Welcome to The East Dereham Day Nursery

We are a warm, welcoming and friendly nursery, run by Nina Hopson and her team of staff.
The nursery has been open some 19 years; and our most recent Oftsed reflects the high quality of childcare and pre- school education which is available to all families in the local community. In the last year we have also been awarded the exciting role of being the Early Years provision for the Dereham Childrens Centre by Norfolk County Council. Other nurseries in Dereham along with some schools also put themselves forward, and we are very proud that our nursery was chosen. Childrens Centres are a crucial part of the Governments 10 year childcare strategy and key to delivering improved outcomes for children. We aim to bring together services for young children and their families.

Aims

At the East Dereham Day Nursery our aim is to provide the children with an enjoyable and stimulating environment, free from discrimination and prejudice. We feel it is vital for young children to feel safe and secure as well as motivated. We pride ourselves in providing children with access to a stimulating learning environment which will encourage them to explore, investigate and learn through first hand experience. This environment encourages children to develop socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually, giving them an easier transition to school.

Ages and Ratios

We currently offer nursery care from 6 weeks through to 14 years old, including breakfast, after school, and holiday clubs (space permitting). The nursery is managed by a team of qualified, caring and experienced staff.
Within the Sunbeams nursery we operate a ratio of 1 staff – 3 babies, Sunshine nursery operates a ratio of 1 staff - 4 children and our Rainbow nursery operates a ratio of 1 staff to 8 children. For some of the activities we plan the staffing levels may increase to a smaller staff : child ratio to allow us to give greater support the children so they can get the most out of their learning experience.

Operational times

The nursery is open between 7.30am and 6pm for 51 weeks each year, only closing for statutory bank holidays and one week over the Christmas period.

Structure

The nursery is divided into three individual nurseries: Sunbeams, Sunshine and Rainbow, each located within their own building.

Admissions

All parents are invited to make an appointment to view our premises along with their child. We will give you an insight into the structure of the different sessions we offer and during the tour you will be able to witness first hand the quality of care we offer from the experienced and qualified staff.
At this stage parents can either make a booking or be placed on the relevant waiting list.
A waiting list is operated for each session that we offer and any child can be added to the list at any time. When a space becomes available the child nearest the top of the list, depending upon age, will be allocated that space and their parents contacted. This of course, includes children with additional needs.

Collection Procedure

Children will not be permitted to leave with anybody for whom authorisation has not been granted, therefore it is vital that you notify us if your child is being collected by anyone other than those people authorised on our records.

Discipline

It is our policy to promote self-esteem by giving praise where praise is due as it is important for children to receive praise when it has been earned or deserved. We operate a system of offering children stars, stickers and certificates to help achieve our aim with regards to positive behaviour.

Key worker System

Each child will be allocated to a key worker who has responsibility for monitoring their progress and maintaining development records. You are free at any time at the beginning or end of your childs session to discuss your childs development with their key worker.
We hope that the Key worker system will provide you with the opportunity to forge a special working relationship with the staff and give you an invaluable in-depth insight into the progress of your child.

Outside Play

It is important that the outdoor and indoor area are seen as one learning environment. That is why we have invested heavily in our outdoor area with a digging and growing area along with a big play tower with slides and a climbing wall. Where possible we feel it is important to have access to natural materials hence we have chosen to have a commercial safety flooring that allows grass to grow through and we have managed to crate a natural hills that are great for outdoor story times as well as rolling down!.
We do ask that parents / carers can provide Wellington boots for use during the winter months.

Payments, Cancellations and Period of Notice

Should you wish to cancel or reduce your child’s sessions at nursery, four weeks written notice is required during which time you remain liable for all fees.

The sessions fees are payable monthly in advance with invoices being distributed during the last week of the previous month. We ask for all fees to be paid by the 10th day.

Parking

It is vitally important that the Cherry Tree Car Park (Free to park) is used for parking when dropping off or collecting your children. This is not only for the safety of your children but is a recommendation from the Highways Dept @ Norfolk County Council. Your co-operation to this request at all times would be very much appreciated.

Refreshments

We pride ourselves at the nursery with our approach to nutritional foods. A selection of fresh fruit and breadsticks together with milk or water are available to the children at snack time both in the morning and afternoon, as well as at teatime.

We prepare all meals in the nursery and have the flexibility to adapt our menus to the needs of the children. This menu is run along the same guidelines as that of Norfolk County Councils nutritional values. It provides and ensures a healthy and nutritious diet. We also cater for vegetarians and any other dietary requirements.

Security

The nursery has the advantage of a digital touch pad access system, which allows parents secure access. This code is changed periodically to assist with security.

Settling In

We advise parents that if possible to book their child in for more than one session as past experience has shown that these children settle quicker and benefit more in the long term. When children start with us, we do ask the parents to leave if their child becomes unsettled and ask them to ring us during the session to check on their child.

Trips

The nursery benefits from owning 3 people carriers, all fully insured to collect and transport the children. We aim to participate in as many local trips as possible and these are conducted on a rota basis to be fair to all children. When possible we also organise in-house visits.

And Finally……

The nursery is situated in the heart of Dereham and is ideally situated for those areas surrounding Dereham. The nursery offers its own purpose built toilet blocks, designed to meet the needs of the children with low-level toilets and sinks and soap dispensers.
The staff room has use of a room with TV, drink making facilities and comfortable seating hopefully providing an area to relax – we constantly drive to look after our staff, investing in them and their happiness as they in turn dedicate their efforts to care for your children.

The atmosphere at the nursery is informal but recreational whilst maintaining a clear code of conduct. All children are encouraged to learn, flourish and develop at their own pace.

These pre-school years are very important for children and we aim to give them confidence and enthusiasm to provide a sound platform for the start of school life!