Welcome to Cherry Room
Cherry room is for children aged 3 months to 2 years old. This self-contained unit is both rich in natural light as well as being cosy and warm. This calming environment has two sections, and each section is well furnished with a variety of resources. We use a combination of sensory, heuristic and purpose-built resources to engage the babies and toddlers and support growing curiosity and independence. The children are introduced to the first stages of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, which provides guidance on stages of development all the way through to the end of reception year at school.
The babies have access to their own dedicated play space outside, providing lots of opportunities to explore the world, enhance their physical skills and use their developing senses. They also have access to our larger nursery garden and playground areas which children throughout the nursery enjoy.
The experienced, qualified and long serving staff team are passionate about the care and development of our youngest children and have been chosen to work with this age group because of their knowledge, experience and expertise. Each child is allocated a staff member as a key person. In their role as key person, the staff ensure that routines such as nappy changing, feeding and settling to sleep are opportunities for ‘one to one’ time, and ensure that we follow a routine as close as possible to the one each individual child would enjoy at home.
The room provides a ‘cosy corner’ for relaxing, sleeping or looking at books, and space for children to explore and play. There is a designated nappy changing area, where babies are changed, and nappies and wipes are stored. We have a separate sleep room where cots, blankets and bedding are provided for sleep times. During sleep times we observe the babies through physical checks every 10 minutes as well as having access to consistent visual and sound checks via our video monitor.
Staff record information for parents using our online daily diaries. This includes sleep times, meals, nappy changes and the wonderful activities your child has enjoyed doing throughout the day. This information is shared with parents on collection and a copy of the diary can be accessed using the Blossom app.
We believe it is important to support your child’s individual routine and therefore our room routines are not rigid, but instead flexible and reactive. This means every day is different and ensures each child receives the same opportunities for learning, play and exploration.
Experienced staff will use their expert knowledge to support your child and ensure they settle well into nursery life from the beginning. The time this takes will be quite different for each individual child, however staff will regularly engage with parents to encourage links between home and nursery that create familiarity for your child.
Before your child starts at nursery we provide settling in sessions and an optional home visit. These ensure each child becomes familiar with the environment and the staff, in particular their key person. During this time, we will discuss routines, likes and dislikes, and provide support for each family during this transition.
