Kenton Park Nursery School - A Perfect Childcare Choice

from Select Magazine Gosforth - Autumn 2020

Nestled in a quiet corner of Kenton Park Shopping Centre, Kenton Park Nursery School has been providing a warm and welcoming environment for local children for over 25 years. During these uncertain times, the nursery has remained open to provide care for the children of NHS staff and keyworkers, and now things are beginning to get back to normal. Staff play a key role in a new enhanced cleaning and sanitising regime, to ensure the learning environment is as safe as possible, with Government guidance adhered to strictly and precautions in place to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Whether it be thorough hand washing, disinfecting toys and learning areas, or even carrying out socially distant visits with new parents, Kenton Park Nursery has adapted to ensure that parents feel confident and comfortable when they leave their child at nursery for the day.

Kenton Park Nursery is a friendly and homely setting with an experienced, committed and very loving team. The staff cherish and nurture every child they look after and are approachable and supportive to all their families. The nursery is part of the Choice Childcare group of nurseries, which also operates in Cramlington, Sunderland, Wallsend and Westerhope. The Company is committed to ensuring each of its nurseries focuses on its own local community though, so each nursery is very unique. Kenton Park Nursery provides a safe and warm environment to all the children and that truly sets them apart (you can visit the Testimonials page on their website www.kentonparknurseyschool. co.uk) and read comments from previous and existing families.

All the staff at Kenton Park Nursery are dedicated to caring for and educating babies and children, with many professional parents enrolling their children from a young age so they can return to work. In the nursery there is a diverse group of staff from a range a different backgrounds, and also those who are young and newly qualified to the more mature, long term practitioners. They have all grown into a team of exceptional individuals whose main aim is to provide the best possible alternative to your own care, so that you can happily and confidently leave your child with them and concentrate fully on your work. Once you meet the staff it becomes very apparent that they all love their work.

All staff have all undergone the mandatory enhanced DBS checks which enable them to work with young children, and the Company is proud to employ its own in-house First Aid Instructor so that each member of staff has a Paediatric First Aid qualification. The safety and wellbeing of the children is always the first priority.

From the moment you approach the nursery, children fall in love with the bright and wonderful entrance mural which contains many of their favourite characters. Inside the children are cared for in three separate rooms. Each child progresses through the nursery based on their age and their readiness to make the move. They each have a keyworker who is the special person designated to carry out all their developmental record keeping. This keyworker is also the main link between the nursery and the parents, especially in the early 'settling-in' period. The three rooms are:

Babies and Toddlers Room (Bs & Ts)

This room is on the ground floor and it is where they care for the youngest children, those aged under two years.

A range of activities take place throughout the day which provide your child with a stimulating learning experience within a cosy and comforting setting. Activities can take place both indoors and outside in the nursery garden.

The routine in the Bs & Ts room is kept very flexible, to enable the staff to meet the needs of each individual child. As an example, within the routine they do provide a set sleep time for the children however, at any time throughout the day if a child wants to sleep, then they can do so.

2's-3's Room

Children move upstairs to the 2-3s room; and here they follow a plan of activities, which can be adult-led or child-initiated. As part of their planning, various topics and themes are broken down into different learning and experiences for the children to take part in.

On a daily basis your child will participate in fun-filled and educational activities while also finding out about themselves and the world around them.

Throughout the day there will be lots of opportunities to engage in free play activities, with time to explore, experiment, experience and discover things for themselves, as well as spending one to one time with their key person.

All activities can take place both indoors and outside in the nursery garden.

3-4's Room: The PreSchool Room

The children swell with pride

once they become members of "The Big Room". In this room your child will have access to a wide range of activities, sand and water play, arts and crafts, mark-making, number activities, construction and role play opportunities to name but a few.

The 3s – 4s also have their own computer situated within the room. This encourages children's ICT skills and is used daily.

Your child will also learn through Phase One of Letters & Sounds, which falls largely within the Literacy area of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage.

In this room the staff do their best to encourage confidence and self-esteem in all the children which will enable them to happily make the transition to school.

The Nursery Garden

The nursery garden is very important and very special – it is used by all of the children at every opportunity and they love being out there, taking part in physical play, carrying out investigations, joining in with friends, but

“Everyone comments with surprise at how big the garden is, and how secluded and private it is, with its high hedges and the many trees which provide good shade on sunny days.”

primarily having a lot of fun.

Everyone comments with surprise at how big the garden is, and how secluded and private it is, with its high hedges and the many trees which provide good shade on sunny days.

There is are raised beds for growing fruit and vegetables, as well as a bark area under the trees, a soft surface area and an area of grass for stories and picnics.

The garden is also home to a playhouse, a pirate ship, a large mud kitchen and giant sand pit! The nursery focuses on natural play equipment as much as possible – there is even a fully protected small pond which contains a lot of frogs!

Other Rooms

The nursery also has a dedicated dining room where breakfast, lunch and tea are served on site every day for the children. There is also a fully stocked library with a wide range of non-fiction and fiction books for all ages.

All the children's development is recorded and analysed on an online tracker to provide an individual pathway for future learning. The nursery curriculum is The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS). Parents are able to receive regular updates directly to their smartphones and tablets so they have peace of mind and are able to stay in touch as much (or as little) as they like.

Through the EYFS the nursery identifies each child's developmental needs to enable them to make the most of their emerging skills, their abilities and their own particular talents.

Within the EYFS framework children experience the following learning areas: • Prime Areas • Personal, Social & Emotional Development • Physical Development • Communication & Language • Specific Areas • Literacy • Mathematics • Understanding the World • Expressive Arts & Design

At Kenton Park Nursery they also recognise the importance of a healthy lifestyle for the children they care for. The meals are high quality and consist of food specially chosen to give a balanced and nutritious diet, whilst accommodating the likes and dislikes of young children. Meals are prepared and cooked in the nursery kitchen by a fully qualified and experienced chef.

Some of the food prepared in the kitchen is grown by staff and children in the nursery vegetable garden. The meals are 'home cooked' with an emphasis on variety and non-processed foods from around the world so they appeal to the children's senses by incorporating taste, appearance and texture as part of their everyday diet. The nursery also accommodates special diets based on religious, medical or ethical grounds.

The nursery is open 51 weeks of the year, only closing for one working week at Christmas, and for all bank holidays. Otherwise they are open from 7.30am – 6.00pm daily and offer full day, or morning/afternoon only places.

The nursery offers free childcare places to eligible 2 year olds, and all 3-4 year olds, and always endeavours to be as flexible as possible in order ensure parents' childcare needs can be met.

To find out about when your child will be entitled to free childcare, to arrange a personal tour or to confirm the current nursery fees, visit the nursery website or call 0191 285 5020.