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Nursery Life

Leweston Nursery welcomes children from 3 months to school age, offering a nurturing, homely environment where every child is known, understood and celebrated. Our days are filled with exploration, outdoor adventure, creativity and meaningful connection, the things that matter most to families who want their children to grow up confident, curious and happy.

Our Approach

Every child is assigned a dedicated key worker, your main point of contact and the person who champions your child’s wellbeing and development. This relationship is central to our ethos, parents want to feel known, supported and listened to, and our team takes that responsibility seriously.

The Nursery is overseen by a Senior Practitioner and Nursery Supervisor, ensuring consistency, high standards and a warm, family‑centred environment.

A Day Filled With Discovery

All of the children enjoy:

  • Outdoor play in our beautiful grounds

  • Forest School sessions

  • Music, movement and creative arts

  • Early phonics and language-rich activities

  • Sensory exploration

  • Social play and early friendships

  • Gentle routines that support confidence and independence

Our families consistently tell us that the variety of experiences, and the amount of time spent outdoors is one of the things they value most.

"I have to say that Leweston is head and shoulders above the rest; from the staff ratios, quality of staff, communication with parents, variety of activities on offer, significant proportion of their time spent on outdoor activities, through to brilliant food that the children love. "

Nursery Parent

A Typical Day

07:30 | Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club for those who opt in to this additional service.

 

08:00 | Arrival

Nursery opens and children start to arrive.

 

08:00 - 10:00 | Activities

Morning activities including a range of indoor and outdoor provision, with continual free-flow access. Small groups may participate in circle time, or adult led activities, or come together for Phonics, music, rhymes and number play.

 

10:00 | Snack

Morning snack, normally fruit, rice cakes, cheese straws or similar. The children all drink plenty of water, or milk, with their snacks, and are encouraged to drink regularly throughout the day.

 

10:30 | Activities

Activities continue, indoors and out, whatever the weather!

 

12:00 | Lunch

Lunchtime. Every child, and all the staff, eat together, in a ‘family meal-time’ style. The menu changes often and is published on our website, and all dietary requirements can be catered for.

 

12:30 | Nap/Activities

After lunch, many children sleep in our beautiful sleep space. This room, complete with twinkly fairy lights and relaxing music, is the perfect place to ensure your child gets high-quality sleep during their Nursery day. We work to your routine, following any guidelines you wish, with regard to routines and sleep patterns. For those who do not nap, the activities downstairs continue, with a host of opportunities for messy play, exploration, art and craft, and construction, regularly replenished throughout the day.

 

14:00 | Snack

Afternoon snack, which is normally crumpets, humous and vegetables, muffins or similar items. During the afternoon, all the children go out for a walk for at least thirty minutes, around our beautiful grounds. They may visit the kitchen to do some cookery, use equipment in the garden to build an obstacle course, or put on a puppet show in our yurt.

 

16:15 | Supper

Supper is served in the dining room, in the same style as lunch.

 

16:45 | Tidy

The children return to the Nursery to tidy up, clear away in the garden and prepare for collection.

 

17:00 | Collection

Children are collected.

17:30 | Late Collection

Late collection for those who opt in to this additional service. Nursery closes for the day.

 

Partnership With Home

 

Regular communication with home is essential and helps us build a genuine partnership between Nursery and family. We take pride in how well we know every child and aim to reflect this in everything we share with parents.

Your child’s progress is monitored and recorded using our online Tapestry system. You will have access to this secure digital ‘folder’, where you can regularly see photos and videos from their time with us. We use this portfolio to plan and share the next steps in your child’s learning, so we can tailor our approach to their individual needs. Your contributions are very important; you can like and comment on our observations and add your own photos and videos. The children love showing us what they have been doing at home.

We also invite parents and grandparents to join us for ‘Stay and Play’ events, and you will always receive a warm welcome into the Nursery at drop-off and collection. We believe this genuine engagement with the setting is vital. We make time to speak with every parent at the start and end of the day to share how your child has been getting on.

Children in Babies and Toddlers will also have a home–school communication book. We can use this to record key information about your child’s day, and you can write messages to us if you prefer this method of communication.

If there is anything you forgot to mention during the Nursery day, staff can be contacted by email at any time, or by phone if you are happy to leave a message (01963 211042). We also hold regular parent consultation evenings where you can book an appointment to discuss your child’s progress, and you are always welcome to speak to us whenever you need support or have questions.

Healthy Eating

 

All children eat in the main dining room, in our dedicated Nursery area, sitting around a table with staff and other pupils. Our menu is designed to gently introduce new flavours and textures while keeping to the familiar “family favourites” we know children enjoy. Sharing meals in this way encourages children to try new foods, builds confidence and supports their personal development.

Specific medical or ethical dietary requirements are fully catered for by our specialist catering team.

Our dedicated catering staff prepare a varied and balanced menu, and both children and adults (as positive role models) are encouraged to enjoy a broad, healthy diet. This helps children develop an understanding of good nutrition that will support them throughout their lives.

Menus are sent to parents each week so you can see what is on offer each day and plan your meals at home.

We serve two main meals each day, plus two snacks. ‘Tea’ is served at 4.15pm and offers a simple, satisfying meal at a time when children are often very hungry. This also helps to ease your evening routine after pick-up, as most children will only need a light snack later.

Snack examples – crackers, water biscuits and oat cakes with plain/beetroot houmous, vegetable sticks, fruit (including watermelon, pineapple, banana, orange, apple).  

Lunch examples – chicken pie, pasta bake, korma curry, cottage pie, toad in the hole, lasagne, fish pie

Tea examples – scrambled egg on toast, tomato pasta, jacket potato, pizza, chicken goujons