Explorers Daycare is set just off the A68 in a stunning rural area. What once was a dairy parlour for farmers, was later converted into an office building before then being handed to us to start a new venture as a nursery provider. Within our nursery environment, we provide care for children from 6 weeks old up until 5 years. However, we have recently opened up a before/after school and holiday club for children who attend primary school. We are open 50 weeks per year, excluding 2 weeks for Christmas in line with school holidays. We are also closed for public bank holidays. Within our nursery environment, we currently have 3 main rooms. These are known as: Babies, Tots and Preschool. Our Baby room provides care for young children aged between 0-2 years. It is a large space ideal for providing plenty of room for little ones to move and explore freely, especially when supporting them to achieve those first precious milestones, such as their first steps. Messy play activities are fundamental in this room. Our Babies are exposed to a range of messy play activities, varying from shaving foam, painting to cooked or dried foods. The activities allow our young learners to explore through using their senses. Within our Baby room, they have their own sleep room attached. This room is made inviting and comfortable for our Babies for when a nap is needed. This room also contains a cot. Our Tots room provides care for children between 2–3 years. The room is divided into two spaces with a beautiful arch diving these. The first half we have our construction and small world area, a story corner and a home corner. In the second half, we have our ‘messy area’. This half contains a sand and water tray, large easels, mark making resources and so much more. Within each area of the room, the children have access to open-ended resources where they can choose how they wish to use these, promoting independent thinking and sparking imaginations. Our Tots room gives our Explorers similar opportunities as Preschool but on a smaller scale. This helps to promote a smooth transition to their next room. Our Tots also participate in a weekly adventure, this is known as ‘Tots Adventures’. Our adventures are invaluable and a huge part of what we do! A group of children will be selected on a particular day to participate on these for a 6-week period. The day and children selected will then be alternated. The places visited are chosen to broaden the range of experiences our Tots are exposed to. These adventures always start with a ride on a minibus with the destination changing each week. Previously, our Tots have visited the seaside, the library, Hamsterley Forest and even rode First Class on the train. Our Tots room also offer Funded Two places. Our Preschool Parlour is a purpose-built room for children aged 3-5 years. It is a huge, open plan room that offers free flow into an enclosed garden. The indoor space consists of a main room and two adjoining spaces. The main room consists of a very large, well-stocked: construction area, a messy area, home corner, playdough station and opportunity for water exploration. The two adjoining rooms are: a cosy story area and a further creative room with a range of crafts. Preschool offers a unique environment which lends itself to effective learning. Our main attraction in Preschool would be the tool bench located within the construction area. Our Preschool children love exploring these resources with adult support. The tool bench is always stocked with real tools, various woods, and natural items for children to design and create with. This bench is supervised at all times. Our experienced staff are aware of knowing when to support children, and when they can take a little risk, challenging themselves to have a go independently. Children are encouraged to be independent throughout the day, whether it’s putting their own belongings on or experimenting with resources to create their own paint. The resources our Preschool children are exposed to provides opportunity to explore different methods, through trial and error to discover which technique works best for them. Our Teachers in Preschool are dedicated to preparing children for life ahead, particularly that transition to school. We have excellent links with a huge surrounding of schools and work together to support this transition period, attempting to make it as smooth and easy as possible for all children and their families. Children in Preschool are also exposed to a range of other experiences, such as Spanish lessons from Lingo Tots. They also have opportunity to undergo horse riding and swimming lessons. Our future plans are to build our very own swimming pool on site to offer these internally. We are now catering for big Explorers! We also have a recent purpose-built room that leads onto its own garden for our older children to explore. This facility is adjoined to Explorers nursery, however has its own separate entrance. We offer school drop off and collection throughout the term and a holiday club throughout the school holidays. This facility is open likewise the nursery, from 7am and up until 6pm. Our environment is a place to create special memories in early childhood: having 150 acres of land to explore and investigate wildlife, as well as working alongside local farmers to gain knowledge and understanding of the world. We are very passionate about our outdoor learning and feel children should be free to access the outdoors come rain or shine. All we ask is for parents to supply a spare set of clothes as it can sometimes get a little messy. Away from the muddy fields, each room has their own designated garden. This outdoor space is another environment which children have access to daily. These areas promote curiosity and exploration providing familiar and challenging resources to strengthen and introduce opportunities for new skills. As part of our curriculum, Explorers offers Forest School sessions regularly and these take place in our woodland area. Each room will have their set sessions for the term before they are then changed to a different day to allow opportunity for a range of children to participate. Our children learn how to create a fire, also preparing and then cooking some ingredients to enjoy a tasty snack or meal. Children also have the opportunity to explore the natural woodland, staff will encourage risky play under supervision, promoting resilience and problem solving. Children are also exposed to tools in the forest and are used under supervision to develop strength and learn life skills. Our sessions are always led by a Forest School leader who has the required qualifications. We also have a sensory room and learning library which is accessible for all children. Here at Explorers, we believe that mealtimes are a special time that children can learn from one another. We have recently moved into our new kitchen and dining area, where all nursery children enjoy their lunch and tea together. We encourage socialisation among children and help them to learn table manners without even realising they are doing this. All meals at Explorers are freshly prepared, and children are offered a range of different foods to try. Staff will create an individual plan for our young Explorers who are weaning. We also cater for children with any special dietary requirements and known allergies. For all we have described our setting to the best of our ability, we strongly advise parents and carers to come and have a look around our setting for the full experience. For any enquiries, please contact us via telephone. A staff member will then be happy to take some of your details to arrange a look around. Thank you for your support.
