Parents FAQ & Application

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Parents FAQ

When did you open?

Having spent several years planning the nursery we opened our doors in September 2017. We then extended our pre-school provision in June 2021, and this is as it stands today.

How many rooms have you got? What are the ratios of staff to children?

We have three rooms in the nursery, The Meadow Room which is the room in which our littlest ones attend, this is 1 adult to 3 children. The Woodland Room for our fast developing and growing toddlers which again is 1 adult to 3 children. Our Hedgerow Room (2-3years) which is 1 adult to 4 children. With the Pre-School building been for our 3year olds +, which is 1 adult to 8 children.

What makes you different from other nurseries?

We pride ourselves to be a free flow, outdoors, open-ended, child-initiated setting which puts an emphasis on the individual child. Providing curiosity and opportunities for risky play through the layout, resources and activities we provide. We provide a non-pressure relaxed environment to allow children to learn through play. They have opportunities to take ownership over their learning and at their own pace. We put a focus on supporting children’s self-confidence, self-esteem, social skills and independence to allow them to start school with the confidence to take on the challenges of school and be ready to learn.

What are the Nursery staff like?

We provide high quality teaching and learning throughout our setting and focus a lot of resources and time in staff training to ensure our team are the very best. 85% of the nursery staff have children themselves and can relate to parents and carers worries or concerns and the other 15% have years of nursery experience to allow them to support children, parents and carers also. All staff obtain a DBS check and are on the update service as per our policy.

We only use our employed staff team; we do not use agency staff. This is to ensure consistency and familiar faces to our children. Our baby room staff have specific baby training and safe sleeping training. We have a fully qualified level 3 Forest School Lead and in addition two other practitioners that have now attended the practical element of the course and too will shortly be certified for their Forest School qualification following completion of their Forest School first aid training. To support our children with SEND to the best of our ability staff members have taken part in speak and sign courses, EHCP workshops, Role of the SENCo and portage workshops.

We have core training for all staff such as Paediatric First Aid, Safeguarding, Food Hygiene, FGM and Prevent Duty. However, during regular supervisions with staff we talk about their emotional wellbeing, workload, children’s development, and action points for the term ahead etc, we discuss if there are any training courses they would like to attend. Staff also have regular access to local authority training and in-house training. We have an open-door policy to parents, carers, staff and children and they all know they can come and talk to the office staff whenever they need to.

We have designated staff for additional roles such as;
1) Designated Safeguarding Leads: Stephanie (Pre-school Manager) and Melissa (Nursery Manager)
2) SENCO: Stephanie (Pre-school Manager) and Melissa (Nursery Manager)
3) Health and Safety named person: Camilla (Director)
We like to pride ourselves on how effectively we multi-agency work with various professionals and teams. This includes the Health Visitor team, Speech and Language, Portage, and many others. During our experiences we have built up some fantastic working relationships which have helped to support children and their parents indefinitely.

Want to know more?

Do you follow policies and procedures?

We have various policies and procedures which we follow at nursery. These include Safeguarding, Equal Opportunities, SEND and many others, these are available within the reception area for you to look at.

Do you use daily diaries?

At Molescroft Farm we value how vital it is to not only gain relationships but be kept up to date with what your child is doing. It is important to be able to have information about your child and their day quickly and easily. We spent a long time researching the best up to date online software with the highest security which enables us as practitioners to upload information and you as parents to receive information as fast as possible, this is why we use family. This allows us to have the ability to upload your child’s daily diary alongside observations and assessments, it allows you to view these on an app on your phone / iPad etc. It also allows you to upload information / pictures / videos from home to allow the partnership working which is such a vital part of children’s development.

How do you track my child’s development?

We use the Early Years Foundation Stage to complete observations and upload pictures and observations alongside assessments such as your child’s 2-year check onto the famly system. You can access these via the app and will receive notifications when they have been added. Getting to know the children on a personal and meaningful level is essential in supporting them with their individual progress and development. Therefore, our practitioners spend as much ‘hands on’ time as they can with the children, scaffolding their play and fostering teachable moments.

How do you support children and parents/ carers wellbeing and during transitions?

We pride ourselves on supporting you and your child’s emotional wellbeing. The children have regular access to yoga time and have a cosy area in each room where they can go to calm and have a bit of “me time” away from the larger groups if they wish. We talk a lot about feelings and support children through their hundreds of emotions that they learn to deal with during this early stage.

We understand the transition to nursery can be hard and like to try to ease any uncertainties as much as possible. We build strong relationships with parents straight away and like to get to know the children, their families, likes and dislikes, medical and dietary needs to build up a whole picture of the child. Every child has a key worker and they take ownership of your child’s learning journey, observations and assessments. However, all staff get to know the children and spend time completing observations etc. Each keyworker also attends to their own key children’s nappies and toileting needs as this ensures this specific routine is personal to your child.

We also slowly build up the transitions to the next rooms, supported by their key worker, as and when the child and yourselves feel they are ready. We support this with a transition poster and work closely with the staff in the next room. Our nursery is one big family and yourselves and your child we become familiar with all the staff members who work in each room which in turn makes most transitions smooth!

When it nears to your child starting school, we work very closely with the schools and encourage their teachers to come out to visit them within the setting. We have school uniform for your child to explore through dressing up and build it up slowly during the Summer before starting in September. If your child attends another setting including a childminder, we provide a dual setting communication book to allow all parties involved with your child to communicate regularly for the best interests of your child.

What will I need to bring?

Your child may need a few extra things during the day at nursery and often parents bring bags which they place on their child’s named peg. In this bag please bring a couple of spare clothes, as we do encourage the children to be actively involved and hands on in various activities. This is how they learn, but it often means they get a little messy and need a change of clothing.

Please provide nappies if your child is using these. We as a setting provide wet wipes, depending on if your child has sensitive skin to these. We also provide a fridge in our Meadow Room (0-2’s) so if you wish to provide breast milk, we can store it in there. We also have a milk cupboard for us to store your formula milk and bottles for your little one.

Funding

How do I access funding, vouchers etc, for my child?

We accept all types of funding 2Yr, 3Yr and 30 Hours funding.
If you receive a letter when your child is about to turn two years old, then then this means your child is entitled to Two Year funding. This is 15 hours a week to be used at a setting of your choice. Please inform the office if you receive this.
3Yr funding: Every child will be eligible to access the 15 hours government funding the term after they turn three years old. Please see the office for more information.
30 Hours Funding: This is an additional 15 hours of funding that if you are eligible you can claim for to use for your child’s sessions at nursery. To see if you are eligible and when from, please see the following link: httpss://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to the office on 01482 886069.

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What Our Families are Saying

“Amazing nursery, amazing staff! So thorough and professional as well as welcoming, friendly and caring. Xxx”
“Friendly and welcoming staff, fantastic resources and opportunities provided in a homely yet inspiring setting.”
“Have been very impressed so far, staff friendly and helpful, nothing is ever too much bother!
Happy boy = Happy parents!”