The Barn (2-3YRS)
Children join the Barn from the age of two where our dedicated team work tirelessly to keep up with our energetic toddlers.
Confident Communicators
By the time our children join the Barn, at around 24 months old, they will be confident walkers and communicators.
They won’t be speaking in complete, complex sentences yet, but they will be able to make themselves heard and understood through body language and single words.
They will also be physically much more in control of their bodies giving them the ability to direct attention to any of the resources on offer, making choices about what and who they want to play with.
Forest School starts in earnest for this age group as their stamina increases enough to walk out to the onsite Forest School site and their stage of development means they can start learning from the Forest School Programme.
A Day with Us
Morning
8:00 Drop Off and Breakfast: Children start to arrive and those who want to can sit down and have breakfast together.
9:00 Free Play: All children have the opportunity to engage in their own play or join in with some of the planned activities. Planned activities are centred around our children’s interests.
We maximise the time our children can play, as the longer they spend engaged in an activity the richer the learning experience.
10:00: Snack time: A healthy snack of fruit and milk is made available during free play for children who are hungry
Mealtimes
11:30 Circle Time: At the end of free play children are bought together for a short focused activity, such as singing or story, before lunch.
12:00 Lunch time: Lunch in The Barn starts at around 12:00pm and consists of a freshly cooked, healthy, hot meal provided by our caterers – Zebedees. We can cater for all allergies.
Mealtimes are important social occasions throughout the nursery: practitioners are encouraged to join the children for their meals; children are encouraged to sit at the table and feed themselves with help always on hand if required.
12:45 Sleep time: After lunch the children are settled down for a sleep for anything from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on what they need.
Afternoon
13:00 Free Play: More opportunity for our children play, selecting their own toys and activities or joining small group activities.
14:30 Snack time: Another small snack is available at 14:30 for the children who need it.
16:00 Dinner time: Dinner in the Barn starts at around 16:00 and consists of a freshly cooked, healthy meal provided by our caterers.
17:00 Collection: You are free to collect your child any time before the nursery closes at 6:00pm. From about 5:00pm the team will start preparing your children for collection by gathering their belongings and changing any messy clothes.