A Nurturing Environment For Your Child

Starting at a nursery can be an emotional time, both for you and your child. At Christopher Robin we're acutely aware of this and will do everything we can to make the transition as easy and worry-free as possible.

Our Home Rooms

All of our home rooms offer a range of curriculum areas to explore, along with cosy, quiet areas to rest, read books or just watch the world go by. In the homerooms you will find that everything is child height, all of the resources and activities help children to feed their curiosity and equip them with the skills they need to succeed; our learning zones cover gross and fine motor movement, life skills, communication, language and literacy, numeracy and arithmetic, science, knowledge and understanding of the world plus much more!

Our nurseries are small, child friendly communities, when your child joins the nursery all of the staff team will get to know them. This familiarity means that children will constantly grow in self-esteem and independence and transitions through the nursery to different home rooms are made with ease. Children will only change rooms when the staff team caring for them feel that they are ready to move on. Regardless of their age children will never miss out on learning experiences because all staff in the nursery are specifically trained to care for and teach children from birth to five years of age.

The ambience we create is designed to reflect the fact that the children are with us for a full day. Our rooms are predominantly carpeted with a no shoe policy, vinyl is used only where necessary: in areas used for eating or messy play. Every room is fully air-conditioned for the warmer days.

Your Child's Key Person

When your child joins one of our nurseries he or she will be paired up with a 'Key Person', a carer who will work with you to ensure that your child's physical, social and emotional needs are met. The key person will not, of course, be the only person caring for your child, but they will be your first point of contact whenever you'd like to talk to someone at the nursery about your child's development. We believe that a clear line of communication helps you, your child and us. As your child moves through the nursery their key person will change, but we believe that the key person system enables parents to know exactly who to talk to, should any issues arise.

Partnerships with parents

We see the care of your child as a partnership between you and our nursery team. Parents are always welcome in the nursery and we hope you will view us as part of your extended family. We hold regular 'stay and play' sessions where you are invited to join your child for a morning or afternoon to see what your child's time at the nursery is like. We think it's a great idea for parents to come along for the pre-start visits before their child joins us.

All parents are offered pre-start visits before their child starts at the nursery; this not only enables you to get a better feel for the nursery and our staff but also to discuss your child’s preferences with us. Pre-start visits are a fundamental part of the parent/nursery relationship.

Your child's progression

through the nursery...

Our youngest children

Our baby areas are designed to be homely, bright and comfortable, and our focus is on giving the babies plenty of warmth, security and attention. The day is flexible and relaxed, and we follow a routine that echoes the your baby's own routine at home as much as possible. Your baby would follow his/her own sleep and feeding patterns with us. We also try to spend time in the nursery's lovely, well-equipped garden every day.

Supporting you and your child

As your child moves through the nursery we will keep you up to date with their learning and achievement. Parents receive daily verbal feedback on their child’s day; we hold regular parent evenings and you will have access to “My Montessori Child”, a secure website which will provide a personalised parent site where you will find a full record of your child’s development as captured by their key persons on a weekly basis. On this website you will find your child’s latest development observations along with general information about diary dates from the nursery and suggestions of things you can do at home to support your child’s learning and development.

Additionally, we will create personalised “Wow” books that capture learning in action, contact you every 4 to 6 months to gather parent/nursery “All About Me” review notes and provide “My First Day” photo montages when your child first joins us and when they move rooms.

As we grow...

The aim of the nursery is to help children to develop into confident, happy, independent and co-operative individuals. This happens throughout the nursery but it is especially important for the toddlers and twos as these earliest years are formative and have a fundamental effect on your child's future development.

At this time children are very inquisitive and learn new skills incredibly quickly. We provide an environment where children can have fun while discovering, exploring and learning in safe and stimulating surroundings.

Getting ready for 'big school'

When it comes to “big school” we make sure we communicate with your child’s school. We make school books, have uniform days and welcome teachers into the nursery so that they can gain a picture of your child before they join the school. We will always send a leavers report, with your comments included, to the school. We aim to help every child become as independent as possible in practical and self-care routines.

When your child leaves us, you will be provided with a copy of their photo album – a collection of the photographs and observations that have been captured during your child’s time at the nursery.