Nursery Rooms | Stockton House School

There are two rooms in Nursery; Caterpillar and Butterfly Class. Both offer a spacious and stimulating environment for the children to grow and develop over the time that they are in Nursery.

Nursery is for children aged 2 & 3; Caterpillar Class predominantly cater for the younger children within the Nursery age range and Butterfly Class the older children.

Our ethos enables children to grow and flourish into independent beings, as we facilitate their curious and active natures through a combination of child-centered and adult led activities.

Both classes offer a large airy environment for the children to grow and develop where interesting activities and areas are set out which support children in building their independence and learning through their individual interests.

Each child has their own key person to bond with, to support their learning, self-care and personal, social and emotional development. Each key person carefully plans rich learning experiences, which reflect the children’s individual needs, cultures and their interests in play, through the guidance of the EYFS.

The book corners are situated by large windows, which overlooks the garden areas and both rooms have direct access to a small courtyard play area specifically for the Nursery children, allowing the children to free-flow from the playroom into one of the two outdoor learning environments. The book corner offers a quiet and relaxing space for children to share books and stories together or listen to the CD player.

For children who speak English as an additional language, we make picture phrase books with the help of their parents, in order to support their transitions and to promote their first language.

The room’s role-play areas offer a range of dressing up and imaginative props allowing children to explore and express themselves through different cultures, customs and occupations. Children are encouraged to use materials and props to make dens or clothing with.

The play room/area also offers toys to allow children to experiment in making constructions, learn simple mathematical concepts and discover the use of technology and ICT toys, allowing children to create and think critically, building their self-esteem as they solve problems and enjoy their achievements.

The creative areas offer a range of resources and activities including, painting, collage making, cutting, drawing, play dough, sand, water and much more. We choose a range of unusual and interesting materials for children to explore, through experimenting and the use of their senses.

We fully support children and their families in promoting self-care, always encouraging the children to participate in hand washing after nappy changes and before meals. When a mutual decision is made between parents and the key worker that it is the right time for the child, we support potty/toilet training encouraging children to gain their independence. We provide child size toilets and hand washing stations to support this.

After lunchtime, a small room adjacent to Caterpillar becomes a peaceful area for children to rest and sleep. Children may bring in comforters from home specifically for (and only for) sleep time, calming music is played and staff gently rock the child/children to sleep if needed. The room has a baby monitor and a viewing window so the children can been easily seen and heard and they are checked on regularly.