Childcare Service for Children Aged 3 Months to 5 Years of Age - Crayford, Kent
The Cottage Nursery provides exceptional day childcare service for children aged 3 months till 5 years of age. We are open Monday to Friday, from 7:30am till 6:30pm. We provide care for a Full day from 7:30am till 6:30pm, Half Days AM (7:30am till 1pm) & PM (1pm till 6:30pm) all year through.
We have three groups of children – Ladybirds & Caterpillars (3 months to 24 months), Butterflies (24 months to 36 months), and Bumble-bees (36 months to 5 years).
We intend for children to play, discover and grow their abilities. Each child is unique and has his / her own pace of growth. No two children will reach the points of learnings and stages of development at the same time. The Early Years Foundation Stage (2017) Statutory framework is the official curriculum for early years in England and also prescribes the welfare requirements.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum draws inspiration from many approaches and theories of Child Development. The development of early years curriculum has been significantly influenced by the following approaches:
Regio Emilia
At the heart of the approach is a focus on partnership with parents and children being involved in their own learning. The main features are that children need some control over their own play and learning with teachers acting as facilitators. It also recommends that children need to learn from and enjoy being with other children as they learn and express themselves in a rich environment through using of all their senses. This is reflected in our practice through the encouragement of Child -Initiated Play and Enabling Environments and emphasis on children learning through play with other children including in a sensory and outdoor environment.
Montessori
The approach stresses the importance of the practitioner as an observer of children supporting learning sensitively through appropriate interventions. The term 'Play with a purpose' is at the heart of Montessori as equipment and resources have specific learning objectives and provide children with graduated challenges. This is reflected in our practice by providing children with independence and challenges to progress their learning according to their stage of development.
Steiner
The Steiner approach emphasizes the importance of fostering children's creativity and imagination, their understanding and exploration of the natural world, and the importance of the practitioner as a role model. Manufactured toys are discouraged as these are thought to inhibit a child's natural curiosity and imagination. This is reflected in our practice by the provision of adult-led and planned activities alongside child initiated play and play with natural objects.
High / Scope
The High/scope approach began in the United States as a way of improving outcomes for disadvantaged children. It is an established model that stresses that children should be involved in decision making and take responsibility. Routines under this approach are considered important so that children gain a sense of security and stability. This is reflected in our practice as we provide for child-initiated play and children's choices and interests are taken into account in planning activities and play. Also routines are an important part of our nursery day that provides children consistency and sense of stability.
Forest School
We have onsite Forest School activities. In fact we were the First Early Years Setting in Kent to get the accreditation. See details at: https://www.facebook.com/ForestSchoolAssociation/posts/1089615881190444. We are recognised and accredited by the Forest Schools Association (FSA) (https://www.forestschoolassociation.org/). The Forest School Association is the professional body and UK wide voice for Forest School, promoting best practice, cohesion and ‘quality Forest School for All’.
Millie Mark Accreditation
We are Millie’s Mark accredited, the gold standard for paediatric first aid in early years. We are the First Early Years Setting, in Bexley Borough to get the accreditation. See the announcement at: https://www.milliesmark.com/news/latest-awarded-with-millies-mark.
Our exceptional offering includes:
- Onsite each day Forest school.
- Healthy Catering Accreditation for wholesome healthy in house prepared food.
- Online Children journals & diaries using best of industry software
- Ofsted graded “GOOD” – Click to check
- Food Hygiene registered and rated ‘5’ ‘Very Good”
- Football, Fitness fun, Yoga, Singing and signing and Other sessions.
- Large outdoor all weather play area
- Safe and secure including CCTV monitoring
- Professional staff – First Aid Trained and Certified, Enhanced DBS checked
We at The Cottage Nursery are firm believers that EYFS under the Statutory Framework in England is truly a blended approach taking inspiration from the best practices around the world and we follow its recommendations and reflect on our practice under the same.
Our environment and activities are carefully planned to help children flourish and develop. The activities and environment at our setting promote and empower children to be confident and assertive young people.
We believe that early years children can not be ‘taught’ and will discover through their investigations of their environment. As long as these little investigators are surrounded by interesting things and as long as they feel secure, they will continue to investigate and learn. Their active brains have a lot to process and then at the end of the day they will sleep soundly.
A typical day would include a mix of group activities (like reading a book, singing time, cooking) and child-initiated activities (role play, puzzles, water play). There are routines and activities that help children develop healthy habits, communication, physically, socially, numeracy, literacy, and understanding of the world. We strongly believe that an enabling environment supporting and extending children's development and learning alongside good food, a happy, and safe environment makes children feel secure to express themselves, explore and grow.
Our Ethos
Our ethos is to support and encourage children to be independent learners. This is done by giving them freedom in selecting activities for themselves and taking responsibility for day-to-day tasks. At the same time, we take responsibility for observing, assessing, and planning for their learning and development, working in partnership with parents and carers.
We have three separate groups and rooms of children. Each group has staff that has relevant experience and expertise in taking care of that age group of children. This ensures the quality and consistency of care. Children in their specific age groups and rooms get access to resources and activities that are optimal for their learning and development.
While there are separate rooms, given the small size and large open plan of the setting the children may mix with different groups as they participate in with other children on activities like circle time, reading, & singing. Such accessibility across the nursery helps in the continuity of care and little transition-related challenges when children move from one room to another.
