Age Groups

The Nursery is equipped and staffed to provide for children up to the age of compulsory schooling. In common with many other forms of nursery provision, the Nursery’s children are grouped into three age bands: babies, toddlers and older children. There are 9 baby places, 19 toddlers and 24-26 top-enders at any one time. Babies are those children between 3 and 18 months old who require cot sleep during the day, nappies and special feeding. Toddlers are aged between 18 months and approximately 3 years, are being toilet trained, and may need an afternoon sleep period. Older children are normally between 3 and 5 years old, are toilet trained and able to feed themselves. Normally they will not need an afternoon sleep, although there is always an hour’s quiet time after lunch and older children may sleep in the story or quiet corner. Age is not the sole criteria for a child’s placement into one of these groups, or for moving a child up from one group to another. Rather, it is their developmental readiness for the different activities and expectations of the groups. Each age group has its own area within the Nursery, with appropriate furnishing, toys and equipment. At any time, there will always be at least one member of staff with a responsibility for each group. Whenever possible, opportunities are made for children from different groups to come together for specific activities. Parents and staff work together to decide which group is most suitable for their child at a particular time. The staff have a lot of experience and knowledge and will recommend the group most suited to a child’s stage of development.