Darlington Arena Nursery
Baby Unit
The Baby unit incorporates our babies and young toddlers. We offer a high quality of care, in a carefully planned spaces, including main learning space, beautiful sleep room and sensory room. The rooms have been arranged to create a homely environment, where the babies and toddlers can feel relaxed and secure.
The main learning area provides a spacious area for the children to explore and investigate, it is well equipped with age appropriate resources, and provide opportunities for the children to explore and investigate. The children have varied sensory opportunities and experiences, both indoors and outdoors, to develop their independent thinking. Treasure baskets and heuristic play (collections of everyday objects with lots of scope for imaginative play and problem solving) are based in the rooms for the child’s development in all areas.
Your child’s journey and progress through the EYFS is recorded in their learning journal, including learning stories, photographs, and art work which is placed in a special book . Key Person's make professional judgement assessments of where their children are at in their journey through the EYFS and support children with next steps during their play, planning in the moment, and through conversations with you as a family
Two Year Space
Our two year space aims to create an environment in which children can become more independent, begin to think for themselves and develop into confident self assured learners.
To encourage children to become independent thinkers the room is arranged in areas; this enables the children to access resources themselves. A range of adult facilitated activities also take place, covering all areas of learning, and providing a holistic curriculum. Planning for this room reflects the children's interests and also combines parental input. Much like The Baby Room we encourage parental contribution, as you know your child better than anyone! This means the children progress through their journey in the EYFS, in an exciting, relevant and child-centred way.
The outdoors is always maximised in all of the rooms and children in our two year space have free flow access into a large secure outdoor area.
Each child is designated a key person throughout the nursery, who provide excellent links with families, and prepare children's learning journey's to include special pieces of art work, photographs and stories of their learning and achievements.
Preschool
In our teacher led Pre-School we aim to ensure your child becomes an independent, confident and self assured learner who is prepared for moving on to Reception. We encourage children to talk to you about their day, their meals and activities they have enjoyed, encouraging self evaluation and language development.
The room is organised into different areas which are regularly enhanced to reflect children's changing interests, with their own large garden and separate dining area and cooking space. Children take part in a variety of child initiated and adult facilitated activities, varying from baking, art, gardening, music and sports, letters and sounds, wood work, role play, alongside our regular Forest School sessions
Garden Areas
Our door to the garden is always open, offering free flow access to the outdoors is encouraged for all children to explore all of our environment indoors and out. Children have access to a well-resourced environment where there are able to meet all of their learning needs, through sand and water play, mark-making and being creative on a large scale, role play areas, the ‘mud kitchen’ and carefully planned activities carried out by our skilled teachers.
Serendipity a warm and friendly place where children are encouraged to explore with their feet, their hands and with their minds. It’s a place where they can have fun, where they can play, talk and learn together. It’s a place where they can listen and find their own space if they need it, and it’s a place where they can take some time just to ‘be’… discovering the value of self-reflection. Our environment is a place where children develop into happy, confident and independent individuals.
