Purpose Built Facility
Day Nursery Care Reading
Our purpose built day nursery has been on the University of Reading campus for over 20 years. Little Learners boasts fantastic state-of-the-art facilities, a great outdoor play area built with our children in mind, and has on-site parking in the heart of Reading.
Our children want to come to our nursery care and make positive relationships with our staff members and their peers. At Little Learners, our children learn through purposeful play, and develop into wonderful young individuals.
Good Ofsted Rating
Purpose Built Building
High Quality Facilities
Settling In Visits
We offer between three and five free pre-visits which usually take place over a period of one week. The number of visits may be extended based on the needs of individual children. Visits are conducted in the morning (9.30am to 11.30am) or in the afternoon (1.30pm to 3.30pm).
For the first/second visit the child will come with their parent/carer. The visit will last for one hour and provides the child the opportunity to explore the environment with the support of someone they are familiar to. They will also meet their key people.
For the third/forth visit the parent/carer will stay for the first 30 minutes and they will then be encouraged to leave the child for the remaining time so they can bond with their key people and begin to get used to their parent/carer not being there.
For the fifth visit the child should be left with their key people for the full two hours without the parents/carers being present.
School Visits
We work in partnership with schools to support your child’s transition. Each school has their own process which could include the child visiting their school, the teacher visiting the child at nursery or a telephone conversation with the child’s key person, either way we are happy to engage. Prior to the child starting school we will either deliver their Learning Journey to the school or request the parent to hand this over once the child has started. This will enable the child’s teacher to gage their stage of development when they first start.
Nursery Inclusion & Transitions
The children can experience a number of transitions during their time with us, which can include starting with us for the first time, moving through the relevant age groups, and leaving us to start school. Practitioners are experienced in dealing with transitions and ensure these are done in line with our Transition Program.
As we are based on a University campus our families and staff are very diverse. We promote equality of opportunity and value the diversity of the families who use the nursery, whether it be religion and beliefs, the languages they speak or family structure, to name a few. We recognise that children and their families come from a wide range of backgrounds and we embrace this.
Little Learners Nursery, based on a large University campus, has a high percentage of children with English as an additional language. We embrace all the languages that our children, parents and early year’s practitioners use and try and implement them into our everyday practice.
Where possible bilingual practitioners will support families with the settling in process by helping them complete necessary paperwork, providing information and supporting their child for their first few days in the nursery. We believe this offers a great support service for both the children and their parents.
When English Is A Second Language
Within all of our units there are bright, colourful visual routines for the children to follow. This is an excellent way of explaining the daily routine without the need for spoken language. As the child becomes more familiar with the routine, language will build up and they will be able to talk through the different parts of the day.
On joining the nursery we request that a Bilingualism form is completed which includes words that the child and key person may need during their day. This gives the key person some simple understanding. This also helps the key person to build a relationship with the child.
Throughout the year we hold special events where parents can take part and become involved in their child’s time at the setting. We are aware of how important it is to encourage the use of both languages at home and at nursery and the benefits that can be gained for the child. The children enjoy new and different experiences and are often intrigued when parents visit and use dialects they are not familiar with or ones that they use at home.
We work in partnership with parents to aid our knowledge of the child and provide them with the best possible care and education. This involves regular Watch me Grow appointments, where we give the parents feedback on their child’s progress and development while at nursery. This also provides a good opportunity to discuss the child’s level of development at home, for example if a child is using little or no English whilst at nursery it is difficult to assess their language development, therefore parents may be asked to complete a language tracker in their home language.
Nursery Inclusion
Within the setting we have many resources and techniques that support children who speak additional languages. These include dual-language books, flashcards, visual representation of their home languages and practitioners can access training specific to English as an additional language.
Bookstart is a national programme that encourages all parents and carers to enjoy books with their children from as early an age as possible. Children who are of a certain age will be given a Bookstart pack by their nursery or a healthcare professional. Bookstart provides dual language books and guidance material that are available in 28 languages.
Please Contact Us to Book a Tour
Ensure your child is cared for and book your place now. If you still feel undecided, please get in touch with you to book a show around.