Building a Foundation for

the Future

Welcome to First Steps Day Nursery. This booklet contains information regarding the Nursery and it’s Staff which we hope you

will find useful in either making a decision to book a place with us, or as reference once you hopefully do.

The Nursery

First Steps Day NurseryCaduceus HouseUpper WarrengateWakefieldWF1 4JZTel: 01924 298290Email: 1ststeps@wdhcs.com or nicola@wdhcs.com

Ofsted Registration Number: EY216311

Opening Hours: 7:00 – 6:00 Monday to Friday. Closed all bank holidaysMorning session: 7.30-12.30 Afternoon session: 1.00-6.00

Full day 8.00-600 (7am start available at an extra cost)

Our Nursery is part of Wakefield and District Health and Community Support LTD which is a registered charity helping support the local community. As such, the Nursery is a non-profit operation and all the money we make goes back into the Nursery and into the community and this means we are able to provide ongoing high quality services for your children and our staff members, and also means our rates are able to remain extremely competitive.

Complimentary Therapy is offered within the Charity, information can be found on the company website: www.wdhcs.com

Our TeamThe First Step Nursery Team is a strong, highly qualified, highly motivated team striving to provide the best quality care and education for all the children attending.

ManagerNicola AllansonI have worked at First Steps since August 2016. Prior to this I have worked in various settings and areas of childcare, spending lots of time as a Senior Practitioner.

Deputy ManagerSamantha GreenI have worked at First Steps since April 2016. I began as the Senior practitioner, and have worked with various age groups, and have lots of experience leading a team. I am also the nursery SENCO.

Baby RoomSophie Smith - Room LeaderLaura Quinn - Nursery PractitionerChloe Holmes - Nursery Practitioner

2 – 3’s RoomVictoria Barnes - Senior Nursery PractitionerMandy Green - Nursery PractitionerZaneta Piekut - Nursery PractitionerKatie Adlington - Nursery PractitionerCharlotte Womack - Apprentice Nursery Practitioner

3-5’s RoomElizabeth Presley - Senior Nursery PractitionerLeanne Garner - Senior Nursery OfficerTori Ruddell - Room LeaderEmily Burgin - Nursery PractitionerShona Waddington - Nursery PractitionerEmma Raby - Nursery Practitioner

Support StaffLiam Wood - Nursery CookJill Quinn - Nursery CleanerSteve Quinn - Maintenance

What can I expect for my Child from First Steps Day Nursery?We can guarantee that our staff members will treat your child as an individual. We pride ourselves on getting to know you and your child or children. We do this by getting to know you and our friendly staff members are approachable and chatty making you feel relaxed about leaving your children here in our care.When you enrol you will be asked to provide information about your child which will help our staff care for him or her in the way you would at home, providing opportunities for you to let us know all about their routines and likes and dislikes amongst other things.

There are always lots of fun, stimulating activities on offer both indoors and outdoors in our large outdoor area.

The routine at First Steps is very relaxed and individual for our younger children, with some structure introduced as the children get older in preparation for School. Routines of the children are followed as closely as possible.

Our Staff members follow a curriculum called the EYFS which ensures that your child is reaching his or her full potential during their time here.

The Early Years Foundation Stage - EYFSThe Nursery uses the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework when planning activities for all the children. The children are encouraged to explore and develop their environment in an imaginative way enabling them to become confident in their abilities and independent giving them the best possible start moving forward.

What is the EYFS and how does it benefit my child?The EYFS concentrates on children achieving and developing in 7 different areas. 3 of these areas are considered Prime Areas and are essential in developing skills in order to begin making progress in the other 4 areas which are known as Specific Areas. The table below shows these areas and how they are broken down within the document:

Prime Areas

Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED)

* Making Relationships* Self Confidence and Self Awareness* Managing Feelings and Behaviours

Physical Development (PD) * Moving and Handling* Health and Self Care

Communication and Language Development (CLD)

* Listening and Attention* Understanding* Speaking

Specific Areas

Literacy * Reading* Writing

Mathematics * Numbers* Shape, Space and Measures

Understanding the World * People and Communities* The World* Technology

Expressive Arts and Design * Exploring and using Media and Materials* Being Imaginative

The staff members plan activities for the children covering all the areas above week to week. They observe the children and find out what the children like to do and also what stage of development they are at. This help the staff members plan activities that the children are likely to not only get the most out of, but also enjoy.

As children learn in different ways, staff members also take this into account when planning these activities. The Characteristics of Effective Learning are different ways in which children learn and the table below explains what they area and what they mean.

Characteristic: Children learn by:Playing and Exploring - Engagement

Finding out and exploringPlaying with what they knowShow willing to ‘Have a Go’

Active Learning - Motivation Being involved and concentratingKeeping tryingEnjoying and achieving what they set out to do

Creating and thinking critically - Thinking

Having their own ideasMaking linksChoosing ways to do things

My Children spend a lot of time ‘Playing’, what are they getting out of that?

Children learn through play and by being exposed to stimulating experiences, play allows a child to explore at their own pace, in their own way experimenting and developing confidence in themselves, their abilities and their own independence. Children will learn how to interpret the world around them at a level they are able to understand through their play. They will begin to test their own knowledge and build on their past experiences.

