Information Booklet
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Easton Community Children’s Centre Information Booklet Contents: • Welcome • Opening times, session times & contact information • Our Ethos • The Key-worker System supports each individual child • Your Child’s learning journey within the EYFS • Learning Diaries
• • • • • • • • •
Listening to children Partnership with parents A community resource Food What do parents think of us? Tiny Tots & Tiny Stars Sunshine Rainbow Family Support
Welcome! Welcome to Easton Community Children’s Centre. One of the first things you will notice about our nursery is how friendly it is. We love what we do and are passionate about delivering consistently good education and childcare and we hope that this shines through in everything we do. You can trust the expertise and qualifications of our staff team. We invest in training and developing our staff and pride ourselves on being a learning organisation determined to keep up to date with the best new thinking in Early Years. We care about inclusion, equality and diversity. As you can see whenever you visit the Centre we have a wonderfully diverse mixture of families here; many different nationalities, languages, physical and learning abilities and families of all shapes and sizes. Our staff team also reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. Every day we are inspired by and
learn from the children’s open, interested and accepting approach to difference and diversity. We have an equality policy which you are very welcome to read. We also welcome your ideas for how we can continue to learn and improve in this area.
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Opening Times and Session Times We are open every weekday (including over the summer holidays) from 08:00 until 17:50 apart from bank holidays and over the Christmas and New Year period.
Our session times are: Morning Sessions
Afternoon Sessions
08:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 16:50
09:00 – 12:50
13:00 – 17:50
Contact Information Our address is: Easton Community Children’s Centre Russell Town Avenue, Easton, Bristol, BS5 9JF Telephone: 0117 939 2550 Fax: 0117 939 2551 Email: enquiries@eastonccc.org.uk Web: www.eastonccc.org.uk
Details of the Trustee Board and the senior staff team are displayed in the reception area of the centre. Staff details are displayed on the notice boards outside each room.
Our Ethos We recognise each child and family is unique and aim to value, respect and celebrate this in all aspects of our work. We work from the understanding that children learn best through play with the support of caring and knowledgeable adults. We focus on child led activities, based on each child’s individual interests and stage of development. We balance this with adult initiated activities that help children explore their interests further and expand their learning. Because children enjoy being active, we ensure that we provide activities that are sensory, tactile and often messy; such as digging in the garden or water play. In all aspects of play, learning and development we work from the basis of what children can do rather than what they can’t. We enable each child to develop independence, self-esteem and confidence in both themselves and their abilities by recognising their strengths and skills. We really enjoy being with the children, watching them grow and develop and sharing this very special time with them. Children will learn, thrive and develop whilst having fun in an environment which is safe, warm and nurturing. Our aim is to help each child discover his or her enthusiasm for learning, which in turn will help them lead a fulfilled and happy life.
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The Key-worker System supports each individual child
Your Child’s Learning Journey within the EYFS
Every child and family has their own Key-worker. We understand starting nursery can be an anxious time so we ensure every child has a named Key-worker from their first visit who will support you and your child in settling in and becoming familiar with the nursery environment.
All aspects of our planning for learning and development are based around the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and the seven areas of learning. The areas are divided into three Prime areas which are;
Through interaction, observation and spending time with your child the Key-worker will build up a good knowledge of your child’s unique personality and their learning and development. The Key-worker uses this knowledge to inform the activities and experiences they plan specifically for your child. Your Key-worker will usually stay with you throughout your child’s time in the unit. When your child progresses to another room you will get a new Key-worker who will meet with you and your previous Key-worker to ensure that they start with a good understanding of your child.
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development • Communication and Language • Physical Development The Prime areas are fundamental and provide a solid foundation to support your child’s development in the four Specific areas which are;
• • • •
Literacy Mathematics Understanding the World Expressive Arts and Design
The Specific areas grow out of the Prime areas and include essential skills and knowledge. Observations, recorded by the Key-Person, in your child’s personal Learning Diary are organised within the prime and specific learning areas in chronological order. This helps you to see and understand your child’s development through time and in relation to particular areas of learning.
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Learning Diaries Your child will have his or her own Learning Diary that charts her or his learning journey throughout their time at the Centre. Your child’s Learning Diary contains observations, photos and examples of your child’s activities. The Learning Diary is normally kept at nursery but it does belong to you and your child and provides a way of bringing home and nursery together. It enables us all to share and reflect on each child’s celebrations and achievements from both home and nursery. When your child leaves nursery we hope you will take the Learning Diary as a treasured reminder of your child’s precious early years. The Learning Diaries are always available in the room for you to look at and we would love you to add your own observations, photos etc. Your input is really important and valuable to us and your child, so please don’t be shy. Come and take a look! Some parents wonder why some learning diaries are fuller than others. This is simply to do with how much time your child spends at nursery. If your child is here full time we have many more opportunities to record observations and to do activities with your child than if she or he is here for only one or two sessions per week.
