We provide a staffing ratio which exceeds Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure that children have sufficient individual attention and to guarantee care and education of a high quality. Our staff are appropriately qualified and we carry out enhanced checks through the DBS in accordance with statutory requirements.
- We are a mixed age group setting: this means that our ratios fluctuate with the ever changing demographic of the group.
- The nursery is registered to have seventeen children at any one time. We always maintain the maximum number of adults meaning that our adult-to-child ratios are high.
- All our key people are qualified to level 3 or above.
- Our management team are qualified to level 3 and above to Degree level. The Deputy Manager is also a key person.
- There is always a minimum of four adults on duty at any one time.
- The Manager is not included in the ratios every morning from 9:00am — 10:30am to complete office duties.
- We employ a lunchtime assistant/cook who is not included in the ratios.
- Cleaning routines are arranged outside nursery hours so as not to impact on the time spent working directly with the children.
- Each child is assigned a key person to help the child become familiar with the setting from the outset and to ensure that each child has a named member of staff with whom to form a relationship. The key person plans with parents/guardians for the child’s well-being and development in the setting. The key person meets regularly with the family for discussion and consultation on their child’s progress and offers support in guiding their development at home.
- Where possible the child will have the same key person for the duration of their time in the nursery and siblings are placed in the same key group.
- Key people have four to five children of mixed ages in their group.
- Key people work hours that exceed those that the nursery is open. They start before the children arrive in the morning, enabling them to greet them on arrival; and they finish after the children have left, allowing them to finish the day together and give a full handover to parents or carers.
- We hold weekly staff/planning meetings to undertake curriculum planning and to discuss children’s progress, their achievements, and any difficulties that may arise from time to time.
- Staff are allocated 1 hour 30 minutes each week non-contact time for planning and reflection. They are not counted in the ratios during this time.
- There are routines and structures for staff in place, to ensure that adults provide the best opportunities for children and a safe and enabling environment.
- Children under three are always in sight and hearing of staff. Children over three are usually in sight and hearing of staff, but are occasionally within sight and or hearing.
19 November 2024