Magdalen  Court  School

Day Care for 0-5yr olds

In a delightful and mature 2 acre setting.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide excellence in childcare at a nursery which offers a safe, nurturing environment that fosters the healthy growth and development of our children.

Our Nursery is OFSTED inspected and achieved the highest level and top re-inspection time when last inspected.

Our Philosophy

The Nursery follows a philosophy of "learning through play" In "learning through play," not only are pre-reading pre writing and pre-math skills developed, but social and physical skills are developed as well. "Learning through play" emphasizes all aspects of your child's development this is the prevailing view of childcare professionals today and is backed by extensive research in child development.

 This approach recognizes that even the youngest children look, listen, and learn. Because most young children learn most effectively in the company of other children through play activities that are also educational. This educational approach emphasizes the importance of individual attention to children: every child learns in his or her own time. To learn successfully, young children need to develop confidence in their own abilities. Our staff values individual expression and responds to the individual needs and abilities of your child. When your child leaves our Nursery, ideally he or she is ready to succeed in school. We believe quality child care is not expensive, it’s priceless.

 Our Facilities

 Our nursery is large and spacious and has been carefully refurbished to the highest standards for childcare. It is designed to provide an environment which is stimulating, comfortable and secure. The rooms are specially set-up just for the children and fully equipped for all their needs.

Our Staff and You

 Our staff are highly trained, motivated and dedicated to the care of children. Our Nursery is staffed by Qualified Teachers, Nursery Nurses and trained assistants who are encouraged to continue training so they have the expertise to excel in their work. We operate a key worker system and work hand in hand with parents doing all we can to operate as an extended family to provide the happiest, safest and most stimulating place for your children when you can’t be with them. Our staff ratios are usually higher those required to ensure a high standard of care and individual attention for our little ones. We are dedicated to working cooperatively with parents and share a mutual interest in your child’s well-being and development. We hope you will share your ideas and talents with us on a continual basis.

 Sensory Experiences and Play are organized and explored daily, to help develop and stimulate the children’s emotions, sensitivity muscles and the sheer joy of widely differing, sensorial experiences.

 Treasure Baskets engage the children’s interest and stimulate their developing senses as they explore the varied collections and the wide variety of artifacts.

Our nursery is divided into 4 main areas, these are:

 Tiggywinkie’s – Babies – 1 year

 For the babies in our care we provide a relaxed and homely environment, with plenty of room for them to move and explore when they begin to crawl.  We offer them a wide range of toys, play equipment and books to stimulate and encourage their first learning experiences.  Attached to the main playroom is the sleep room, where babies can sleep soundly in one of the nursery cots, individual daily plans are organized so the babies can benefit by fitting into their own routines and sleep patterns.

Peter Rabbit – 1 year – 2 years

 In this area of the nursery the children experience a slightly more structured day.  They can participate in a variety of creative and physical activities linked into the group’s theme.  Within this age group we encourage the children to move around, walk, talk and enjoy the stimulation of other children and dedicated staff.

Squirrel Nutkin – 2 years – 3+ years

 This age group have many resources and equipment to develop further their newly acquired skills and to make their time in the nursery exciting and enjoyable.  Language development is particularly important within this age group; therefore Activities encouraging linguistic skills are included within the routine. 

To harness your child’s physical needs we have introduced leaps and bounds into the nursery week for both Squirel Nutkin room and Jeremy Fisher room.

Jeremy Fisher – 3+ years – 5 years 

 In the pre-school group we develop the academic process and encourage your child to continue taking the most important steps in early reading, writing and number skills.  We give children the opportunity, and encourage them to foster an interest in books at a very young age. We encourage recognition of sounds and letters through a variety of ways including books, pictures and computer software or just simply putting pen to paper using an ever widening range of writing toys.  This works hand in hand with less formal but equally important skills such as role play, jigsaws or threading beads.  We encourage all children to progress at their own pace using growing vocabulary with increasing fluency aiming to reach nothing less than their full potential and ready to progress further with those well established, everlasting early reading and writing skills, therefore creating a smooth transition from nursery to school.

Children also start French in this class.

All Rooms

Each Age group follows the government guidelines for planning. (Foundation stage – preschool, and Birth to Three Matters – 0-3 years) this enables the children to fully use their own well equipped room and have access to the wide range of physical play equipment in the safe and secure nursery garden.

 Parents are required to provide nappies and baby milk.

Curriculum

 Our Curriculum is centred on the six Early Learning Goals as set out by Ofsted, these are:

Communication, Language and Literacy

In both large and small groups the children are given the opportunity to extend their vocabulary by listening to and joining in stories, songs, rhymes and poems. They have access to a wide variety of books, including picture books, written text and audio cassettes. The children are helped to recognise and write their own name, as well as the other letters of the alphabet. Communication is encouraged through the wide range of role-play and imaginative play experiences that we have to offer.

Mathematical Development

The children are offered a variety of mathematical experiences, which include number recognition, counting, matching, ordering, sorting, shape and space, making and recognising patterns and when they are ready simple adding and subtracting. Many of these are developed through play, activities and games in both small and larger groups.

Knowledge and Understanding of the World

This area of the curriculum looks at helping children to explore and consider the world around them. Within this we provide the children with the opportunities to experience early science and technology, including information technology. They are also able to explore their environment and the concepts of past and present as well as growing things in their garden and celebrating festivals of the world through varied activities and equipment.

Creative Development

The children are provided with opportunities to appreciate different types of music dance and singing, (often with our pianist), drama, little concerts, visual art and poetry as well as being given the chance to express themselves creatively, through the practical activities available in the nursery which include painting, sticking, play dough, messy play, sand and water.

Physical Development

In the nursery a range of equipment and opportunities are available to develop and encourage children’s physical development, this includes the hand / eye co-ordination needed for writing and the use of scissors. To help develop co-ordination and control the children participate in sporting activities in the  full sized sports hall, outdoor activity centre, huge lawn and extensive grounds that are available for the entire nursery to use.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development

The nursery provides a nurturing environment where the children are encouraged to work as part of a team, as well as helping them to build confidence when working independently. They are encouraged to differentiate between right and wrong and to respect the needs and views of others.

Mealtimes are fun times ! Children enjoy the social settings and a wide range of varied menus, textures and flavours, which are carefully balanced to meet the nutritional needs of the little ones.    Every effort is made to purchase local organic and fresh produce.

Sleep Area  A delightful separate area is furnished with cots, (sleeping mats are available if preferred for the older children), mobiles and soft toys.

Fresh Air & Exercise are fundamental and social experiences which children love.  Our nursery makes great use of their landscaped, and child centred secure play area and our

2 acre site which offers a wide range of activity areas and mature grounds, including a huge sports lawn for their exploration.

Fees

School fees can be found in the full prospectus, downloaded at the top of this page