Listening to Children We prioritise listening to children. By listening to children we gain insight and understanding of their world. This helps us to build better relationships with the children and to provide a better service. We consult the children on important aspects of the Centre such as food, toys and books and also in relation to major projects and developments including, for example, the redesign of the garden. While we are often charmed and sometimes can’t help smiling at the children’s honest and playful view of the world there is an important side to this. Children gain in confidence and self-esteem when their views are taken into account. They learn to express their opinion confidently and understand from an early age that what they think matters and can make a difference. They also learn to respect the different opinions of others and in turn become good listeners themselves!
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A Community Resource
Partnership with Parents Throughout the Centre we recognise the important role Parents and Carers play as Throughout the Centre we recognise the important role Parents and Carers play as their child’s first and foremost educator and understand children really benefit from parents, carers and practitioners working together.
As well as benefitting your child, working in partnership will also benefits the centre and you as parents/carers. Listening to you and working together ensures we are up to date, knowledgeable and informed about your child. At the same time you can relax, confident in the knowledge that your child is being cared for by knowledgeable and trusted adults. We have an open door policy and warmly encourage and invite you to take advantage of this and come and spend some time with us. This could be to join a specific activity such as a trip or fun day, to share a skill or just to join in the fun with us and your child. The door is always open and you are always welcome.
The Centre is run by the community, for the community. We have a Board of Trustees made up of parents with children either currently or formerly at the Centre. Every year we have an Annual General Meeting where we elect (or re-elect) the board. The Trustees and the Director present a report detailing the work of the Centre over the previous year, highlighting any important developments and issues. The meeting is then opened up for questions and discussions. This is an open event and all parents are invited. It is also a lovely social event with a children’s party, great food and a chance to catch up with other parents. We rely on parents getting involved in the life of the Centre by becoming Trustees, volunteering, helping out at events, contributing ideas and letting us know what you think about any aspect of our service. If you are interested in finding out how you can get more involved in the life of the nursery, please feel free to pop into the main office or contact the Trustees, whose details are displayed in the foyer.
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Food Food is an important aspect of Centre life. Our food policy is that food at the Centre should be; • Cooked on the premises from fresh ingredients and able to fully meet a growing child’s nutritional requirements • Tasty, varied, cooked with skill and presented attractively • As sustainably sourced as possible. Wherever possible making use of locally sourced and sustainably produced ingredients • Reflective of the diverse heritage and cultures represented at the Centre • Take into account as far as is practical, the individual food choices, preferences & dietary requirements of each individual child The menu for the week is displayed on notice boards outside of the rooms. We welcome your suggestions for the menu and any recipe ideas that you have.
We also ask parents to please observe the following; • Please advise staff of any food allergies and preferences that your child has • Please do not bring food to the nursery unless it is shop bought and in the original, unopened packaging. Unfortunately because we cannot be certain of the ingredients, we cannot allow you to bring in home-made food. • Please ensure that if your child has been eating immediately prior to attending nursery that you have thoroughly wiped their hands and face of all traces of food. This is because of allergies that other children may have. These can sometimes be quite severe. For example if a child with peanut butter on their hands hugs a child with a nut allergy the consequences can be very serious.
What do parents think of us? We regularly conduct a satisfaction survey to find out what the people who use our services think of us and to find out from them how we can improve our services. Taking part in our satisfaction survey is another way to make a difference to the Centre and to have your voice heard. The following is taken from our 2013 survey, when the questionnaire was completed by 78 respondents: The big picture is encouragingly positive. We are a listening nursery, with helpful and approachable staff, providing good quality care and education and all of our families would recommend us to their friends. Our policies and procedures are largely straight forward and understandable and we offer good value for money. Whole Nursery
Yes
No
Do we listen?
100%
0%
Are our staff approachable and friendly?
100%
0%
Are our policies and procedures clear and understandable?
98.7%
1.3%
Do you consider the service good value for money?
98.7%
1.3%
Do you consider that your child receives good quality care & education?
100%
0%
Would you recommend this nursery to your friends?
100%
0%
We asked for specific examples of things that we do well and one thing was repeated time and again; parents like our friendliness! Parents and carers pr aised us for the relationship we have with their children and told us that their children really look forward to coming to nursery and are very happy here.
