We offer 2 bespoke, purpose built baby rooms. They are a warm, safe and secure space with a focus on tactile activities that encourage your babies’ development. Our staff ratios in this room are 1 member of staff to 3 children. Every child has their own dedicated key worker throughout their time in the Caterpillar Room or Ladybird Room.
We understand that babies are inquisitive, observing everything around them using their senses! Babies communicate their needs through body movement and facial expressions. Our early years educators are skilled in supporting this non verbal communication to develop these skills, modelling positive language including makaton.
As mentioned our Babies are encouraged to learn by using their senses, exploring the world around them through a range of activities. Development is achieved in a safe and secure environment with familiar, friendly faces. Activities include singing, floor time, story time, messy play, outdoor play, as well as focused sensory sessions which allow the children to explore independently and develop their confidence.
As well as a nurturing dedicated baby team on hand to give lots of cuddles and conversation, our babies have the right resources specific to them. This includes lots of different texture play toys, access to family photos, stimulation from mirrors and play books. The babies have access to their bespoke sensory den and lights out time when sleeping zones are created.
The children in this group work on the EYFS developing their 3 prime areas of learning and development.
Our childcare team will work with you to ensure we follow your child’s routine to help settle into nursery life. The staff are always willing to support routines at home and keep consistency throughout. Our early years educators use their knowledge and qualified skills to build the early foundations from that of a bum shuffle, first word to first steps!
The children across our baby rooms are provided with a diary so their teacher can record your child’s daily activities and update on their wellbeing throughout the day. Your child’s diary is also a way for parents to communicate with teachers. However, there are lots of opportunities to discuss your child’s development at the end of the day.
When any children move rooms, key workers inform & discuss this with parents and an integration period is set. This involves spending time in their new room with the new teachers, giving your child the opportunity to adjust to their new environment.
Each child has their own folder of work to enable monitoring of their developing skills, along with observations made by their key person.
We have created 2 beautiful rooms known as the Sunshine Room and Rainbow Room for our explosive, imaginative 2 year olds to take over. Across our 2 year old rooms the teachers ensure that all children who attend have a variety of activities and equipment to promote all round development focussing on the EYFS with 3 prime areas of learning and 4 specific areas of learning.
The staff ratio in this area is one adult to four children, the children are aged two rising to three years of age approximately. Each child is valued as an individual throughout their time at Hydratots teachers plan for individuals needs and adapt activities to suit all abilities . Every child has their own dedicated key worker throughout their time in the Sunshine Room/ Rainbow Room.
During this period of time the children will be exposed to a range of learning opportunities including child led learning, leading to gaining personal independence and social skills including hand washing, toilet training and other self-help skills. We continue to develop each child’s cultural capital extending play ideas beyond imagination.
A wide range of fun activities will be provided and careful supervision and encouragement is given at all times to ensure children are well supported throughout this important stage in their development. As rising twos, speech is a large part of their development, staff deliver vocabulary through every opportunity!
Free play is available throughout the sessions including outdoor play thereby encouraging imaginative development, language and fine motor skills within a caring environment. As children begin learning more about themselves and the world around them, they want to explore further, experiment and make their own decisions. There are many opportunities for independent choices to be made, exploration, balanced by a routine with regular quiet times. Activities are mainly creative, with sand and water always available, plenty of indoor and outdoor physical play, and opportunities for role play and imaginative games.
The children in our 2 year old rooms are provided with a diary so their teachers can record your child’s daily activities and update on their wellbeing throughout the day. Your child’s diary is also a way for parents to communicate with teachers. However, there are lots of opportunities to discuss your child’s development at the end of the day.
The majority of planning is in the moment with instant next steps. We use open ended resources to develop imagination and creative thinking and we believe strongly in making learning fun for children. Each child’s cultural Capital is always taken into consideration as staff plan carefully to open up a variety of new experiences and learning opportunities.
When any children move rooms, key workers inform & discuss this with parents and an integration period is set. This involves spending time in their new room with the new staff, giving your child the opportunity to adjust to their new environment.
We have created the perfect room dedicated to our imaginative 3 year olds to develop confidence, independence and respect. We have found by having this room specific to our 3 year olds, it truly helps the process in preparing them for our Preschool Room.
Children have opportunities to learn through the help of our extremely skillful practitioners- as they use open ended questions and encourage children to reflect on their experiences when experimenting and facing challenges. Children’s minds are filled with ideas and interests and here at Hydratots we bring these to life! Our rooms reflect the children throughout!
Our thriving three year olds are introduced to the world around them as their teachers incorporate everyday life skills, why things happen and how things work! Practitioners use their own monthly pre planned themes, mixing all the ingredients together- producing activities implemented in a way to engage and develop fun, exciting ways of learning. Children are engaged, with their curiosity ever growing! Our early year educators have a clear purpose for each and every activity they promote, resulting in a huge impact on learning and development.
Again, cultural capital flows through the Butterfly Room- landing on all four walls to create endless opportunities for children to become involved in!
Our thoughtful threes’ have daily experiences to talk about their feelings, wishes and thoughts- learning how to label why we feel a certain way. Through this children begin to learn boundaries and appropriate ways of play- using their kind and caring hands with their peers and toys.
Our teachers are extremely skillful at developing children’s learning, they use open ended questions and encourage children to reflect when experimenting and exploring. Children are encouraged to be creative and imaginative throughout their days. Project based activities are used to develop children’s interest and take learning to the next level. Staff have a clear intent on what they would like children to learn and this is implemented in a way that engages children, develops curiosity and has a clear impact of their learning and development.
The staff ratios for this room are 1 member of staff to 8 children, every child has their own dedicated key worker throughout their time in Pre-school. For this age group we have developed a carefully planned programme working towards the Early Years Foundation Stage, covering the seven areas of learning as we recognise this developmental journey preparing for school.
As your child plays and learns our experienced early years educators observe their progress and respond to their individual needs. Independence is encouraged as their confidence grows and there is a focus on their creative, physical and social development. In the pre-school room we provide as many opportunities to learn as possible with unlimited access to books, maths puzzles, imaginative play areas and computers setting them up for life beyond nursery.
We host specific sessions for the children that work alongside the teachers planning for the month such as, Learning Languages, Make Believe Play, Sports, Little Creators, and so much more. If you are looking to give your little one the best opportunities from early years then you have come to the right place!
To prepare our children for school we support them in finding their names at the beginning of each session. We encourage name writing, letter recognition and counting activities throughout the day making learning fun and exciting.
We also have visits from each of the children’s new school teachers. This works great as the children will get to see their new teachers in their own familiar surroundings at Hydratots, before they go and meet them at their new school.
Everything we do from start to finish allows a seamless transition between the rooms, ultimately making the nursery experience for the children as easy and smooth as possible.
Each child has their own folder of work to enable monitoring of their developing skills, along with observations made by their key person.
When the time comes to end the nursery journey at Hydratots we host a wonderful graduation ceremony for all to attend. We look over memories made at nursery and individual achievements throughout the year! This is also where you will receive the personal learning journal that each of your little ones teachers have collated together over the years, it is a great keepsake.
And off your little one will go to school, equipped with all the knowledge, confidence and independence needed to succeed.