Batford Day Care offer
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We are open from 7.30am to 6pm each Monday to Friday, apart from a Christmas closure, Bank Holidays and five staff training days a year, and offer full day care for children aged 0-5years. This includes 30 hour funding and free early education for twos and threes. For Batford Nursery School pupils, we offer flexible wraparound care during term time and/or holiday clubs.
All the children attending Batford Day Care have access to fabulous outdoor space and well resourced group rooms and are able to access the broad range of learning opportunities available.
As an early years provider, we follow the Statutory Framework for Early Years Foundation Stage and are subject to inspection by Ofsted.
As you would expect, we work closely with Batford Nursery School to ensure a smooth transition to nursery education and the 3-5 year olds are accommodated alongside children attending the nursery.
Bunting 0-2s
Bunting Room has space for 12 children from 6 weeks to 2 years. The room is well equipped with high quality play equipment and sleep nests and cots.
Each child is assigned a Key Person who is responsible for producing your child’s journal. They will start this the day the child joins the setting and will carry out weekly observations and plan specific activities for your child based on developmental next steps and their current interests.
We support the children in making attachments with all staff during their sessions so that your child is happy and confident within the room.
Playing and Exploring
There are numerous opportunities for the under 2s to play and explore and we plan suitable activities and resources throughout the day, to ensure the children are appropriately stimulated and can begin to choose independently what they would like to do.
In addition, the Room Leader plans adult-focused activities each session to develop the children’s skills and help them to achieve their milestones, for example; learning to dress, beginning to walk, feeding themselves, puzzles and developing communication skills.
We have a well-equipped garden and the children play outside every day, or may be taken out on short walks in our double or triple buggies.
Rest and Sleep
We operate a responsive sleeping approach for children, meaning we support the children in napping when they show physical signs of being tired or ask to go to sleep and we do not wake children after a set amount of time.
We will aim to work with home routines but staff can only encourage a nap for a short period of time and if the child is not able to fall asleep they will leave the sleep area and we will within that time, we will allow them to leave the sleep area and then support them in sleeping when they become tired. Each child has their own 'sleep box' containing their comforter or special toy if they have one.
Children often have different routines at home to Day Care. This is because the day is structured differently and there are many opportunities for them to play with their friends during the session.
Bottle Feeding
We encourage responsive feeding for babies and are able to provide formula or give expressed breast milk from home. Parents are required to bring in pre sterilised bottles which will be stored in individual children's boxes.
If your child is solely breastfed we advise you to introduce bottles six weeks prior to their start date and encourage others at home to feed them during this time. In our experience it eases the child's transition into Day Care. It can also benefit the child to have a muslin/blanket scented from home to support the feeding process.
Introducing solids
We begin introducing solids around 6 months old when the child is able to :
- sit upright holding their head
- co-ordinate their eyes, hand and mouth to look at and pick up food
- swallow food (babies who are not ready push food back out of their mouths)
The first foods to be given will be vegetables and fruits, moving on to carbohydrates and meats. We record each time your child experiences a new food and monitor them for any reactions.
All meals are prepared on site by our experienced chef. We create seasonal menus which are sent out via newsletters each week.
Moving up
The children will usually stay in Bunting Room until the school term following their 2nd birthday, e.g. a November born child will normally move to Cuckoo Room in January.
Cuckoo 2-3s
Cuckoo Room can accommodate up to 24 children aged 2-3.
This is a very important developmental age for children and we will complete the statutory 2 year old assessment whilst the children are in our care.
Play and learning
We recognise that children learn best if they are interested and excited by the process; our planning is therefore responsive to children’s emergent interests and preferences. Children do not make a distinction between learning and play and neither do we; experienced and enthusiastic staff identify the opportunities for teaching and learning and weave all aspects of the seven areas of learning of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework into both structured sessions and everyday activities.
The setting’s outdoor spaces are exceptional and offer the children the type of adventurous play opportunities that so many children are unable to experience. There are trees, shrubs, expanses of grass, climbing equipment and paths into the secret world of childhood.
The children are encouraged to be independent from the earliest stage. The play is generally 'free flow', meaning that the children can choose whether to be indoors or outdoors and what they would like to do.
For further information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, we recommend: Understanding how your child will develop and learn
Rest and sleep
Children have the opportunity to sleep in the early afternoon. We have a dedicated sensory sleep room (Tawny Room), where the children are supervised as they rest on comfortable sleep mats. Each child has their own 'sleep box', which details their preferences and contains any special toy or comforter they may have.
Meals and snacks
All meals are prepared on site, using quality ingredients. We are able to accommodate dietary needs and preferences, although children will be encouraged to try new foods alongside their friends. Meals and snacks are taken in the Cuckoo Room and we aim for a family environment, to promote social skills and good table manners. Duty staff will eat with the children to model the good behaviours we value.
Moving up
Children generally stay in Cuckoo until their 3rd birthday; in the following term they will transition to Nursery if you choose to keep your child at Batford Nursery School, e.g. a child born in January will usually move up to Nursery at the start of the school summer term.
3-5s Wraparound
Once children have had their 3rd birthday, provided there is space, they move to Batford Nursery School for their free early years education (15 or 30 hours) but Batford Day Care continues to provide any wraparound care that is required. Note that Batford Nursery School's 15 hours offer is for a full week, either five morning sessions or five afternoon sessions, term time only.
We do our best to accommodate wraparound requests, but this is always subject to availability. There are spaces for 24 children in the day care.
The wraparound activities are fully integrated within the nursery setting.
Learning
Children are always learning and every play activity is an opportunity for learning and development, however the activities the children undertake in the sessions beyond their 15 hours education tend to be less structured and will be organised based on the children's own interests. For example, if there are children who love fire engines we might set up a fire station play area for them.
Outdoor Play
The children play outside every day and should have a pair of wellingtons and come appropriately dressed for the weather. There is a large and well-resourced outside space.
Rest
There are quiet spaces in the Robin Room, with cushions and soft furnishings, where children can rest and relax and we ensure that there are quiet activities during the day, e.g. mindfulness sessions - we use the My Happy Mind resources.
Meals and snacks
At this age, the children take their meals in the dining hall, but sit in 'family groups' with a consistent member of staff.