Greatham Village Nursery School
The Village Nursery School is situated in the rural village of Greatham in a purpose-built building adjoining the village hall.
The nursery consists of four rooms.
The Caterpillars class
These classrooms are designated for babies from 3 months old to toddles up to 2 years old and will work in conjunction with the Bumble Bees class. It has a one adult to three children ratio. There are separate rooms for babies and toddlers allowing babies to sleep in a quieter environment.
The Bumble Bees class
This classroom is designated for the 2yrs – 3yrs age range and has a one adult to four children ratio. Walking toddlers under 2 years old may also play in this room at certain times at the staffs’ discretion.
The Ladybirds
class
This classroom is designated for the 3yrs – 5yrs age range and has a one adult to six children ratio. We do reserve the right to alter this to 1 adult to 8 children (the government requirement) if necessary, to cover staff illness.
The Messy
Area
This is where the children can enjoy activities such as painting, play dough, modelling, collage, and sand, water, and tactile experiences.
Eligibility
The Nursery School is open to all children aged between 3 months and 5 years.
Insurance
The Nursery School is insured through Sterling Insurance.
In both main rooms the children can enjoy the benefit of a well-stocked book corner and home corner, and floor space in which they can play with a wide variety of toys, enjoy varied craft activities, and learn many skills towards the Early Learning Goals.
Each room has its own doors to the garden which has been split into two to accommodate the two bubble classes. The Ladybirds Garden has hard, rubber chipped and grassed area Both gardens enjoy the benefits of role playhouses, as well as large and small climbing equipment and an assortment of wheeled toys and a high fence around the entire perimeter. The Bumble Bees and Caterpillars Garden has a covered pond within a leave alone area which the children can explore. Two covered verandas have been added to the back of the building so that the children can benefit from an outdoor classroom. The garden is an ongoing project at the nursery, and we invite parental input into what areas they would like to see incorporated to enhance the outdoor curriculum and benefit the children.
At the Village Nursery (in September 2020) 99% of the staff are qualified and have a wealth of experience, which helps us enable the children to reach their individual potential. The nursery can have up to 54 children overall at any one session usually 9 Caterpillars, 16 -21 Bumblebees and 24 Ladybirds although this can fluctuate according to requirements.
The Village Nursery has a warm and welcoming environment in which children are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of play and educational activities through our indoors and outdoors curriculum. Our aims and motto are ‘Where fun is learning’.
Festival Celebrations
During the year we celebrate many different cultural festivals such as Diwali, -the Hindu Festival of Light; Chinese New Year and Christmas, when we hold a Christmas Concert and Christmas party. We host an annual open day for prospective new parents and children and various social events for the children, such as an end of year picnic and concert or sports day. We also have other special events for the children, such as Zoolab who bring insects of the giant variety and the children learn about them through the ranger’s stories and information sharing. You will find pictures of some of these events on our Facebook page.
KinderMusik
With Ali provides unique, fun filled music and movement sessions through age-appropriate activities for the younger children. The educational content and high-quality instruments and props enable the children to develop their sense of rhythm, self-expression, confidence, and physical control. Favourite activities such as the light show and parachute songs combine textures, sounds and movement for a multi-sensory learning experience. Ali joins us once a week in Caterpillars & Bumble Bees.
Roots and Shoots
We are members of Roots and Shoots, a conservation group set up by Jane Goodall to help school aged children understand the need for all of us to help look after our planet. We are very fortunate to have a parent at our sister nursery who teaches conservation through art with the children. (Doodles with my daughter). She comes once a week to draw and chat with the children. Our sister nursery received an award from Jane Goodall in March 2019 for the work with the children.
Forest School
Laura comes once a week to take a group of Ladybird children into the garden where they learn about the natural environment, basing each week on a different story e.g., Room on the broom. The children make wands, brooms etc relating to that week’s story. They also practice skills such as whittling and fire making using a flint and learn about safety around fires and the environment such as some berries are poisonous, or sticks can be dangerous as well as fun. The children use an extensive vocabulary whilst learning.