Ages and Stages

The Baby Room is divided into two spaces, which are often based around the under 1’s and over 1’s. We plan their transition when the Nursery practitioners feel that it is age and ability appropriate, taking into consideration many emotional and physical factors to best support each individual. The Baby Room as a whole is designed to create a homelike environment, with plenty of soft furnishings, with the main focus being placed on meeting each child’s individual needs and working in a close partnership with parents to best match their routines at home and within the setting. Within those earliest months of their lives, we emphasise the importance of building secure attachments and providing opportunities for personal, social and emotional development. As the children transition across to Older Babies, they begin to grow in independence and confidence, and it is wonderful watching their personalities begin to shine through right from those early stages.

The Toddler Room is a wonderful open space for our 2 to 3 year olds as they begin to become more confident on their feet and experiment with different ways of moving. The structure grows as children move through the different stages, and that occurs right from the beginning, with a flexible routine, bite-sized activities and a wide range of opportunities for exploration. The children spend a large amount of their time in the outdoor environment, exploring both the enclosed Nursery garden space and over 46 acres around the wonderful Leweston grounds. The Toddlers will continue to be fully supported to grow in independence as they learn and practice many new skills, as well as plenty of time for child-led learning and scaffolding that learning based around their interests.

The Transition Class 1 is a great next step as the children turn 3 years old and are ready for new challenges and a more structured routine. We begin to introduce Forest School and cookery sessions and monthly Literacy, Numeracy and Funky Fingers challenges. The children learn through themes and activities designed to follow their interests, and there are many opportunities for role-play and building on their most wonderful imaginations! The children across all rooms benefit enormously from the free-flow environment and the option to play freely indoors or outdoors as they wish, taking learning with them wherever they are.

From the age of 3 and a half, the children benefit hugely from our enhanced curriculum, including Music, PE, French, Spanish and swimming lessons with subject specialists. In addition to this, the children have Forest School activity sessions and get to try new activities such as gardening, cookery and Rugby Tots. The main aim within TC2 is to build on that preparation for school life and ensure that each and every child is fully equipped with the core skills to move onto the next stage. The TC2 children are always busy as our highly qualified and passionate staff skillfully match activities to extend, delight and engage each and every one of them.