Curriculum

At Honeypot Nursery School we understand that parents need to feel confident when choosing early years services that will keep their children safe and help them to thrive. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and to support and fulfill their potential. A child’s experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework that provides that assurance.

A core feature of the EYFS is to encourage children to learn through play.

Play is vital for children. It is through play that babies and young children learn through experiences and opportunities about the world around them enabling them to grow and have fun!

What are the 6 areas of learning that supports children’s development in the EYFS?

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

Our children learn how to look after themselves, to help others and to take care of the environment. They often work individually, developing concentration and character, but at the same time form a united whole – “a cohesive society”. The children also work in small and large groups and develop relationships with other children and adults. Through activities, conversation and example they learn how to express their own emotions and to respect for the feelings of others.

• Communication, Language and Literacy

Our children are encouraged to communicate effectively, with adults and other children, in a variety of individual, small and large group situations. They are helped to extend their vocabulary through stories, rhymes, songs, role play and the use of educational materials. Books, both fiction and reference, are freely available for the children to explore and at the appropriate time in their development they are taught the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. A wide range of language materials are available to enable the children to learn to read and write at their own pace within a carefully planned phonetic scheme.

• Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy

With the use of various sensorial and mathematical materials our children are helped to develop a true understanding of the concepts of shape, size and number. They learn how to sort, match, order, sequence, count and recognize numerals. In the pre-school classes children may learn simple rules of mathematical operations, e.g. addition and subtraction. Early weighing and measuring activities are also enjoyed.

• Knowledge and Understanding of the World

Children have a natural concern for all living things and delight in looking after plants and animals. We have a wide variety of pictures, puzzles and books to stimulate the children's interest and help to organize their sensorial impressions of the world around them. Also we encourage our children to take care of the garden, where they plant seeds and observe the growth of the plants. We familiarize children with the structure of the family, teach them about seasons. Our children are also encouraged to explore simple science such as: magnetism, light, magnification, water and sand.

• Physical Development

Our children develop confidence and enjoyment in the use and development of their own body skills. They move around the classrooms freely and learn to control their own movements as they carry their materials and respect other children's work. Group sports lessons allow the children to practice balancing, throwing, catching, climbing, sliding jumping etc. The physical activities also encourage the development and refinement of large and fine motor skills in preparation for using pens, pencils and other tools and materials.

• Creative Development

Wide range of resources are available for children to express themselves in the form of:

· Art work - Creating pictures, collages and models and using cutting, folding, painting and sticking skills.

· Drama - Using puppets, songs, rhymes and stories

· Music - Instruments, taped music and singing

· Play - Using sand, water, toys and role play

· Story telling - Verbally and using pictures and words

We provide children of all ages and abilities with the resources and opportunities to learn through play which incorporates these areas of development in different ways. At Honeypot Nursery School you can be confident that your child will be safe and cared for during their time with us.

ABOUT US

Health and Safety

Providing a safe and secure child care environment is our No. 1 priority. It’s as simple as that.

• Secure entrance to the nursery

The entrance to Honeypot Nursery is equipped with the video intercom system, to insure that no unauthorized entry can take place. All the public areas are equipped with CCTV cameras, so the daily functioning of the nursery can be supervised by the management. There is a dedicated staff member who is responsible for collecting the children at the entrance - an extra measure in compliance with the Traffic Department to ensure safety of all our students.

• Visitor precautions

A visitor listed as an authorized person to pick up a child must still show photo identification if the school director and/or associate do not know him/her.

• Safe environment

We paid close attention to the safety of our children, so we made sure that all the electricity sockets are raised up children cannot reach them. Each area is equipped with fire extinguishers and fire blankets, as well as each room has an evacuation map, and our staff is trained to follow the fire drill and evacuation procedure. We made sure that there are no sharp corners and no slippery surfaces. Our staircase is protected with the stairgate and equipped with the hand rail adjusted to the child’s height.

• Clean spaces

We take cleanliness very seriously and take significant precautions to prevent the spread of germs. We encourage our children to remove their “outside” shoes and stay in socks/clean spare shoes in the nursery to limit outside germs and dust contaminating the spaces. All spaces that children come in contact with are regularly disinfected. All of the children’s toys are disinfected on a regular basis.

All of this adds up to a safe and clean environment in which you can feel every effort is being made to keep your child safe, happy and healthy.

Meals and Dietary Restrictions

As many of the children have allergies to nuts, our nursery adheres to the “no nut policy”. All the parents are asked to fill in the form, where they inform the staff about their child’s known allergies.

At Honeypot, a qualified nutritionist is available in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Education. The nutritionist’s role is to oversee the types of food children consume and support healthy eating practices across the nursery.

We kindly encourage parents to send nutritious snacks and meals, and to avoid highly processed foods, sweets, chocolates, chips, and other unhealthy items.
Please note that chocolates, chocolate drinks, fizzy drinks, and sweets will not be served to children under any circumstances.

We are committed to fostering a culture of healthy eating, and we recognize that young children often imitate the eating habits of their peers. That’s why we aim to introduce and reinforce positive nutritional habits among all our students.

For birthday celebrations, only fresh fruits and plain vanilla muffins are allowed.
Foods with cream, food coloring, chocolate, or nuts are strictly not permitted.

Parents wishing to celebrate their child’s birthday at the nursery must contact the administration in advance to obtain approval.

Medication

At Honeypot Nursery School we take the safety of your child extremely seriously. All our staff went though CPR and First Aid training. Also there is a qualified nurse on duty in our nursery, who will be administering the medication (should it be required).

All parents must fill in a medical form with all the child's relevant information. Any form of medication such as antibiotics, inhalers, or anaphylactic shock pens are to be placed in a lockable container situated in the room the child is in. Everyone is to be made aware of where this is kept should an incident occur.

In such instances, a lengthy discussion will take place with the parent on how to administer the medication e.g. an injection. Parents will need to complete a consent form for Honeypot Nursery staff to administer medication. All medication must be clearly named.

Our nurse is to ensure that all stock is up to date and is always filled up. Should anything be out of stock or out of date the items are to be replaced.

All children receiving medication for an illness cannot attend the nursery for the first 48 hours of their illness. If Your child demonstrates the symptoms of infectious illnesses, please don’t bring him/her to the nursery until the child gets well.

If your child becomes unwell during the day we will contact you to discuss the situation, which may result in our request for you to collect your child.

Children who are suffering the following will be asked to be collected IMMEDIATELY:

Vomiting

Not to return to Nursery until 24 hours after the last bout.

Diarrhoea

Not to return to nursery until 24 hours after the last bout.

Conjunctivitis

This is HIGHLY contagious. Please keep children away from the nursery until completely clear. Eye drop medication will not be given by staff.

Fever above 37.2 C

A parent will be contacted to collect the child. At the meantime the child will be given paracetamol to reduce the fever (on the parent’s approval).

Any injuries on Your child sustained out of nursery hours must be pointed out to a member of staff immediately on their next day of attendance.

Medicine forms must be signed giving the following details:

· Child's name

· What medication they are taking

· When the medication is to be administered Amount of medication to be given

· Signature of member of staff administering medication

· Signature of member of staff witnessing administering of medication

· Parent's signature

· The member of staff responsible for the child must fill in the form and have it checked and signed by the Manager or Deputy.