At Leo's Den Nursery our staff are here to provide your child with the skills that they will need to help them with the next step to school. Your child will have fun while learning in our brightly themed jungle look rooms.
Learning about caring and sharing with others, and helping your child become a competent and confident learner.
Our trained caring staff will build a sound relationship with Parents and Carers to enable us all to give your child the best possible start in early education and to cater for your child's individual needs.
All our staff will have regular training and the nursery will aim to achieve the highest possible standards of care for your child.
Our staff will maintain developmental records for your child that will be passed on to your Childs school, when they leave the nursery. You are free to look at your child's records at any time.
At Leo's Den Nursery we want learning to be FUN, FUN, FUN.
Key Workers
At Leo's Den Nursery we operate a key worker system.
Each member of staff will be allocated key children and will take responsibility for keeping your child's daily diary, make notes of their development and keep files up to date.
The key worker will liaise with you on all aspects of care for your child.
If the key worker is unavailable you may speak to any member of staff in your Childs room.
All of our staff take part in the care and education of your child and will build a special bond with him or her.
Our Aims
At Leo's Den Nursery we aim to:
Provide a safe, secure, caring and fun environment for your child to grow in.
Help your child develop at their own pace, through structured learning activities and time for free play and outdoor experiences.
To build a sound relationship with parents and carers.
With communication being the key factor.
Provide a valuable service to parents, with value for money and excellent early education and care for their child.
Here at Leo's Den Nursery we aim to provide a varied and balanced diet to suit all children.
During the settling in period we will ask you questions about your child's diet and any allergies, intolerances etc they may have.
We will also be taking notes of any cultural or religious dietary needs your child may have.
All the food provided for the nursery will be freshly cooked using the best ingredients and will provide your child with a part of their daily nutritional needs.
A copy of the weekly menu is available for you to read, and will be displayed on the notice board.
We offer snacks to the children during the morning and Afternoon sessions.
This will comprise of a daily choice between fresh fruit, vegetable sticks, crackers, cheese and raisins etc.
We try to avoid encouraging a sweet tooth in the children, but we occasionally have treats for special occasions, birthdays etc.
If you would like to supply a birthday cake for your child please check that the ingredients are always nut free.
We aim to teach the children the importance of mealtimes, not only for their general health and wellbeing but for the social pleasure of eating and sharing time together at the table; this is a huge part of a child’s development and learning.
At the age of two years we will provide your child with a fork and spoon to eat their meals and will introduce a child size knife when they are rising to three and ready for the preschool room.
If your child is ready to use a knife before this time, we will encourage them to do this.
Please speak to a member of staff if your child is having any problems with their diet or if they have been off of their food at all.
We aim to make mealtimes a pleasant and sociable time for the children , we value your advice into your childs diet and eating habits and will always listen to your request.
When your child has been offered a place at the nursery we will set a start date with you and some settling in time for your child.
We aim to gradually introduce your child to the nursery over a period of one / two weeks [longer if needed].
These times are used only as a guide and your child may need more time to settle in to the nursery.
Changing settings or starting nursery for the first time is a huge step for your child, so the settling in period should be gradual, and all staff will be sensitive to the needs of your child.
Each child will a take different amount of time to settle into nursery, we will work closely with you to make sure this transition goes as smoothly as possible.
This is a guide only - General settling in times are as follows.
1st Day 10.30am until 12.30pm Parent / carer to stay with child
2nd Day As Above
3rd Day 10.30am until 12.30pm Parent / carer to stay for 1 hour.
4th Day 10.30am until 12.30pm Parent / carer to leave after settling in [30 mins]]
5th Day 10.30am until 2.30pm As above
6th Day 9.30 am until 4.30 pm
There after normal working hours of parent, if the child has settled well.
Please allow your child to bring an object of comfort with them while settling in at the nursery, i.e. comfort blanket, toy, or soother.
We do not encourage children bringing their own toys and games to nursery on a daily basis, it can be very upsetting if these get lost or broken, we only allow comfort toys to be kept in the child's basket and brought out when needed.
We will however have sessions when we ask your child to bring something they are interested in to nursery for show and tell time.
This is a valuable tool for us to plan activities around your child's interest.
Your chid will be allocated a key worker who along with the other staff will keep you informed of your child's settling in and developmental progress.
At Leo's Den Nursery we aim to provide the best staff to care for your children.
At least half of our staff will hold a professional valid qualification in Child care and Education and the remaining staff will have significant experience of caring for children and working towards gaining a qualification.
All our staff will be vetted by Ofsted and will hold enhanced checks from the criminal records bureau.
All our staff will have regular training in Child care, Education, First aid, Food hygiene, Infection control and any other training that is set out by the Early Year's Education Sector.
We operate a key person system that will enable the staff to observe and plan for your child's individual needs.
Staffing
Child / Adult ratios will be maintained with the following
Children aged 4mths-2 years - One member of staff to three children.
Children aged 2-3 years - One member of staff to four children.
Children aged 3-5 years - One member of staff to eight children.
A room based Deputy Manager
A supernumerary Manager [Office based]
A kitchen assistant and Cleaner
