Teddy Bears Nursery School, is the trading name of R & J Care Ltd.
Our aim is to offer a value for money service providing a very high standard in care and education providing a great service to the whole family. We aim to deliver exciting opportunities for all children who attend where they can learn through exploration & adult led activities ensuring we provide an excellent start in life for your little treasures.
Our vision is to provide high quality care and education so all our children can reach their full potential.
Teddy Bears provides the ultimate care and education for your little ones, offering full and part time places.
We are open from 8 am – 6 pm Monday to Friday except Bank holidays and one week between Christmas and New Year. We do not charge for Bank holidays or the week between Christmas and New Year. We also provide care for children from 7.30 am which needs to be booked by parents.
The Nursery has an excellent security system with access through a locked door which is always answered by a member of staff. All doors are connected to a fire alarm, giving additional security in case of a fire.
At Teddy Bears we have a variety of play areas for babies, toddlers and pre-school children, all equipped with fantastic facilities and equipment.
We are OFSTED registered and are inspected under the Children's Act.
VALUES
We have been delivering exceptional standards of care and education for almost 20 years and are committed to continuing this.
• An uncompromising approach to quality maintains high standards of care at all times
• OFSTED approved
• Safe, secure access
• Excellent service to the whole family supporting parents & carers in all areas of their child’s development.
At Teddy Bears we endeavour to involve parents in their child’s experiences at nursery and have an ‘Open Door’ policy where parents are welcomed into nursery to discuss any matters arising. From day one parents are included in what their child will be experiencing at nursery.
Your child’s key person will make every effort to provide regular updates, with daily feedback or photos on ‘TAPESTRY ’which is an online learning journal which parents can access 24/7 as well as posting their own photos & comments.
For our pre-school group, we have Parents Evenings where children’s progress and future needs are discussed as well as advice provided for the transition to infant school.
We organise events such as Picnics, Christmas Plays and Summer Concerts for parents to attend. Parents are encouraged to support the nursery with topics applying their own experiences, such as ‘People who help us’, celebrating a festival or speaking a different language.
Parent’s support with learning is encouraged at home and simple tasks such as going on a shape hunt
maybe set.
We have four groups within the nursery. This allows the children to interact with peers of approximately their own age.
GROUP
Panda Bears
Sunshine Bears
Koala Bears
Polar Bears
AGE
Under 2 years
2-3 years
3-4 yrs
4-5 years
STAFF RATIO
1:3
1:4
1:8
1:8
These ages are all approximate as we look at children’s individual ability when transferring them onto the next group and not their age. Parents are involved in this process and are closely informed of their child’s progression.
A safe, secure environment is obviously of great importance to any parent leaving their child in a Nursery setting. Our Admissions policy is meticulous and at the time of booking your child's place you will be asked to complete an 'Authorised Persons to Collect your child' form and only these people will be allowed to collect your child. Your child will be signed in on the Base Room register each time they attend Nursery and signed out when they are collected
Additionally, you will be asked to provide a ‘Password’ that can be used to verify the person picking up your child knows you. This is especially important in an emergency when staff have never seen the person at the nursery before.
Health and Safety also plays an important part in Nursery life. We ensure that our Nursery provides a safe environment for all children, parents and staff. Our Nursery staff receive regular training and updates on Health and Safety issues.
When starting at nursery we will allocate a Keyperson for your child although this may change if your child naturally creates a stronger bond with a different member of staff within the room. However, we do have a ‘Buddy system’ where all the nursery nurses in your child’s group will get to know your child & family to ensure there is always someone present who is familiar with your child & their needs.
At Teddy Bears we offer a structured, stimulating and varied routine to include exciting indoor and outdoor activities. Each age group have their own class room & messy playroom, with appropriate resources for their age. Within their daily routine they experience all the facilities in the nursery including our fantastic outdoor area.
Our nursery curriculum is designed to ensure all children reach their full potential which includes learning about the world around them & getting out to visit the local community.
We believe that meal times should be happy social occasions where skills can be developed and food enjoyed. We encourage the children’s self-help skills at meal & snack times as they use cutlery independently and pour their own drinks. Older children are encouraged to stack their own plates, collect cups & wash up promoting independence and self-confidence.
We encourage children to try foods they are not familiar with, to expand their experiences with food. If a child dislikes the meal, they are encouraged to eat at least one mouthful, and this information is passed onto parents. The eating of fruit and vegetables is continuously promoted, so that the children are aware of their importance to good health.
At Teddy Bears Nursery, we ensure we provide parents with verbal feedback concerning their child’s experiences at nursery and the progress they are making.
Tapestry provides an insight into your child’s experiences at nursery with photos & videos where we encourage parents to post photos from home & comments to establish good home & nursery links.
Staff will post monthly developmental reviews online updating parents on what their child has achieved & enjoyed at nursery recently as well as advising parents what their child’s next steps are & how this can be supported at home.
Parents are also requested to be involved in a 2-year-old assessment which is a statutory requirement and takes place at approximately two to two and a half years. This is where you will be asked as the parent/carer to celebrate what your child can do both at home and nursery. This information will provide us the picture of your child’s achievements in the prime areas of communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development as well as identifying if there are any particular areas which may need extra support.
