Bumblebee Room

Our belief is that the care and attention afforded to a baby in its initial years is a key part of its future development. At Balfour Nursery this starts in our baby room. From the outset, our beautifully well-planned baby room provides our babies with the space to explore and expand their development in the prime areas of learning.

The room’s well-equipped educational resources offer the ideal environment for the initial key early years stages of learning. The creative play areas which stimulates a baby’s imagination and the quiet “cosy corners“ which offer quiet reading time with staff members are to name but a few.

Mealtimes maintain a strong feeling of interaction between our staff and our babies. Freshly prepared nutritious meals ensure that a baby’s dietary needs are catered for.

The well-being of our babies is paramount. Our dedicated team consistently provide our babies with individual attention, cuddles and reassurance to ensure that they feel safe and secure.

Butterfly Room

Our busy Butterfly Room supports our toddlers to learn through play, learning that playing alongside others can not only broaden their experiences but also teach them key values such as sharing with others. Throughout the classroom, especially in our engaging role play area, the children will expand their vocabulary in addition to learning to take turns and share resources with their peers. As a result, they effectively learn how to manage their feelings in a positive way, which is essential at this key stage of development.

An integral part of our Butterfly Room is toilet training; this can be a challenging time but is easily achievable when parents/carers work in partnership with our dedicated practitioners, who are willing to offer the right advice  to make this experience for you and your child as smooth as  possible.

Our experienced team provide our children with the support and guidance they need to manage their feelings during this stage of their development to allow them to flourish into happy, expressive and sociable young children.

Dragonfly Room

When our 3-year olds enter our Dragonfly Room, they progress to more areas of learning (the world of technology and science to name but a few.) Our well-thought-out activities are carefully designed to help to nurture and develop our children’s inquisitive minds in a stimulating and fun environment. An example of this is our science experiments. These challenges help our children to learn about change and the unexpected in a dynamic and educational way. Our children’s knowledge in numeracy is enhanced via engaging activities such as counting blocks and matching card games. We use every opportunity possible to develop mathematical knowledge in daily activities, such as measuring the ingredients used for cooking activities. Our children are also first introduced to phonics and letters at this stage. Our writing area provides them with the opportunity to practise forming letters and developing the correct pencil grip and control.

Children are taught the importance of independence and confidence in our animated Dragonfly Room at this key stage of their personal development. Our conscientious staff encourage these two important attributes on a daily basis. For example, children are encouraged to pour their own drinks and put on their own coats. It is these small steps that children take that ultimately lead to them flourishing into independent and confident children.

Step by step, our staff actively help our children on their journey to independence by offering support, guidance and encouragement whilst making these key years as enjoyable as possible.

Grasshopper Room

Our Grasshopper Room is for our oldest children. This classroom provides them with an insight into school life. It prepares them for a smooth transition into their new school which at times can be challenging for a child. In our Grasshopper Room, our children further develop their love for phonics and letters as well as being introduced to basic reading. Numeracy skills are further enhanced in engaging activities such as being introduced to more complex shapes. This is undertaken alongside solving simple mathematical problems with their peers, encouraging teamwork and improving their problem-solving skills. Our teaching also incorporates learning about the wider world and general knowledge (such as seasons and life cycles), making our children even more inquisitive and conscious of the world around them.

As with our Dragonfly Room, our Grasshopper Room also helps our children to develop their personal skills. Again, the key value of independence is once more promoted, which will be of the utmost importance to them in their future school journey. Our well-trained staff do so by encouraging our children to be even more independent in their actions.

At this stage of a child’s development, we ensure that our children are fully prepared for primary school by working closely with them, their parents and the school they will be joining. Our aim is to ultimately produce confident children who will be willing to share their ideas and experiences with their peers at their new schools. Crucially, we aim to ensure that there is a smooth transition as our children progress to enjoy new adventures.

Garden 

The outdoor experience at Balfour Nursery provides our children with an equally important education to that of our indoor education. Our spacious garden provides ample opportunities for our children to explore the many educational resources that are available.

Our garden is very much an extension of our classrooms. It has been cleverly designed to offer play that develops imagination and physical skills. The garden’s open space allows our children to experience the quiet time to relax and be attentive to the many sounds around them.

It is here that the children will learn about their natural surroundings. They will go on bug hunts, looking at the changes in trees, talk about the weather and appreciate the importance of the four seasonal changes.

Our all weather toys and equipment have been specially selected to ensure the children achieve their learning outcomes safely.

The children have access to resources that help them develop their gross motor skills. With the support of our dedicated practitioners our children are able to learn to ride bikes, maintain balance as well as develop throwing, catching and kicking skills. These skills are not only of paramount importance in their early years of education but also prepares them for the curriculum of physical education that they will undertake at primary school.

Outings and Visitors 

Visits have been made to our Nursery by dentists, the police and the road safety team to educate our children on their roles in such professions. Such visits help in stimulating our children’s interest in the wider world

We organise outings for the children to local venues, places of religious interest or to our local parks.

Taking the children on outings again further enhances the children’s knowledge of the wider world and the communities around us.

Key person  

We believe that children are most happy and feel secure when they form close bonds with the people around them. Thus, at Balfour Nursery we have a designated key person for every child, who will be present during your child’s settling in period to understand the individual needs of your child and to further learn about your child’s routine and family practices. A strong relationship will form between the key person and both child and parent throughout your child’s time at Balfour Nursery. The key person will always be your first point of contact.

Kitchen and mealtimes 

The nursery’s fully – equipped kitchen has been given a 5-star rating following our annual inspection by the local authorities Environmental Health Officers. Our qualified on site cook ensures that we can cater for all dietary needs including offering halal, non halal and vegetarian options. The diversity of our menu provides the children with an opportunity to taste and gain an appreciation for foods from different cultures. We offer healthy snacks, fresh milk and water throughout the day in addition to three nutritious meals.

Security and CCTV

The safety of our children and their families is of utmost importance to us. It is for this reason that entry into the reception area can only be granted by a senior member of staff through an intercom system. Entry past our reception is only possible using a code into our main door.

Parents / guardians can make use of the securely coded buggy area for their convenience. The entire nursery is under CCTV surveillance.