Frequently Asked Questions...

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What support is there available if my child has SEND?

Our SENCO is amazing!  She is also the Lead in one of our rooms and has a wealth of knowledge, is trained specifically in relation to children’s special educational needs and has a passion for supporting families.

She regularly accesses additional training sessions on a wide range of topics from the Local Authority and many other specialist organisations so her knowledge in this field is second to none.

We link in with parents and external agencies to provide advice, support and signposting to other sources of help – if you had any concerns about your child, you would in the first instance speak to the room lead who will determine whether we need to follow our own internal referral process.  

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How do I know what my child is doing during the day?

You will get regular updates from us about what your child is doing during the day through our online nursery software system, Eyworks, and on collection you will have a more detailed handover with one of our amazing team, usually your child’s key person.    We find that parents are completely reassured once they receive our updates and see their child is having a fun filled day full of lovely learning experiences!  

 

Will my child enjoy any extra activities?

Absolutely!  We have a range of external providers who come into nursery to provide the children with wider activities.  We have specialist who facilitate baby yoga, multi sports, music and drumming and phonics.  With so m uch going on, your little one will be kept happy and active!

 

Does my child go outside during the day?

Children regular have access to our purpose-built external spaces which include lots of opportunities for the children to engage in physical activities to help with their gross motor skills – they will practice climbing, balancing, running and jumping to help support their physical strength, balance and co-ordination.  We have puddle suits for the children so even if it is raining, we can allow the children to explore puddles whilst still being toasty warm!  We have playhouses, bikes, a mud kitchen, a sand pit and our planting area where the children help to look after our vegetables and herbs.  We also have a Physical Activity and Nutrition Co-ordinator in our setting who promotes wellbeing and exercise for the children and offers lots of Sensory Circuits for your child to enjoy! Sensory circuits use a carefully planned sequence of physical activities to support your child’s readiness for learning. With activities to calm or alert, your child’s needs will be met through a short sequence of activities which are delivered in 3 sections:   Alerting activities (to warm the body and brain up), Organising activities (to practise physical skills such as walking or balancing) and calming activities (such as bubble play or breathing activities) to ensure your child feels recharged, calm and balanced and ready to learn. 

 

How will I be involved as a parent/carer at nursery?

It goes without saying that you can see us or call us at any time you wish to discuss something, and you will have access to Eyworks which will provide updates during the day.  We also have regular parents evenings, stay and play sessions, grandparents days, newsletters, noticeboards, feedback opportunities and much more.  We really do value the importance of parental involvement in our setting as it is key to your child’s development.

 

What will my child learn at nursery?

With a strong focus on developing children’s language, communication and vocabulary, our exciting curriculum centres around stories, songs and lots of fun games. We aim to develop a real love of reading through our language-rich curriculum, which is carefully structured and sequenced so that it is progressive and developmental for all our children. We follow a topic-based approach which also has the flexibility to allow our creative practitioners to plan in response to the needs and interests of each child, as we know that young children learn most effectively when they are deeply engaged and motivated through quality play experiences. Our play-based curriculum model carefully follows children’s stages of development and the different ways and paces at which young children learn. 

 

Using a ‘Book as a Hook’ into learning each week curriculum offers endless opportunities for children to practice and refine their language and communication skills, to be introduced to new vocabulary, and to develop a real love of reading, all of which are so important for developing strong, confident learners and for preparing children well for their next stages of learning.

 

How do I know my child will be safe whilst at nursery?

Safeguarding is paramount at Cressington.  We have individual passcode protected doors into each of the rooms and a dedicated reception team is present before any visitor can obtain access to any rooms.   All our staff are vetting in line with our Safer Recruitment Policy, are fully DBS checked with regular termly updates, have annual safeguarding training as well as having paediatric first aid training.    No individual will be able to collect your child unless they provide the password, and we have CCTV on the premises which the management team have access to.

 

Will I get help toward the cost of my childcare fees?

This very much depends on your own individual circumstances.  We accept funding for 2, 3 and 4 years olds and details of this can be found under our Fees and Funding section of our website.

 

How do you manage children’s behaviour?

All our team have access to training on our approach to Promoting Positive Behaviour and we also have a policy to further outline this.  We have regular in-house training sessions on this topic and involve parents in managing behaviour positively.  Our nursery rules which all children follow are: Kind hands, kind words, kind heart. We are always here for help and advice and can support parents to replicate the approach taken at nursery whilst at home.

 

How do you cater for children with dietary requirements?

If your child has a special dietary requirement all you need to do is let us know as we cater for most individual needs quite easily and have a robust system in place to ensure we meet those needs.  All our meals for the children are cooked on site by our highly experienced Nursery Chef using fresh ingredients and there is always a vegetarian option available.  We have a system in place to discretely identify those with specific dietary needs and meals are individually checked and labelled by our Chef and crossed checked in the rooms once again. 

 

What if I need to ask further questions?

That’s no problem!  You can contact us at any time and we will be happy to help!