A Day at Nursery

See what a typical day at our nursery looks like, blending play, learning, and care to support every child’s growth. We provide a safe, engaging environment where children can thrive.

Dormice

Dormice are our under 2s, who naturally need the most support and care. The children in this age group have the benefit of 4 large airy spaces on the ground floor of our nursery, including a designated sleep/cot room, and a separate Dormice garden area for free-flow indoor/outdoor play.

All the toys and equipment used are appropriate to this age-groups physical and mental needs to allow your children to play and develop.

Our experienced team will ensure that your children get all the love and attention they could want throughout the day, and will keep your mind at ease with regular updates via our ‘Famly’ app and with an account of their day at collection.

All of our youngest children have their dietary requirements assessed individually and we follow the routine set out by their parents. As the baby develops and grows the routine is adjusted accordingly after consultation with you.

Squirrels

Squirrels are between the ages of 2-3, when the children are leaving the ‘toddler’ stage and developing their speech alongside a wider understanding of their environment and the people around them.

This is often where the children are their most playful and boisterous and as such, they have the use of the largest single room in the nursery, along with an adjoining ‘art-room’ where they can explore their creativity and create art-projects to adorn the family fridge for years to come. This group also benefits from a further break-out space for more focussed activities, story times, or just some chill time to re-centre themselves, from which there is free-flow to a separate Squirrels garden area.

The emphasis here is on developing security, self confidence and social skills which will help them create and maintain connections for years to come.

Kingfishers

Kingfishers is made up our 3 year olds and upwards. These children are starting to become ready for school, and many join us either side of their school day (Please contact us for details of our before and after school ‘Wraparound Care’).

This age group occupies the largest part of the building, which makes up most of the first floor and benefits from the most structured learning. They engage in a range of activities relating to the ‘foundation phase’ of learning and are allowed to develop within a relaxed and caring environment.

Children can free-flow between the more creative ‘art-room’ area and other areas for imaginative play and learning, and have regular structured circle time and stories delivered by our exceptional staff.

While all age groups have access to our Grow-Your-Own Garden, it’s the Kingfishers who make the most use of this area. This is where they are able to nurture plants and produce from seed, watching them grow, and develop into the food which we eat. This forms the basis of their understanding of where food comes from, and is a wonderful tool for encouraging healthy eating habits which will go with them for life.

Day in the life...

Arrival

We welcome children to nursery from 7.30am and they can jump straight into free play within their room, and can look at their visual timetable, so they know what to expect throughout their day.

Breakfast

At 8.30am the children enjoy a breakfast of cereal and toast, and then our younger children go back to the room for ‘circle time’ or for our very youngest, their morning nap.

Our older children head straight out into the garden or may head out for a morning walk, whilst those who attend school leave after breakfast. Once our older children have returned to their base room from outside it’s the turn of our younger children to enjoy the garden during the morning.

Morning

We offer free-flow play within the rooms, so children can independently choose which areas they would like to use, and which activities they take part in.

Every week there is a different topic in each room, with planned activities based around the children’s interests, these include: cooking; sensory play; arts and crafts; or a skill to be practiced, such as counting or scissor skills.

This is alongside the continuous provision such as the home corner; sand and water play; construction; mark making; cosy areas for reading; and small world play.

Lunch

The children sit down for a home cooked lunch between 11.30am and 12.30pm depending on their age.

After lunch it’s nap time for the younger children and, in the older groups, some of the children will be heading off to school for the afternoon while the rest head back into the garden for more outside play.

Afternoon

The children will have snack time at around 2pm where they will be offered milk and a healthy snack.

After snack our Squirrels group (2-3) will head straight into the garden to burn off some energy after their naps and our eldest and youngest will continue their free-flow play, where there will be both planned activities and children’s choice. Many of our youngest children will go down for their afternoon naps at this time.

Tea Time

‘Tea time’ is between 3.30-4pm, after all of the older children have returned from their afternoon at school. Dormice (0-2) will then continue with free play until it is home time and the older groups will each have time for outside play, before going back inside for stories and children’s choice of play before home time.

Outdoor Play

At Hazelhurst we are exceptionally lucky to have a large corner plot which gives us an extensive outdoor area for children to learn and play.

This is separated into several smaller zones including; enclosed areas for our youngest children; a large principal play area with rubberised flooring for a variety of play styles which includes age appropriate bikes, play mobiles, elevated playhouse with slide and climbing frame; a ‘mud kitchen’ for messier outdoor play and exploration; and our newest additions, a nature-themed garden area for hunting mini-beasts and experiencing the natural environment under the shade of the trees; and our openair Grow-your-own garden classroom for learning about how our food is produced and the life cycle of plants.

All age groups have access to the garden at various points throughout each day, and due to sectional nature of our outdoor space, we are able to have several age groups outside at the same time, either enjoying free play or structured learning.