children over 3 years
We support all aspects of your child's development so that they can reach their full potential
For children aged three to five years we follow a broad play-based Foundation Stage curriculum that allows your child to progress at his or her own rate. It supports development of communication skills, co-operation and collaboration with others to give them confidence to participate in their environment and the activities on offer.
key person
An important element of our childcare and education philosophy is the role of our staff and their relationship with you and your child. A secure environment with effective adult support allows them to explore and investigate. Children can practice and develop ideas, concepts and skills in a unique and non-threatening way, without fear of failure. We use our 'key person' approach as a way of enabling and supporting close attachments between a member of staff and you and your child.
observation
We believe that careful planning is required if play is to be high quality. Staff will interact with your child in order to support and extend learning through knowledge and understanding. They will make suggestions, ask questions and talk informally with them, introducing new vocabulary and concepts. They will participate, demonstrate, offer choices and encourage your child to try out new skills, allowing them to experiment, encourage persistence when things get difficult, and inspire them. Every aspect of their learning is equally important and interdependent. At the start of a typical day, our staff will set up the nursery before the children arrive so that they can become involved in their choice of activity immediately, rather than waiting for others. They will introduce new and different experiences such as planting spring bulbs in the garden or converting the role play area into a den or a hospital in response to children's interests. They will reflect on, and evaluate activities in order to plan future play effectively. Staff will keep areas safe and tidy, and encourage children to return the things they have finished with to their rightful places.
play and learning
Play supports all aspects of your child's development. Children learn by doing, by being given appropriate responsibility and when they are allowed to make decisions, choices and errors. We respect and enable children to become autonomous and competent learners. They can decide what area of the nursery they would prefer to play in, select which materials to play with, how to use them and decide when to help themselves to a drink from the self service drinks table. We want to foster curiosity and retain a sense of awe and wonder so that our children are enthusiastic about new things; so important as they progress through school. Our experience is that our children are calmer and more engaged in activities when they have solid experiences from which to learn. It is also a foundation for the development of more abstract thinking: conversation, questioning and experimentation improve so that we see learning actually taking place.
environment
We know that you are especially interested in how we support a child's emerging literacy skills. We ensure that print is all around them in the form of books, posters, labels on shelves and names on pegs. We use writing materials in all areas within the nursery so that we take literacy to the children rather than waiting for them to access it. This helps to foster a positive attitude to reading and writing and encourages them to experiment by making up shopping lists, filling in forms and writing letters and stories.
partnership with parents
You want the very best for your child and we will work in partnership with you to achieve this. We will talk to you about their experiences and development, and discuss our observations and plans for them, both verbally and in your child's 'Individual Learning Journal'. Not only is this an extremely useful document for the reception teacher when your child moves to school, but is a concise record of your child's progress. Parents are central to their child's wellbeing and development and, as many activities at nursery will go unseen by you, the journal offers a wonderful insight into your child's time at nursery, as if you were there yourself!
children with special needs
Children with special needs will find themselves a valued member of the community at an Asquith Day Nursery. They follow the same curriculum, but with all the extra help they need to learn at their own pace. Other children in their group will be encouraged to help but not patronise them, and to be considerate without being over protective. Activities will be structured to allow them to be as fully involved as possible.
We would like to share these important years of your child's life with you and help give them the best possible beginning. We hope to welcome you to our nursery very soon.
