little tots nurseries
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Little Tots NurseriesThe Foundation for Life
A Montessori SchoolReading Prospectus
Head OfficeLittle Tots Nurseries59 Prince of Wales AvenueReading, BerkshireRG30 2UJ0118 959 [email protected]
Little Tots Nurseries
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Little Tots was set up in the spring of 2001 by Julie Torrible and Heather Schofield who share a wealth of knowledge, a love of children and the
same ideas of learning through play with guidance.
Choosing your child’s first program of education is one of the most important decisions you will face as a parent. Heather and Julie fully understand this as they are parents themselves.
Heather Schofield is a qualified NNEB with over 25 years experience and management in nurseries. She is also an NVQ Level 3 Assessor, and a First Aid Trainer and holds a foundation cerificate in practical Montessori methods.
Julie Torrible is a qualified Montessori Teacher as well as a qualified Forest School Leader with an NVQ Level 3 in Child Care and Early Years Education and is also a First Aider.
Little Tots Reading
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Little Tots Nursery is Reading’s first full time Montessori Nursery, offering day care and educational facilities to suit all parents. Never before
in Reading has it been possible to combine excellent day care with well established educational method, at a price most people can afford.
“A wide range of experiences, activities and play experiences extends children’s progress very well in relation to their starting points. Staff provide meaningful and purposeful interaction and innovative learning experiences for children...they ask excellent questions to support children’s thinking skills. This enables chidlren to develop significant skills for the future.”
Ofsted Feb 2011
The nursery is open to any child in the community, with children attending not only from the village but travelling from surrounding areas such as Tilehurst, Caversham, Sonning, Purley and Pangbourne.
The nursery supports children with Special Educational Needs and those for whom English is an additional language. All children over the age of 3 are eligible for nursery grant funding.
The nursery has gone from strength to strength and has a healthy waiting list. Little Tots Reading had it’s Ofsted Inspection in February 2011.
The outcome of the Inspection stated:
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Who was Maria Montessori?
Maria Montessori lived from 1870 to 1952. She was the first woman to attend medical school and the first female Doctor Of Medicine in
Italy. Through her work with handicapped and socially deprived children, she developed her unique educational method, known as the Montessori method. As a result of her further study, observation and experimentation, she found the principles of her method to be applicable to all children. She has had a huge impact on the field of education in general and the way we understand and teach children today.
What is Montessori?
There are so many misconceptions about Montessori -
Some people say “That’s where the children are allowed to do exactly what they like.” Others say “It’s too rigid - the children have to work all the time and there’s no time to socialise.”
Montessori is neither of these.
The Montessori Approach
Maria Montessori stated that children have a natural tendency to learn, that stages of learning exist for which there should be
corresponding education environments and appropriately trained teachers to prepare the environment. The child learns independently using the components of this environment and the teacher is the link between the child and the environment.
As children learn to read, write and count they also learn how to persevere, to accept guidance and to make choices. Through this learning process children develop a love for knowledge and discover their unique talents.
Little Tots recognises this, and guides your child with care through the crucial stages of his or her educational journey.
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“Children show exceptional independence, for example, children confidently fetch water to add to a bowl to make a ‘birthday cake’. They visit the toilet independently, and change into their coats and outdoor footwear with little or no support. Children select resources from the low-level storage units, enabling them to make their own choices and initiate their own play and ideas.”
Ofsted Feb 2011
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1. Personal, social and emotional development.2. Communication, language and literacy.3. Problem solving, reasoning and maths.4. Knowledge and understanding of the world.5. Physical Development.6. Creative Development.
At Little Tots we have a happy balance using the Montessori Curriculum with the Early Learning goals and have successfully implemented these
within our nursery.
Early Years Foundation Stage
We follow the the six Areas of Learning outlined by the Early Years Foundation Stage. These are:
Montessori CurriculumThe subjects in the Montessori Curriculum are an important part of what we do and and they are incorporated into the 6 areas of learning above. The Montessori curriculum covers:
• Practical life
• Sensorial
• Language
• Mathematics
• Culture
T hese activities are designed to enable the child to feel secure. Practising skills such as buttoning or
polishing, children develop confidence and a belief in their own ability to control their environment.
Every child will be encouraged to show pride in themselves and their abilities. This in turn will provide a wealth of social skills enabling them to talk and express their own views and feelings on a one to one basis and within a group settting.
1. Personal, social and emotional development
Foundation Stage 6 Areas of Learning
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There is also plenty of opportunity for the children to practice a variety of differing tasks including washing up, sweeping, mopping up spills, washing and hanging up of small items of clothing and cloths.
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2. Communication, language and literacy
Montessori materials introduce children
to early language activities. Children progress from auditory and visual perception games to sandpaper letters.
ABC
They learn the common speech (phonetic) sounds of the alphabet and then how to word build, before going on to early reading activities. The process is structured carefully to encourage children forward enthusiastically.
Reading
Many children learn to read while attending Little Tots Nursery. Children who have reached this stage will take books home that they have read at school. Parental involvement, ie listening to their child’s reading will aid the child to progress at a level pace.
