Our Setting

The Setting

The nursery has been established for approximately 40 years and is privately owned and managed by Anita Francis.  A purpose built construction standing in its own secure garden in the village of South Wonston approximately 4 miles to the north of Winchester (accessible just off the A34)

The nursery offers day care for children from the ages 2 to 8 years, in a happy stimulating environment where children are encouraged to develop at their own pace through play.

The nursery follows the Early Years Foundation Stage. The staff ratio is 1:8 for 3+ year olds and 1:4 for 2 year olds with all the staff either fully qualified or working towards their qualification.  All staff at the setting has experience of working with children in this age group.

We offer a nutritious breakfast, morning snack, cooked lunch, afternoon snack and tea.  For those children who are funded, you have the option to have our nursery meals or bring a packed lunch.

Before a child starts at nursery we are happy to visit them at home, this builds a trust between the child and practitioner and can help the child to settle more quickly into the nursery setting. We are happy for you to visit the nursery and stay with your child if you feel this is beneficial.  We recommend you bring your child and leave them for a short time, so they understand that you leave and return to them.  If your child has a comforter of any sort (cuddly toy, blanket, etc.) we recommend your child to bring it with them.  We recognise parents know their children best and will be guided by you for as long as it takes for your child to settle. We will assign each child a key person, information about this role is explained overleaf.

We support all children with additional needs and work with you and outside agencies to best support them.

The Early Years Foundation Stage

The EYFS is described as “the ways in which the child engages with other people and their environment – playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically- underpin learning, and development across all areas and support the child to remain an effective and motivated learner.” (Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage, 2012. Pg 4)

The EYFS is made up of three ‘prime’ areas and four ‘specific’ areas.  “The prime areas begin to develop quickly in response to relationships and experiences, and run through and support learning in all other areas.  The prime areas continue to be fundamental throughout the EYFS.  The specific areas include essential skills and knowledge. They grow out of the prime areas, and provide important contexts for learning.” (Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage, 2012. Pg 4) In the table below, it shows the ‘Prime’ and ‘Specific’ areas broken down further into ‘Aspects’.

(Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage, 2012. Pg 5)

The Role of the Key Person

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) states that “Each child must be assigned a key person.  Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs, to help the child become familiar with the setting, offer a settled relationship for the child and build a relationship with their parents.” (Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, 2012. pg 18).

At South Wonston Nursery we strongly believe in the importance of the Key Person role and we will work hard to strengthen the bond with your child in the following ways:

• Developing a secure trusting relationship with the child and their family
• Settling children in as they arrive each day
• Comforting distressed children by acknowledging their feelings, offering explanations and reassurances calmly and gently
• Providing a secure base for the child by being physically and emotionally available to them to come back to, by sitting at their level and in close proximity to them.
• Supporting the child’s interests and explorations and planning for their next steps in learning and development
• Helping the child with new challenges e.g. toileting. Ensuring that the support given is consistent with the support given at home including giving sensitive handling and familiar words.
• Key Person spends time reflecting with the child the achievements and experiences they have had and looks at the child’s ‘All about me book’ with them regularly.
• During parents evenings, the key person will discuss with parents the child’s learning and development journey
• Throughout transitions to school or other setting s the key person will support the child when necessary.

A child’s key person will be decided before they start nursery to ensure a smooth settling in process.  If a parent has a particular practitioner in mind then this information will be discussed and welcomed by the nursery staff. For any more information please ask a member of staff.

Mobile phones and cameras

If you are visiting the setting, all mobile phones must be signed in and placed into our box which remains in the office out of reach. No mobile phones are to be used whilst on nursery premises.

 There is also a blanket ban of photographs being taken at the setting by parents, carers and visitors.  The nursery will take photos of children at play for their Tapestry Journals. 

Safeguarding children

Please note that we have a statutory duty to safeguard all children’s welfare.  If we do have a concern about the safety and well-being, we have a duty of care to report our concerns to the relevant social care departments. As stated in our terms and conditions:

• It is understood that South Wonston Nursery School Limited is under an obligation to report to Social Services any incident where we consider a child may have been abused or neglected.  This may be done without informing the parent or guardian.  Our first concern will always be the child’s safety.
• Confidential information may be shared about a child/family/person without your consent if staff feel that there is a matter of safeguarding a child or vulnerable adult.

 Additional Needs

Our nursery Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) is Hannah.  An array of training has been undertaken and termly support meetings are attended to keep knowledge up to date.  Examples of training that Hannah has attended includes:

• SENCo induction and SENCo induction plus
• Makaton for Beginners
• Language Group
• Portage Initial Training
• The Hampshire outline for meeting the needs of the under-5s on the Autistic Spectrum (THOMAS)
• Positive Approaches to Challenging Behaviour

If you or the nursery SENCo has identified an area of need and gained your written consent to include the Area Inclusion Coordinator, together they will liaise with each other and she will advise referrals to other agencies if needed. At all times, you are included in the process and invited to meetings if you wish to attend.  We will also arrange a meeting with you every 6 weeks to discuss your child’s progress at home and at nursery. Any issues/concerns you may have are also discussed, offering advice where needed. Together we also come up with next steps to support your child’s learning. A summary of the meeting is then given to you for your own records.  We have access to a range of professionals as and when they are needed for the children attending the setting. These professionals currently include Speech and Language Therapist, Area Inclusion Co-ordinator, Family Outreach Worker, Educational Physiologist and our local children’s centre.  If further expertise are needed, we will make contact with the relevant professionals.

For further information, please have a look at our Hampshire Local Offer which can be found by typing the following into an internet search bar.

https://fish.hants.gov.uk/kb5/hampshire/directory/service.page?id=xZf4Hq6c82s&familychannel=1-1

Nursery Essentials

Some essentials needed for a typical nursery day includes:

• Water bottle (Dishwasher Safe)
• Wellington boots
• Waterproofs (trousers or all in one suit)
• Spare clothes including t-shirts, trousers, jumpers, socks and pants/knickers.
• Nappies, wipes and nappy cream if applicable (nappy cream to be signed in by member of staff).
• Hat and sun cream (Minimum of SPF20) for the warmer months.
• Warm coat, hat and gloves for the colder months.

Please ensure all items are named.