The Nursery Day
The nursery opens at 08.00 am and closes at 06:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
The nursery school has 3 special learning environments; the Nido, the Infant Community and the Children's House.
Each has a timetable according to the children’s age and current level of development. Children transition from one class to the next when we observe an increase in their language, movement and independence. Children are guided and supported during any transition between environments with the parents and teachers involvement.
Nido
Nido means 'Nest' in Italian. Our aim is to make this a calm and gentle environment that encourages the development of each child. We have a relaxed timetable of indoor and outdoor activities that include everything your baby needs for their optimal development. We carefully observe each child throughout the day and make observations to determine when to offer activities or provide essential care that supports each child's wellbeing. We communicate with parents routinely to ensure each child's sleep and feeding routine is consistent with their home routine. This we consider particularly important because our Montessori approach focuses very much on order in the early years. As children develop and grow so their care needs change and they naturally adopt a routine consistent with their time spent at nursery.
The Infant Community (I.C)
Children transition to the I.C when they are walking confidently and able to explore in more advanced ways. Our classroom offers children activities that encourage development of language, creativity, music, art, self care and care of the classroom. The IC follows a timetable that gently encourages a positive routine for children to follow.
The Infant Community Timetable
08:00 - 08:45 Arrival / Breakfast
08:45 - 09:00 Cleaning and preparation for work cycle
09:00 - 09:45 Outdoor play in main garden
09:45 - 11:30 Work cycle: free play and planned activities (including song groups, stories, art, morning fruit snack, individual lessons)
11:30 Cleaning, toileting and preparation for lunch
11:45 Lunch
12:00 Naps or outdoor play in the main garden
14:30 Afternoon snack
15:45 Tea
16:15 Outdoor play or physical indoor activities
18:00 Close
The Children's House
This is a pre-school classroom that is designed to provide each child with activities and learning that follows every aspect of life and to support
each child to prepare for their transition to reception year at primary school or the independent schools in Cambridge. In this classroom children are able to engage in activities of every day life because the environment is designed with children in mind. Everything is child-sized and aesthetically presented and easily accessible for children including a real kitchen equipped with an oven.
Children are guided by highly trained staff that facilitate this independence by giving individual lessons tailored according to each child's developmental needs in both traditional and holistic subjects that include:
Practical life skills
Sensorial refinement (visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile & stereognostic)
Languages
Mathematics
Science
Geography
Sports
Drama
Music
Art
World cultures
Grace and courtesy (manners and social skills)
The Children's House Timetable:
08:00 am - 08.45 am Arrival / Breakfast
08:45 am - 09.00 am Cleaning and Preparation for work cycle
09:00 am - 12:00 pm Morning work cycle: free play and planned activities (including songs, stories, group activities and snacks, art and individual lessons)
11:45 pm - 12:30 pm Lunch
12:30 pm - 13:00 pm Preparing for naps; outdoor play and half day pickup
13:00 pm - 14:00 pm Afternoon children arrival; outdoor play; naps for full-day children
14:00 pm - 16:00 pm Afternoon work cycle
15:45 pm - 16:30 pm Tea
16:30 pm - 18:00 pm Departure / Extra-curricular activities (dance, art, music); outdoor play
18:00 pm Close