Our Vision, Values & Ethos

  •  Every child is unique and we value and respect each child’s individuality. We aim to ensure that every child experiences success in their learning and relationships so that they develop a resilient self-esteem and a love of learning. We strive to provide the right level of challenge, and “just enough” support in order to develop each child’s independence, confidence, talents and abilities as well as to address any development needs or difficulties.
  • Young children learn from everything that happens to them. They need rich experiences which are cross-curricular, promote high levels of involvement and offer opportunities for high quality talk and interactions.
  • Our learning environment is designed to promote the characteristics of effective learning, to support children’s exploration and play, to provoke questions, enquiry and sustained shared thinking. Resources are accessible, well organized within workshop areas, flexible and open-ended. The environment is continuously evolving to meet children’s needs and interests.
  • Outdoor learning and Forest School are inspirational to many young children and regular and extended access to our outdoor area is an integral part of our sessions. Different experiences can be enjoyed outdoors, but the same principles apply to the outdoor learning environment as to the indoors.
  • Safeguarding is at the heart of all we do. It is the responsibility of each person within our community to report and act upon concerns within a well-understood and effective safeguarding system.
  • We recognize that the development of self-regulation and social skills is essential for children to experience success in their education and throughout life, so we aim to offer a consistent emotion coaching framework to support all children to develop this key attribute. The relationships that children develop with each other and the adults in the Nursery School directly affect their access to all areas of the curriculum.
  • A child’s parents or carers are their earliest and lifelong educators and advocates. We value working together to share our understanding of each child’s character, needs and interests to best support learning and development. We aim to share with each parent our understanding of their child’s development so that we empower parents to develop their knowledge and confidence in their role as lifelong educator and advocate for their child’s rights in education. This is achieved by an ongoing dialogue about home and school observations of the child; offering opportunities for active involvement in sessions, consultations and workshops about early learning.
  • The process of learning, and not only the end result, is valued in itself. We promote the characteristics of effective learning in all that we do so that we develop engaged, resilient and confident learners who are ready not only for the next stage of their education but for the challenges of life in a modern multicultural world.
  • We recognize that many children may have factors in their lives, both short-term and long-term, which can make it more difficult to realise their full potential. We aim to work sensitively with a child’s family to implement effective interventions to overcome any barriers to learning and to effectively safeguard all children. We strive to offer provision which is rapidly responsive to identified needs as we understand that early intervention is key to helping children to achieve the best outcomes.
  • As a Teaching School, we aim to create a vibrant and active learning community of practitioners from local schools and settings. We aim to positively influence the quality of early education for children across our county, using latest research into early years pedagogy, to inspire and inform our own and others’ practice.