Sandwell Day Nursery

The Baby Room is where children aged 3 to 20 months will get the best start during their early years. With capacity for 10 babies and a supervision ratio of no more than three babies to each member of staff, parents can be reassured that their little ones will be very well looked after.

Staff follow the Early Years Framework, ensuring that the needs of each child are met – including their physical and emotional development. But of course there are plenty of opportunities for play. These include:

• Musical instruments
• Sand
• Water
• Treasure Baskets
• Painting

Parents will be introduced to all the staff and children in the nursery. Each child is assigned a Key Carer who follows the child’s progress throughout their time in the Baby Room.

Prospective parents and children are normally invited to spend up to three visits before becoming members. The first visit gives Mum or Dad the opportunity to tell us about things their children like or don’t like, while the second visit involves children being left for about an hour to play with new friends. The third visit will be for about 2 hours with the option of staying for lunch.

At the end of each day children are given a daily chart to take home to show Mum and Dad what they’ve done at nursery that day, including routines like eating and sleeping.

When your child starts at nursery you will need to complete a registration pack which includes information on your child’s dietary needs, allergies, contact numbers and so forth. You will also need to bring:

• A complete set of spare clothes
• Bottle feeds and dummies (if needed)
• Nappies
• Wipes
• Cream
• Sun cream and a hat for the summer.

The Tweenie Room welcomes children when they reach 20 months, and caters for them up to the age of 2½ years. This room also has a supervision ration of no more than three children to each member of staff, with capacity for 10 children.

Once again, staff follow the Early Years Framework, ensuring that the needs of each child are met – including their physical and emotional development.

Everything in the Tweenie Room is fun, with plenty of opportunities for messy play. Things like:

• Sand
• Water
• Corn flour
• Paints
• Spaghetti
• Jelly

At the end of each day parents are told of everything their child has done. This includes how they played, ate or slept, or any nappies that were used.

When children join the Tweenie Room, we ask their parents to bring:

• Spare clothes
• Nappies
• Wipes
• Sun cream and hat for the summer
• Coat and willies for the winter
• Toothbrush and toothpaste

We also hold two open evenings each year for you to discuss your child’s needs with his or her Key Carer.

Children join the Toddler Room when they are 2 ½ years old, and can remain here until they are three. With capacity for nine children, the Toddler Room has a supervision ratio of no more than four children to each member of staff.

In the Toddler Room children are offered a wide range of learning experiences through play. These include:

• Sand
• Water
• Treasure Baskets
• Messy Play
• Construction
• Role Play

Staff in the Toddler Room work to the EYFS framework. Examples can be seen all around the nursery.

At the end of each day, Mums and Dads are told about everything their child has done, including how they played, what they ate and when they slept.

Potty training normally begins in the Toddler Room, so long as your child is willing and ready. You are asked to provide your child with at least two sets of clothes as toileting accidents and messy play can happen…

You will also need to bring:

• Nappies, wipes and cream (if needed)
• Spare clothes (labeled)
• A coat, hat, gloves and Wellington boots in winter
• A sunhat and sun cream in the summer.

The Pre-School Room caters for children aged 3 to 5 years. With capacity for 16 children, the supervision ratio is no more than eight children to each member of staff.

The Pre-School room is a fun and stimulating room where children explore a variety of things through play. This helps them prepare for starting school.

There are six areas of learning:

Knowledge and Understanding of the world

Here, children look at the world they live in by exploring  science and information technology.

Creativity

Children have their imaginations fired with lots of fun and messy art opportunities. They are provided with lots of role play equipment for pretending and re-enacting.

Maths

Children play with toys and equipment to help them count, recognize numbers and shapes, sort objects, look at size and measurements, and calculate.

Physical development

Children use play opportunities to encourage their gross and fine motor skills both indoors and outdoors. This includes dancing, indoor games, splashing in puddles, riding bikes, climbing and threading, playing with small equipment like Lego

Communication, Language and Literacy

Children learn to communicate effectively by using books, singing, recognising and learning letters, and using various writing materials.

Personal, Social and Emotional development

Children learn from relationships and participate in lots of group opportunities such as cooking and circle games, learning to share, taking turns, and working as a team.

Children are always encouraged to be themselves, and to develop independence by choosing their own learning experiences during the day.

In Pre School we ask parents to provide their child with:

• A complete set of spare clothes. Children have a lot of fun, but it can get messy!
• A coat and Wellington boots in the winter. Maybe an umbrella too
• Sun hat and sun cream in the summer.

Each morning staff and children sit together to discuss the events for the day. We look at the day, date, time of year and the weather.

Each child is allocated a key carer who helps and encourages them to develop their skills. Carers observe children in play and set targets for them to work towards and help them to achieve.

Staff keep you updated throughout the year on your child’s progress through reviews and our open evenings, as parent’s partnership is essential during you child’s time at nursery.

Here are a selection of comments from parents past and present who have used Sandwell Day Nursery:

“The nursery manager and staff at Sandwell day nursery have proved to be trustworthy and most reliable during difficult moments of my life. They have been flexible and offered their help without any hesitation. My daughter is so happy to go to the nursery and the way she speaks and shares her day’s activities it is as if the nursery manager and staff are part of her family.”

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 “Both of my children attended Sandwell day nursery full time for a number of years. I cannot praise the nursery and its staff highly enough! The environment was very supportive and both of my children thrived on the range of activities provided combined with fun and developmental activities tailored for the age and stage of the individual child. Communication between the staff and parents is good and if I ever had and queries these were looked into and dealt with in a very quick, effective and professional manner.”

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“The excellent start my daughter had in the nursery has made her the happy confident little girl she is. We all have fond memories of her time there and she still often talks about them all. It is incredibly hard leaving your child in someone else’s care but I had every confidence in the nursery team and they were all very supportive. We can never thank them enough. My daughter is doing really well at school and is on the gifted and talented register…….well done!”

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“Both of my children settled well into nursery, they love the routine and have developed into bright, confident children having been at nursery since they were babies. The transition and preparation for school helped my daughter settle in school easily”

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 “My daughter has gained so much for being at this nursery and I am amazed at how much she has picked up. The level of care she receives is great and I feel so lucky that she got a place at the nursery.”

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 “Very friendly staff, who are approachable at all times”

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“Staff are so friendly and approachable; there are lots of activities for the children. Provides confidence and independence in the children and are like a second family!”

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“The nursery provides a great support on the upbringing of children. They become part of the family”

The most recent Ofsted report for Sandwell Day Nursery was carried out in May 2010. Inspectors found that the overall quality of provision was ‘good’, and that:

“Children enjoy their time at this warm and caring nursery where they make good progress towards the early learning goals. Highly effective partnerships with parents and other professionals helps to promote inclusive practice, ensure children’s individual needs are met and their welfare promoted. The manager is aware of the strengths of the setting, and plans for the future are developing well through the use of self-evaluation which includes realistic improvement targets. Overall, a very welcoming and inclusive service is provided.”

Of 17 performance criteria, the nursery scored ‘Outstanding’ in three categories, and ‘Good’ in all others.

Read the full Ofsted report here