The Mathematic equipment provides direct and indirect preparation for early mathematics functions. Sandpaper numbers are used to introduce symbols
and understand how they are formed.
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Various sorting, matching, ordering, counting and sequencing activities are on offer to gain awareness of and reinforce mathematical concepts i.e. matching groups containing the same number of items, recognising and naming shapes and the terminology of bigger than, longer than etc .
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3. Problem solving, reasoning and maths
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Each term a theme will be covered to gain knowledge of our environment using books, practical objects and role play situations to increase the
child’s knowledge. Children are supported in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them make sense of the world
4. Knowledge and Understanding of the World
“The nursery meaningfully embraces the individuality of the staff, children and families. They celebrate a wide range of different religions, cultures and languages very successfully, overall, for example, the nursery invites children’s families in to visit who offer experiences, such as, food tasting, traditional outfits, or sing songs in home languages.”
Ofsted Feb 2011
The topics will be displayed in the hall and home involvement is encouraged.
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Children develop good hand/eye co-ordination, spatial awareness, and gross motor skills through planned activities and everyday routines.
5. Physical Development
Confidence
They move confidently around the nursery environment and enjoy a wide range of activities both in and out of doors. They also allow each other personal space when sitting together or when lining up.
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Children’s creative development is extended within the Nursery setting. Children are given the opportunity to explore their thoughts and feelings
through art, music, movement, dance and role play activities and drama groups.
6. Creative Development
The Little Tots Environment
Within Little Tots Nursery an environment has been created that is particularly suited to the needs of smaller childen.
Equipment is child size and placed so as to be accessible, on low level shelving. All children are encouraged to take care of their environment, inducing a feeling of responsibility and pride in their surroundings.
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Outdoor Learning
C hildren of all ages benefit from the learning opportunities present in an outdoor
environment.
It is a unique way of building independence and self esteem in children. It provides motivation, concentration and encourages children to be active. It is often child initiated and child led.
Having fun!
We allow children to get muddy and to play with or in different media that may be unfamiliar to them ie: soil, clay, sawdust and stones. We have an open outdoor policy which allows the children to access the great outdoors regardless of weather, so wet weather clothing and warm layers are essential when thinking about what clothing to bring to nursery!
“The well-plannedaccommodation successfully embraces the six areas of learning in and out of doors. The nursery utilises its own and local facilities to substantially enhance children’s learning and development, for example, visiting the local park and post office, and visits to the forest school site.”
Ofsted Feb 2011
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The Little TotsMinibus
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The Garden
T he children are included in the laying out and structuring of our planting areas. They help with
planning and preparing of the soil and beds, as well as planting and taking full care of our crops.
The children weed, measure, watch and enjoy harvesting the crops. They can then eat the fresh food which they may never have seen or tasted before.
This year we have planted many b e a u t i f u l flowers as well as peppers, strawberr ies, squash and beans.
Using the minibus we take the
children during school holidays to places like the local library, museums, the park or wildlife areas, and often when planning cooking activities we take the children to buy their ingredients.
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All staff have been vetted by the necessary police departments and the majority hold a childcare qualification equivalent to National Vocational Qualifications level 3 or above.
We operate an appraisal review system for each member of staff and an ongoing training programme is in place to further their knowledge and skills.
Our Staff General Information
Mission StatementThe staff of this nursery believe that:All children here deserve our commitment at all times.The parents of our children, as their first and continuing carers and educators, are our partners.Best progress will be made when children can see parents and staff working happily in partnership.
We therefore aim:To provide a warm, secure and caring environment for all our children.To recognise that all our children are individuals with their own different needs and to structure our teaching program accordingly.To welcome parents to partner us in meeting those needs in the most effective way.To assist parents to continue this process at home.To celebrate successes of all children, parents and teachers.To invite and welcome constructive criticism, help, advice and suggestions.To continue to look for ways to make improvements to the service we provide to the community as a whole.
Little Tots provides a mid morning drink of milk or water. Each child should bring a piece of fruit to share each morning. We ask every parent to provide each child with a spare set of indoor clothes and also outdoor clothes and wellington boots suitable for the season.
A registration form must be completed giving all contact details, permissions, health and allergy information relating to your child. A copy of your child’s birth certificate must also be produced before your child starts.
If you would like further information please contact:
Reading Head Office: 0118 9591371E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.littletotsnurseries.com
All written correspondance please to Head Office at Little Tots Nurseries, 59 Prince of Wales Avenue,
Reading, Berkshire RG30 2UJ
Our opening times are:Monday - Friday 8am – 6pm
Little Tots Reading offer care each weekday all year except the last 2 weeks of August, 1 week at Easter and 1 week at Christmas.
Conditions of Acceptance
A non-refundable deposit of £30.00 is required before we can place a child’s name on our waiting list.Half a terms fees are payable in advance of admission.Half a terms notice is required in writing before a child is withdrawn and all fees are to be paid in full.A copy of our Policies and Procedures is available for inspection by parents at any time.