Children need the opportunity to repeat patterns of play in order for them to solidify their own knowledge and test the concepts they have already learnt. Without the opportunity to do this, they miss out on vital steps necessary to make links from one experience to another and this could hinder the speed at which they develop. For example, we wouldn’t expect a baby to walk before they were able to hold their own head up.

The same principle applies to all stages of development and play allows the child to experience every step at their own pace.

There are of course things that children will need teaching, and this is where our planning comes into it. For this reason staff members provide a variety of activities and experiences for all children including activities set out for the children to experience independently as well as with the support of an adult.

Key PersonAll children a given a Key Person upon starting Nursery. This person will be the main staff member who will liaise with you and your child and will build a relationship with you both. They will help your child feel safe and secure during their time at Nursery and get to know them planning lots of lovely activities aimed at your child as an individual

Baby RoomOur baby room cares for babies from 3 months to approximately 2 years old. We work on a ratio of 1 staff member for every 3 children. Our room is spacious and inviting with areas set out to promote different aspects of learning and development.

Babies learn through their senses and as such, this is taken into account when our staff members plan activities for them.

Our baby room can have a maximum of 12 children with 4 staff members.

There is a separate outdoor area just for our babies keeping them safe when the older children are running around.

Toddler Room

Our toddler room cares for children aged between the ages of 2 and 3 years approximately. We work on a ratio of 1 staff member for every 4 children. The room is set out with different areas including areas for the children to get messy, quiet areas for relaxing and somewhere for the children to eat.

Children at this age are starting to explore their environment in a much more physical way and therefore the room is set out to encourage this. The areas flow from one space to another with outdoor access at all times of the day with the exception of meal times.

In our Toddler room we are able to care for a maximum of 24 children with 6 staff members at one time.

Pre School Room

Our pre-school room cares for children aged 3+ and is a large bright airy room on the first floor. The room is set out to encourage independence and exploration. Staff members are always on hand to provide structure and more focused adult led times for our older children, preparing them for their transition to ‘Big School’

We work on a ratio of 1 staff member for every 8 children and are able to care for a maximum of 24 children with 3 staff members at one time.

The children are able to and encouraged to use the outdoor area as they wish and staff members are on hand to support them into the outdoor space.

We have a number of learning programmes on offer for our older children such as Phonics, which aids pre reading and writing skills, and SEAD which is a programme designed to empower children emotionally and socially. More information about our learning programmes can be provided if you ask a member of staff.

What will my child eat whilst at Nursery?

The children are offered a nutritious, balanced diet whilst at Nursery. We offer a variety of fruit and vegetables throughout the day for the children to snack on and fresh drinking water is also available for the older children to independently access.

We encourage our parents and children to contribute ideas to our menus and these are highlighted on the menu itself.

A sample of our menu is shown below

Monday Spaghetti Bolognaise with Onions, peppers, Mushrooms and tomato’s

served with Garlic Bread

Fresh Fruit and yogurt

Teddy Bears Picnic – Sandwiches, veg sticks and bread sticks

Homemade chocolate buns

Tuesday Chicken Curry with brown rice, Warm naan bread and mango chutney

Homemade chocolate chip cookies

Spaghetti hoops on wholemeal toast topped with cheese

Banana SplitWednesday Homemade Fish Pie with tuna and

haddock and sweetcorn in a creamy leek sauce topped with cheesy mashed

potato

Homemade fruit scones with cream and jam

Assorted toasties, cheese and ham, tuna and cheese, cheese and tomato

Fromage Frais

Thursday Cauliflower and broccoli macaroni bake in a creamy cheese sauce served with

crusty bread

Strawberry Trifle

Hot dogs served with onions, mustard and ketchup

Home made flapjacks

Friday Chilli made with mince, tomatoes, peppers, and mixed beans served with

brown rice

Homemade soup of the day with crusty bread

Fresh Fruit

Homemade sponge and custard

How much will it cost to send my children to Nursery?

Some families are entitled to financial help for childcare. If you think this might be the case then speak to a member of staff who will happily give you information about how to find out.All 3 year olds are entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare for 38 weeks per year starting the term after their birthday. For more information about this please speak to a member of staff.

Price List

Under 2’s Prices Over 2’s PricesFull day £47.00 Full day £44.00Half day £27.00 Half day £26.00Full Week £223.25 (inc 5%

discount)Full Week £209.00 (inc 5%

discount)Early start (7am) £5.25 Early start (7am) £5.25Additional Hours £4.65 Additional Hours £4.30

Will my child be safe whilst at Nursery?

Our team work tirelessly to ensure all children in our care are safe and happy at all times, from finding out information such as allergies and medical conditions to risk assessing all our equipment and the environment, we do everything in our power.

We work with a number of Policies and Procedures surrounding Health and Safety and Safeguarding and these are always available in reception for you to take a look at. Should you wish to take a copy of any of these policies please ask a member of staff who will happily provide you with what you want.

Please watch our notice boards for our policy of the month, this is your opportunity to contribute to our policies and procedures and see how we constantly review our practice in order to keep your children safe.