlers and this is often linked to the home corner for the toddlers to transfer their play between the two.

In Toddlers all food is provided, we cater for food allergies, intolerances and other dietary needs, we ask parents to provide nappies, wipes and cream.  The children have a bag containing spare clothes that can be left on their peg for their nursery week.  We ask for a pair of wellies and a puddle suit for the autumn/winter months and sun cream and a hat for the summer months.

When we think your child is ready to toilet train we will have a discussion with you, or if you feel they are ready to try please raise this with us and we can work together. During this time we will need extra spare clothes. Toddlers have water available to them throughout the day and we encourage them to drink regularly.  We ask for family photos to go on our ‘Caught on camera’ display, we talk to the children about who people are in their family which they enjoy.

A statutory requirement of the EYFS is that we complete a ‘2 year old progress check’ between the age of two to two and a half.  Practitioners in Toddler room will complete this collaboratively and then arrange a good time to meet with parents to talk about your child’s development.  We will have recognised ‘next steps’ to work towards with your child and share them with you.

When we feel Toddlers are ready physically, emotionally, are toilet trained and have enough language to communicate with others toddlers will slowly visit middle room for a few weeks to settle in, practitioners carry out a good handover of the child’s needs and share important information. 

So then Toddlers move to Middle room!

Our Middle room is a large bright room which is situated in the middle of our nursery.  The children in Middle room range in age from 2.5 years to 3.5 years.  Children in Middles are encouraged to become more independent and cement good manners and toileting habits.  At mealtimes children are moved on from using a spoon and fork to a small knife and fork, pour their own water and drink from an open cup.

Practitioners in Middles provide the children with a variety of experiences.  They love to go walking through the local woods when possible encouraging the children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development. Middles play outside in our nursery garden where we have a climbing frame with slide, large building blocks, a mud kitchen, herb garden, bug hotel, diggers with stones.  The garden has a story tellers circle under a pavilion where Middles like to share stories and the nursery as whole group meet to sing and celebrate achievements. 

As part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework it is good practise to assign each child a key carer, we do this in every room within the nursery, although we very much work as a team and all practitioners get to know the children in our setting.   

Middle room is more structured than our Toddler room and the children spend time at tabletop activities and adult led activities. Middle room has a home corner, book corner, art area and painting easel, water tray and there are many small world toys, children have choice as well as planned activities provided for them.  The children develop early maths skills and language, they play with water filling and emptying, floating and sinking objects.  The children in Middles have stories read to them daily and sing lots of nursery rhymes, we use stories and singing to encourage and develop the children’s communication and language skills. Practitioners model good language to teach the children the correct way.  New to the children moving into Middle room is ‘circle time’, this is adult led where the children all sit on the carpet in the morning and sing our ‘hello song’ and talk about what day it is, what the weather is like, our feelings and recognise their name which is on their photo card.  Within circle time practitioners read the book of the week, this could be linked to a topic middles are enjoying. The children in Middle room start to use scissors and are encouraged to try and use them independently as for many this is a tricky skill to learn.  Turn taking games are led by adults to encourage and teach the children to play confidently in a group showing respect for one another and learning good social skills.

Children in Middles eat and sleep/rest in middle room, they sit socially around the table with their own personalised place mat for lunch and snack times.  The children in Middles sleep on a mat on the floor with their own bed bag of bedding (changed weekly).  The children are encouraged to dress and undress themselves at sleep/rest time teaching them self-help skills.  Children in Middle room are also taught to use the toilet independently and wash their hands and face, a practitioner is always there to help and guide them if needed.

Middles are then ready to move to Bigs our pre-school room!

Bigs is our pre-school room, it is the room the children spend their last year with us before they leave us to go to school.  The children are 3-4 years old and all in the same academic year group.  Bigs spend a part of their morning having ‘learning time’ where their activities are structured, and they are encouraged to sit at the table to complete tasks set.  This could be puzzle based, drawing, peg boards, unifix bricks, number work, phonic based games and other activities that encourage the children to sit and concentrate as much as they can.  After learning time the children play outside or play with the other toys available to them within their room, they have a good range of art and sensory equipment and are encouraged to use their imagination and play together socially.  Topic work is carried out in Bigs where they learn facts and features about this for example, space, seasonal, cultural, people who help us or life cycles.  As Bigs are our eldest children they are given some small responsibilities, they help staff with small jobs, this could be taking clean bibs to Baby room or taking a message to someone, they enjoy this greatly. The Bigs go walking when they can as a group, they enjoy our local fields situated behind the nursery or they can access the Rye park. 

One of the most important parts of our pre-school room is ensuring the children are ready for going to school, this means teaching independence in many areas, dressing, toileting, eating, expressing themselves using words, trying to solve their own conflicts where they can, practitioners are always on hand when the children need help but we want them to try for themselves first.  We encourage a love of learning where the children can express themselves and be confident learners.  We focus on involving as much language and literacy into every aspect of what the children do, this includes learning poems, reading lots of stories to the children and singing new songs. We show them how to hold a pencil correctly, they are taught to write when they start school, but we will show them how to write some letters.

Bigs have lunch in their room where they drink from and open cup, use a larger knife and fork and pour their own drinks, they then rest and have quiet time after lunch.  The afternoon in Bigs is more relaxed where the children can free play as they wish.              

As part of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) it is good practise to assign each child a key carer, we do this in every room within the nursery, although we very much work as a team and all practitioners get to know the children in our setting.   We follow the EYFS and all our learning is planned around meeting these goals so the children get a well rounded start to their education. Bigs perform a nativity play at Christmas time, they learn new songs at this time and all have the chance to be a character in the play. In the summer Bigs enjoy a sports day where the children learn to work as a team.  At the end of the academic year Bigs will also have a Graduation celebration, these are all events where parents can attend.  Practitioners in Bigs liaise well with the school the children are moving onto, this could be via a phone call or some teachers come and visit the children in our setting.  A written report always goes to the school from us where we share your child’s strengths with their new teacher.

Bigs are now ready to leave us to move onto their school, we wish them good luck!