The Difference

Innovation

We use the EYFS curriculum considering the individuality of each child based on the child’s needs, talents, abilities and interests.

Needs include safety, security, nourishment, relationships of trust, praise and encouragement, respect and stimulation of curiosity.

Talents are innate skills with which a child is born.

Abilities are skills that a child acquires through their own exploration of their environment, through problem solving, through learning by instruction from adults or other children.

Interests are areas in which a child demonstrates focus through choice for prolonged periods.

It is possible in looking at the behaviour and focus of a two-year- old to know something about the adult the child will become. Children demonstrate a natural inclination for certain skills, areas of learning and interests. It is important to nourish those appropriately at the same time as encouraging exploration in areas in which a child may not be so confident.

When we focus on these four areas for each child individually, we provide the best possible start in their life-long journey of learning and growing, giving them the best preparation for entrance into their next schools.

Whilst working with children we study and review how each child learns. This informs how we work with them; making sure we meet each child’s need.

Although we use the EYFS we have also incorporated certain elements of other philosophies of teaching such as the Montessori Approach.

This ensures that our children are given opportunities to Explore | Discover | Learn while introducing them to world culture, in ways they could not achieve in other settings.

We use the excellent basis provided by the Early Years Foundation Stage, and overlay this with our own focus on world culture and activity-based stimulation.

We ensure that activities are planned with a deep knowledge of each child as part of their overall development programme.

Our children pursue creative opportunities in a different way to other nurseries or at home. An example is how our children work with the adults to retell the nativity story, sometimes from their own point of view or that of the other characters in the Nativity Story; which they perform in front of an audience of parents and friends.

Excellence

At Jacquie’s Place we provide an alternative environment to the child’s home environment. Your child and you need to know at all times that they are in a caring, loving environment, surrounded by attentive staff committed to providing the very best care and education. The ultimate test for this is how comfortable you feel on a visit to the nursery. We understand how difficult it is for you to entrust the care of your child to someone else, and your need to know that your child is loved, safe, nurtured and stimulated. We’re parents as well. We designed our nursery as an environment for our own children.

Our vision of being the nursery of choice has been met by high occupancy levels and long waiting lists, but most importantly we always want to be the first nursery on parent’s lips when they begin considering where to place their child. We develop collaborative and collegiate relationships with our competitors and if we have no places available will try to recommend an alternative nursery.

Staff retention is an area that impacts heavily on children and parents. Children form important relationships with our staff, as do parents, and if staff members leave it can be unsettling. We hire the best-qualified staff, with the right mindset and focus on quality education. We require that they are enthusiastic for their chosen vocation and passionate about working with children. Historically we have considerably low staff turnover than other nurseries.

Many nurseries are not familiar with the complex, often daunting, process of choosing the next school for the children in their care and leave this to the parents to sort out. All too frequently families, especially young families are unaware of how early they need to consider the next step for their child for certain schools, to even have a chance of getting a place or what the schools are looking for in their child at the 4+ assessment or readiness test. The assessments focus on a child’s self-confidence, social skills, problem solving ability, ability to articulate and communicate and ability to follow instructions and complete tasks.

Part of our responsibility as the first educators of your child is to ensure that we help you to make informed choices, and, based on our knowledge of local schools and your child’s needs, talents, interests, and abilities we work together in trying to help you understand the best options for your child.