Our Toddler Room ‘ Starfish’

Our 2-3 year old room is called Starfish.  This room is full of light and is colourful and welcoming.  The space allows scope for the children to engage in a wide variety of activities including: construction toys, games, puzzles and books.  A drawing & mark making table is always available with a permanent supply of paper, pens, pencils and crayons for the children to use freely.  The children can also choose additional activities from the wide selection available. The toys within the room are rotated on a weekly basis to keep it interesting. The children also cook regularly, so check your child’s basket in the main hallway for any little creations!  Children participate in small group activities at a stage appropriate to their development.  Each child is monitored, supported and encouraged through every developmental stage.  At the end of the nursery day, a member of our team will report to you on the activities and adventures your child has enjoyed during their session and run through your Daily Diary sheet.

Throughout the year all staff are offered opportunities for personal and professional development, allowing them to update their knowledge continuously. Practical courses such as First Aid and Food Safety are also undertaken regularly.Our personal “Key Person” system ensures that your child is assigned to a carer who is responsible for:

• Welcoming your child into nursery & pre-school upon arrival for each session
• Looking after your child’s every need whilst in their care, including lots of cuddles
• Making written progress reports in their daily diary as well as giving verbal feedback to parents
• Supervising the table at meal times and encouraging good table manners
• Providing a wide variety of activities and experiences to encourage your child’s development
• Undertaking written development profiles and a Learning Journey of your child’s learning journey, capturing special moments on camera for keepsakes and referencing those points to the Early Years Outcomes and the relevant progress to their age.

Daily Diary…At the end of the nursery day, a member of our team will report to you on the activities and adventures your child has enjoyed during their session, handing you a written Daily Diary Sheet. 

Mark making – The children have free access to crayons and pencils and paper, so you can expect lots of fun pictures and expressive art coming home, as we explore with our hands holding pencils and making our mark on paper  

Art, Craft and Messy Area – Here the children engage in art activities using paint, paper, clay and playdough, and create wonderfully expressive models, or dabble in sand and water play.  

Role Play Area - This is a special space where children have the opportunity to dress up and play mummy’s and daddy’s, cook in the play kitchen and generally have fun using their imagination. Waterplay – Playing with coloured water and different water activities, is always fun in our water tray. 

Music - The children frequently enjoy lively, fun-filled music time together – playing instruments and singing along to music in the room – we introduce numbers and letters in our songs and have a nursery song book which parents can take home and sing along as a family. 

ICT – The children are introduced to computers during fun story and song-time. Its an engaging activity and the bright colours and interactive programs for toddlers are always very popular.  

Outside play, the gardens -We use our gardens a great deal, using the outside as much as we can for painting, drawing and exploring our outside world.  We play with the sand-tray, toddler trampolines, tricycles, ride-ons and more.  We also have a smooth surface playground where the children can again ride bicycles and cars, wheel dolls prams, play hop-scotch, draw on the chalk-boards and exploring the play house – this area helps us in wet weather too. 

Self Registration…Starfish children are encouraged to find their own name and register themselves in and out, we do this during our Circle/Together Time. 

Activity Room – This is used for sensory play which combines visual, sound & tactile effects used to stimulate and relax babies & children with coloured lights, music and movement. It is also used for more focused learning in small group sessions. It is a nice quiet area for doing ICT. We are use this area for creative and messy play. 

Dining area within our room…A stimulating dining area is located at the end of our Starfish Room, with colourful tables and chairs, where the children can interact with each other and share the experience of a meal together – helping themselves, choosing and enjoying food – with the help of their key person. 

Bathrooms – Our bathrooms for the children all have colourful walls and helpful pictures of cleaning and washing, to supplement verbal reminders and promote hygiene at an early age.  We have a selection of potties and toilet seats to encourage the children, so when it comes to potty training please speak to our team and they will happily work through a plan to suit your child’s individual needs. 

Kitchen – Meals offering nutritional balance for the under 5’s is vital. Our menus consist of familiar meals that you would serve to your family at home – all cooked by our in-house cook.  We are proud to maintain our 5* kitchen and food – we are included in the online rating scheme set up by the Uttlesford Environmental Health Department and by nature of our business, hygiene is paramount and a reassurance to our parents.   The menu rotates on a four weekly basis, so that the children all experience the different dishes.  We try to capture the children’s food imagination by having lots of variety and involving them as much as possible at meal times.  Choosing foods and cutlery, pouring drinks and cutting up food (dependant on ability) – our team are there to encourage the children to taste foods and expand their food horizons. We cater for all allergies and dietary requirements.  If you have a particular dietary requirement, just speak to us and we will happily put together a menu that suits your child’s needs.

Baskets -  All our older children in Starfish receive a basket in which we will put work that they have produced. They can store their slippers in here when they are not here.

Slippers - We like children to have a set of indoor and outdoor shoes. Please provide your child with a pair of slippers or other suitable indoor shoes. You can leave these at nursery or take them home each time

Wellington Boots - Please provide a pair of named Wellington Boots for your child in the wetter months. These can be left at nursery, or taken home after each session. 

Spare Clothes ­ - Please provide us with a spare set of clothes for your child in case they need changing. Even if they are fully potty trained, over exuberant water or sand play can lead to a change of clothes.

Water Bottles – We ask that all starfish and dolphin children bring a labelled water bottle. We do have fresh water available at all times but find it easier if they have individual bottles. At mealtimes cups are used to get them used to being more independent.

Nappies - All the children downstairs that are in nappies have a drawer in the bathroom for nappies. Please send these in with your child. Our Team will tell you if you’re running low. 

If your child is ill - We ask that you do not bring them to nursery. Please ring us and let us know you will not be attending and if you need any advice, we will gladly offer an opinion.

We hope you and your family enjoy your time at Freedom. Please ask any questions you may have of us all, we are happy to help. Best wishes, Jules & Kath and all the Freedom Team