Nursery

Welcome to Mersea Island School Nursery
Welcome to Mersea Island School Nursery and thank you for registering your child with us.
 

We know how important your child is and aim to deliver the highest quality of care and education to help them to achieve their best.
 

We would like to provide you with an introduction to Mersea Island School Nursery, routines, our approach to supporting your child’s learning and development and how we aim to work together with you to best meet your child’s individual needs.
 

Our setting aims to:
 Provide high quality care and education for children below statutory school age;
 Work in partnership with parents to help children to learn and develop;
 Add to the life and well-being of the local community;
 Offer children and their parents a service that promotes equality and values diversity.
 

The staff:
Mrs Rosemary Ward EYP (level 6) & SENco
Mrs Daisie Deeks (level 3 working towards level 4)
Mrs Sarah Bloomfield (level 3)

How parents take part in the setting:

Our setting recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of the staff see themselves as partners with parents in providing care and education for their child. There are many ways in which parents can take part in making the setting a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:
 Exchange knowledge about their children’s needs, activities interests and progress with the staff;

 Contributing to the progress check at age two;
 Sharing their own special interests with the children;
 Helping to provide, make and look after the equipment and materials used in the children’s play activities.
 Taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum provided by the setting;
 Joining in community activities in which the setting takes part;
 Building friendships with other parents in the setting

Children’s development and learning:
We aim to ensure that each child:
 Is in a safe and stimulating environment;
 Is given generous care and attention, because of our ratio of qualified staff to children.
 has the chance to join with other children and adults to live, play, work and learn together;
 Is encouraged to take forward her/his learning and development by being helped to build on what she/he already knows and can do.
 Has a personal key person who makes sure each child makes satisfying progress;
 Is in a setting that sees parents as partners in helping each child to learn and develop;
 Is in a setting in which parents help to shape the service it offers.

How we at Mersea Island School Nursery provide for development and learning:
Our curriculum drivers are based on

Care
Aspiration
Respect
Enjoyment

Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by our setting helps children to continue to do this by providing all of the children with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. We have a shared view that our children will achieve to the very best each day and we will equip the children with the life skills to be successful, kind and respectful members of the world.

We are open for 38 weeks each year.

Our opening times are: 8.45 – 11.45 (morning session)
11.45 – 12.15 (lunch)
12.15 – 3.15 (afternoon session)
We provide care and education for young children between the ages of two and five years.

Tapestry
Using a piece of educational software called ‘Tapestry’ every child will have their own individual learning journal. By logging on with a secure username and password you will be able to access your child’s journal. Parents are only able to view their own child’s journal and all information is stored on a highly secure server, which is monitored closely.
We know how much your children like to bring home their work to show you. Therefore, any work to be included on their learning journal will be photographed and added with an explanation of the learning that took place.
Tapestry allows you, as your child’s primary educator, to add observations and photographs of your own as well as share your comments. We love to hear about learning and WOW moments from home to share with your child in school.
Key persons and your child:
Mersea Island School Nursery uses a key person approach. This means that each member of staff has a group of children for whom she/he is particularly responsible. Your child’s key person will be the person who works with you to make sure that what we provide is right for your child’s particular needs and interests. When your child first starts at the setting, she/he will help your child to settle and throughout your child’s time at the setting. The key person will help your child to benefit from the setting’s activities and encourage them to move forward in their learning.

The setting’s timetable and routines:
Our setting believes that care and education are equally important in the experience which we offer children. The routines and activities that make up the day in the setting are provided in ways that:
 Help each child to feel that she/he is a valued member of the setting;
 Ensure the safety of each child;
 Help children to gain from the social experience of being part of a group;
 Provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning.

The session:
We organise our sessions so that the children can choose from, and work at a range of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task to its completion. The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in adult-led small and large group activities which introduce them to new experiences and help them to gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others.
Outdoor activities contribute to children’s health, their physical development and their knowledge of the world around them.

Snacks and meals:
The setting makes snacks and meal time a social time at which children and adults spend time together. The school plan the menus for the meals so they provide the children with healthy and nutritious food. Do tell us about your child’s dietary needs and we will make sure that these are met.

Clothing:
We will provide aprons for children when they play with messy activities. We encourage children to gain the skills that help them to be independent and look after themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and taking off and putting on, outdoor clothes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will help them to do this. Please can you name any clothing that comes into the setting especially coats and hats.

Safeguarding children:
Our setting has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual ‘significant harm’.
Our way of working with children and their parents ensures we are aware of any problems that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when necessary, to help families in difficulty.
Our employment practices ensure children against the likelihood of abuse in our settings and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations against a member of staff.

Special needs:
As part of the setting’s policy to make sure that the provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any special needs a child may have. The setting works to the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 year (2015).