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Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars are our rooms for aged children from six months to two years. We work to a ratio of 1:3, one adult to every three children. We understand that many parents find it a wrench to leave their very young children at nursery for the first time. This is why we welcome you to call us or drop in at any point in the day. We know that you are very interested in the detail of the day when it comes to your baby or toddler, so we provide detailed feedback sheets every day. These sheets let you know what your child ate and how much, when your child was changed, when your child slept and for how long as well as comment on how their day has been overall.
Learning and Development in Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars provide an environment which is safe, nurturing, stimulating and homely. This allows toddlers and babies to explore, learn and most of all have fun. Special things happen in Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars. We are privileged to share in some key milestones around talking, crawling, walking and becoming more independent. We take lots of pictures and record observations for your child’s Learning Diary so you can share in their achievements and experiences. Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars have vibrant, stimulating and safe playrooms, where babies and young children can play and explore. The rooms are laid out to enable independence and choice, with resources and equipment at child level. We also have a sleep rooms with cots and beds so we can mirror routines which are familiar to your baby or young child. We are also fortunate in having direct access to our own gardens a large one in Tiny Tots which children from both Tiny Tots and Tiny Stars have access to and a smaller baby sized one just for Tiny Stars. We make almost daily use of this baby and toddler friendly outside space to engage with nature, experience the weather and enjoy messy play.
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Sunshine Room Sunshine is our unit for 2-3 year olds. We can have a maximum of 24 children and work to a 1:4 adult to child ratio. It is located on the ground floor in a spacious airy unit which has direct access to the garden and comprises of five rooms including a role play room, sensory room and a sand & water room. The rooms are laid out to enable independence and choice. Resources and equipment are at the child’s level and clearly labelled to promote self-selection. There are spaces for busy times and also for quieter moments and the unit has a designated sleep and rest room for those children who need it. We aim to spend as much time as possible outdoors to make the most of the valuable learning experiences the outdoors can offer including in colder and wetter weather. Please provide clothing for your child for all weathers including a raincoat, wellington boots and a spare set of clothes. Every child has her or his own peg and drawer with their name and photo making it easy for them to recognise their own peg and hopefully promoting a good sense of ownership and belonging.
Learning and Development in Sunshine In Sunshine Room we recognise children of two to three years need an environment which is safe, warm and nurturing but which also provides opportunities for learning, exploration and of course fun! Being two is a busy time; children are establishing their independence, developing their speech and gaining more control of their bodies. This can also be a challenging time as children are finding their voices, testing different behaviours and learning to manage their emotions, some of which can feel strong and overwhelming. We understand this mixture of reward and challenge and are always on hand to provide support, information or advice on all things toddler, from tantrums and biting to toilet training!
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Rainbow Rainbow is our unit for three to five year olds. We work with a ratio of 1:8 which means that each practitioner is responsible for the care and education of no more than eight children on any given day. Rainbow is housed in the light-filled purpose built extension at the front of the building. The main room is mainly used as a play area and is large enough for us to be able to store toys and equipment at child level so that the children can choose their own activities. In addition, there are separate rooms used for creative play, computer use and books & puzzles. Letters and numbers are brought to life through puzzle solving, construction, calculating challenges, engaging with texts such as story books and early mark making with a variety of media. We ensure children have early experiences with information and communication technology, so we have a computer as well as MP3 players. Key-workers and their key groups use the small group activity area to explore the particular interests of the children in more detail. We also use this area for a lot of our music making so most of our instruments are to be found here.
Learning and Development in Rainbow Rainbow’s programme is designed to prepare the children for reception class in their first year at school. All children are unique and we take an individual approach to development. We aim to help the children develop their social abilities (sharing, communicating, expressing their preferences) and a love of learning. With this in mind we place an emphasis on supporting each child’s personal, social, and emotional development. We know that when children are socially confident and have a positive attitude towards new challenges and learning that they are more likely to derive satisfaction and achieve in their educational lives. The children gain confidence and a strong sense of security by understanding what is expected of them and by having positive and consistent messages about behaviour. We build knowledge and understanding of each individual child through observation and effective interaction and as we help the children to pursue and extend their interests they gain confidence and self-esteem. We deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which sets out seven learning areas (see “your child’s learning journey” above) for young children. The EYFS enables young children to have a balanced and consistent learning experience.
Family Support We are more than just a nursery and one of the most important aspects of our work is supporting families. We work with a wide range of agencies and practitioners and although we don’t have all the answers we can often help you get the support you need around many different issues including; • • • • •
Domestic Violence Drug or Alcohol Use Debt Education, Training & Employment Mental Health
We don’t judge. We understand that all families go through stressful times at some stage. Our only interest is to ensure that the families using the Centre get help and support when they need it so that as much as possible children, parents and carers get the most out of these precious early years. If you think we might be able to help you or even if you just need a friendly person to talk with, speak to your key-worker, your unit manager or any member of the senior team.