This room offers a home-from-home experience for the children in the early stages of their lives.

The staff observe and assess the children by focusing on the prime areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The prime areas are Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED), Communication and Language (CL) and Physical Development (PD).

The children will take part in a wide variety of activities in this room, such as sensory play with different textures, treasure baskets, mirror play (for facial expressions), picture books and much more.

The babies have lots of fun and enjoyment building positive relationships with their key person.

In this room, the children are encouraged to develop their independence and self-help skills and they take part in a range of activities to prepare them for school. This is referred to as “school readiness”.

The activities include PE lessons (getting dressed), ICT, role-play, mathematical development, mark making, small world, imaginative play and outside play.

The children are encouraged to develop their speaking and listening skills as well as following simple instructions, building relationships with others, following rules, understanding boundaries and managing their feelings.

The children develop their own unique personalities ready for their next steps and onward journey.

They benefit from indoor activities as well as being able to use the large outdoor area for physical play. In addition, the children go on outings in the local environment, for example, to parks, residential care homes, places of worship, cafes and shops.

The staff observe and assess the children against the seven areas of learning and development within the EYFS through play.

All children need time to stretch those little legs. Our garden gives all the children at Springthorpe the chance to do this regularly. The great outdoors provides children with unique learning opportunities that just can’t be replicated indoors, that’s why we are committed to letting children roam around our garden every day- come rain or shine. Whether children feel the need to burn off some energy by running around or riding a trike, go on a hunt for insects, or explore whatever may take their fancy, there is always an adventure to be had in our garden at Springthorpe.