We believe that mealtimes should be social, happy times where social skills can be developed and food is enjoyed. All of our staff are allergy trained & with have procedures in place to meet the individual needs and requirements of each child.
Our Food: Our cook prepares fresh meals on to a daily basis. All meals are well balanced, with no added salt and a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. We ensure that we offer a fish dish at least once a week so that the children receive the essential Omega 3 vitamin.
Our Menu: A wide variety of meals introduces children to dishes from other cultures, and different tastes.
A 4-week rotation of the weekly menu ensures that a varied diet.
Sample Lunch: Roast chicken, roast potatoes variety of vegetables, Apple sponge and custard.
Sample Tea: tomatoes and hot dog pasta bake, various fruits
Drinks: At snack times, during the morning and afternoon session, milk or water are offered to the children. In each classroom water is available for the children to access throughout the day to encourage them to stay hydrated.
Your child’s care, education and safety are of the utmost importance to us. Therefore, choosing the perfect staff is a careful procedure. We undertake verification of professional reference and personal identification of all staff joining Teddy Bears. We always maintain a very high ratio of qualified staff at least to NVQ Level 3.
In accordance with the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory requirements, all our staff are checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service. Upon commencement of joining the Teddy Bears team, new staff are provided with an Induction Course to educate them on our policies and procedures. These are the underpinning foundations of our approach to education and high-quality care.
Staff at Teddy Bears hold a variety of qualifications that are all nationally recognised. We provide ongoing in-house training to update and improve the knowledge of our staff in all matters of childcare. Our staff also attend external training courses to aid their professional development. In addition, we ensure that all staff receive paediatric first aid training, safeguarding, fire training and basic food hygiene skills.
Sam Parker
Position: Manager
Qualifications: BTEC Diploma in nursery nursing. Foundation degree in care and education. B.A Hons in Education and Training
Sam has over 35 years experience in the childcare field and has been at Teddy Bears since it opened in 2003. Whilst being responsible for maintaining the high standards of the nursery, Sam also ensures that each member of staff adheres to the policies and procedures creating a safe, stimulating environment for all the children who attend.
Sam supervises the nursery curriculum and implementation of the EYFS, providing support and training to staff. She encourages close partnerships between staff and parents, striving for Teddy Bears to be the best!
In addition, Sam is our Lead Safeguarding officer.
Helen Laws
Position: Deputy Manager/ Room Leader
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Helen came to Teddy Bears in May 2016 and is in charge of the Polar Bears where she leads the preschool team to create a smooth transition to school for all children. Helen ensures within the daily routine all the educational foundation stones and necessary experiences are included to create confident happy individuals to go off to school. In the absence of Sam in her role as Deputy Manager Helen is in charge of the day to day running of the nursery.
In addition, Helen is our SENCO and a Safe Guarding officer.
Vicky Arenesarajah
Position: Team Leader/ Proprietor
Qualifications: Early Years Professional Status (2008). NVQ Level 3 (2007).
Vicky purchased Teddy Bears in September 2006, after working as a Chartered Management Accountant for 25 years and since then has devoted her time to improving the facilities and the standard of care and education provided at the nursery. She is a hands-on owner involved in the daily running of the nursery. Vicky is in charge of all administration and is always available to deal with queries or offer support.
Katie Leggett
Position: Room Leader
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Katie joined Teddy Bears in 2009.
Michelle Sillence
Position: Room Leader
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Michelle joined Teddy Bears in 2011.
Jessica Powlesland
Position: Room Leader
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Jessica joined Teddy Bears in 2012.
Stacey Noyce
Position: Nursery Nurse
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Stacey joined Teddy Bears in 2010.
Rebecca Austin
Position: Nursery Nurse
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Rebecca joined Teddy Bears in 2018.
Maigan Thompson
Position: Nursery Nurse
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Maigan joined Teddy Bears in 2020.
Isabel Packer
Position: Nursery Assistant
Qualification: In training for NVQ Level 3
Isabel joined Teddy Bears in 2020.
Emma Rainey
Position: Nursery Nurse
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Emma joined Teddy Bears in 2022.
Hayley Haines
Position: Nursery Nurse
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Hayley joined Teddy Bears in 2023.
Courtney Parsons
Position: Nursery Assistant
Qualification: NVQ Level 2, working towards Level 3
Courtney joined Teddy Bears in 2023.
Rebecca Rhodes
Position: Nursery Nurse
Qualification: NVQ Level 3
Rebecca joined Teddy Bears in 2023.
Ellie Gobsy
Position: Nursery Assistant
Qualification: working towards NVQ Level 2
Ellie joined Teddy Bears in 2023.
Katherine Myles
Position: Cook
Qualification: NVQ Level 3 - Pastry/ Catering
Kat joined our team in 2009 and ensures our menu has a variety of healthy meals. She provides the children with delicious daily hot lunches and teas. She also assists with serving the children at lunchtime.
© 2013. R&J Care Ltd. All rights reserved. Teddy Bears Nursery School,
is the trading name of R & J Care Ltd. Website developed by Identign.