- Mon to Fri, 7:30am – 6:00pm
- We’re Open Monday to Friday from 7:30am – 6:00pm
- Call Our Friendly Team
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We offer funded places for 9 month olds, 2 year olds and 3 & 4 year olds. We stretch the entitlement over 51 weeks
For more information about funding follow this link ‘Best Start In Life’
We are open Monday – Friday, 7.30am to 6.00pm.
Closed on Bank Holidays and one week at Christmas. Full or half day sessions available (subject to availability).
7.30am – 1.00pm
7.30am – 6.00pm
My name is Lisa Crane. I have worked for Countryside Nurseries since 2002 and became Senior Manager 10 years ago.
In 2017 I became a mother myself which has helped me to make the nurseries an even more nurturing environment. We provide both the children and families with a warm and welcoming space where the children’s safety and development and happiness was my top priority.
I run both Little Willows and Willow Tree and have very competent Deputies at each nursery that have been with me for between 7 and 10 years. I pride myself on having a strong and stable team that deliver the very best childcare and education.
Our baby room is led by caring, qualified and experienced practitioners who have a sound knowledge of child development and, in particular knowledge and experience related to children from birth to 2 years. A member of staff, designated as your baby’s ‘Key Person’, will get to know you and your child. A close relationship between the Key Person and you ensures that your baby’s individual needs are met, and their personal, social and emotional development and wellbeing are supported.
We ensure that we develop routines consistent with those that you have at home. We discuss with you your child’s personal care routines including nappy changing, feeding and sleeping to ensure that we understand and respect your preferences and to provide as much continuity of care as possible.
We give babies and young children the opportunity to use all their senses as they explore different activities and experiences including;
The activities that we plan and provide are designed to support the prime areas of learning; communication and language, physical development and personal social and emotional development. These three areas of learning are crucially important as they are the foundations for all future learning.
We will share information about the activities and experiences your child has at nursery with you regularly on ‘Famly’ and in informal conversations and in parents’ evenings. We will also discuss how your child is progressing with you regularly.
You will be confident and have peace of mind knowing that your baby is happy and well cared for in our baby room.
Our Toddler Room is led by caring, qualified and experienced practitioners who understand that between the ages of two and three years there are major changes in development. Toddlers are developing an understanding of themselves as individuals, beginning to use language in social contexts and for thinking and have the physical ability to move independently with increasing control.
A member of staff, designated as your Toddler’s Key Person, will get to know you and your child. A close relationship between the key person and you ensures that your child’s individual needs are met, and their personal, social and emotional development and wellbeing is supported.
We ensure that the environment is rich in resources that invite experimentation as two-year olds are keen to ‘do it myself’. Children begin to form early friendships and develop social skills with support from the Key Person. Sharing, however, is a new concept and so we ensure that there are sufficient resources for everyone as well as equipment such as toddle boxes or a sand tray that we can use to encourage co-operation.
We give Toddlers the opportunity to use all their developing skills as they explore different activities and experiences including;
The activities that we plan and provide are designed to support the prime areas of learning;
and to introduce the specific areas of learning.
Activities also provide opportunities for children to engage with the characteristics of effective learning. These are the things that make children good at learning including actively learning through play and exploration and thinking critically and creatively about the things that they experience. These characteristics provide a good foundation to lifelong learning.
We will share information about the activities and experiences your child has at nursery with you regularly on ‘Famly’ and in informal conversations and in parents’ evenings. We will discuss how your child is progressing with you regularly.
You will be confident and have peace of mind knowing that your child is happy and actively engaged in our Toddler room.
We offer a curriculum which ensures that children are given meaningful, interesting, practical play experiences that are going to allow them to become confident competent learners, who enjoy learning because it is fun. We combine child-initiated activities with direct teaching and adult led activities. We give children the opportunity to learn in a cross curricula way through play as they explore different activities and experiences including;
The activities that we plan and provide are designed to support all areas of learning;
We want children to be successful and effective in their learning. When we plan activities for children we, therefore, consider the different ways in which children learn and the characteristics that make them good at learning including actively learning through play and exploration and thinking critically and creatively about the things that they experience. These characteristics of effective learning provide a good foundation for learning throughout their lives.
We differentiate our planning of activities so that we tailor it to meet your child’s individual needs and take account of their age and stage of development. This means that children who are gifted and those who have special needs, those who are the younger or older children in a group are all supported and enabled to make good progress in their learning. We make regular assessments of your child’s learning, development and progress.
We share information about the activities and experiences your child has at nursery together with information about the progress they are making in their learning and development both face to face and through our ‘Famly’ App.
In order to support children to make the transition to the next phase of their education with enthusiasm and confidence we take an holistic view of school readiness. We develop children’s confidence and self-esteem, their social skills and independence, their self-care skills such as toileting and using cutlery, their communication skills, curiosity and their ability to learn.
You will have peace of mind knowing that your child is enjoying nursery and being well supported to make good progress in their learning and development. You will feel confident that when the time comes your child will be ready for school.
Our Gardens
We have two separate secure outdoor play spaces at Willows Nursery one located at Little Willows for the babies and toddlers and one at Willow Tree for the pre-school children. The outdoor environment is a very important part of our early year’s environment as it offers significantly different opportunities for play and exploration from those we provide indoors.
We make observations and assessments and plan for children’s learning outdoors just as we do indoors.
We have a wonderful large sandpit full of equipment which the children can get into to dig and fill and empty buckets. There is a den which we use for imaginative play and a large blackboard for mark making.
The most popular equipment is the physical area with balancing beams and a small slide. Children also like to ride the bikes around the paths.
We also benefit from being on the school site and use their forest school to make dens, find minibeasts and plants and enjoy the natural environment.
We have a large climbing frame and wheeled toys for physical play. There is a mud kitchen for making mud pies and mixing potions, a water area for pouring and splashing.
The children like to plant bulbs and sow seeds to grow flowers and vegetables in our growing area. We have a wildlife garden where we go on minibeast hunts to find insects and spiders and look at butterflies, bees and birds.
We have two covered areas in which we can provide further opportunities to enhance our outdoor play including equipment for mark making and for imaginative play.
We make full use of the local area. We regularly go for walks to the park and sometimes take a picnic with us as well as paints, pens and pencils with paper to draw our surroundings. We have a 6-seater kiddibus so children who can’t walk very far can come along. The outdoor environment provides challenge and helps children to learn how to be safe and to be aware of others. We talk to children about road safety and staying safe near water.
The Famly App keeps parents fully connected with their child’s nursery life, sharing updates, photos, and progress in real time. It supports collaboration between parents and staff to enhance learning, wellbeing, and communication.
We are committed to creating a culture where children feel safe, valued, and part of the Countryside family.
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