Our Nursery

At Mara Nursery we follow the Curiosity Approach and Planning in the Moment.

Following is a brief description of each.

If you would like more information, please contact us by email: [email protected].

A Baseline assessment is completed with the parent after the child’s initial six weeks in the nursery. This entails a zoom meeting between the parent and the child’s key person.

Planning: children are planned for individually. Each child is ‘focused’ on regularly. Parents are invited to help us to decide on the child’s next steps of learning which are facilitated during the two-week focus period.

We carry out three types of observations which help us to support the focus child’s learning and development.

• Objective led planning - when we work with the child we will have the identified next step in mind. We follow the child’s interest to support their learning.
• Planning in the moment – this is when we notice an opportunity to support the child’s learning during their play, this may or may not be linked to their next step.
• Spontaneous observations – we notice something the child is doing that we wish to record but we do not feel it appropriate or necessary to intervene.

Information including observations and photographs are entered onto a Nursery software programme called Famly which parents have access to. Parents can also add their own photos and information.

Running alongside the work we do with the Focus Children we have pre-planned Continuous Provision. Each age group (room) has a personalised Continuous Provision plan. The Continuous Provision plan offers age-appropriate ideas for activities in selected areas of learning to ensure we are offering the children a broad, rich curriculum full of exciting provocations to play and learn.

Workshop style opportunities run alongside to facilitate independent learning. Continuous Provision is on a 6-weekly cycle, it is flexible and adapted to meet children’s needs and interests.

The Curiosity Approach

Curiosity is the very foundation of learning. It is what drives children in the early years to explore, do, and think for themselves. It is the key to fostering that curiosity lies in the way you set out your environment.

In a Curiosity Approach setting, you won’t find brightly coloured walls and hundreds of shiny plastic toys. Instead, you will see wooden materials, natural resources, and neutral backgrounds that allow the colour to shine. Of course, stimulation is key to developing little brains and building those connections that help them learn. But bright, busy and plastic provisions are not doing it in the right way. Plastic all smells the same and feels the same. On the other hand, if you are recycling and sourcing open-ended resources and natural materials you are bringing different elements, textures, feels and smells. A sense of curiosity and wonder will come with it.

Week 1	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
BREAKFAST Planned to provide 20% of a child’s nutritional requirements Drinks: Water 8.15am to 8.45am	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement
MID MORNING ROLLING SNACK Planned to provide 10% of a child’s nutritional requirements 9.30am	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water
LUNCH (11.30 or 12) Planned to provide 30% of a child’s nutritional requirements Drinks: Water only	Miriam’s pumpkin and spinach pasta bake topped with cheese and sliced tomatoes (D) Free from cheese	Lemon and herb chicken drumsticks served with wholemeal mixed veg rice (pea and sweetcorn) (v) Paneer	Theo’s shredded beef and root veg risotto served with sliced sesame seed cucumber slices (v) Quorn	Ethan’s Quorn and lentil veg and pie served with shredded cabbage and sliced carrots	Roast chicken served with mini yorkshire puddings, potatoes, seasonal veg and gravy (v) Quorn
MID AFTERNOON ROLLING SNACK Planned to provide 10% of a child’s nutritional requirements 2.30pm	Home made granola bites or flapjacks Milk or water	Eggy Bready Toasts Milk or water	Hard boiled egg and toast sticks (Peel your own) Milk or water	Smashed Avocado or cheese spread on wholemeal toast Milk or water	Sadie’s cottage cheese and banana pancake bites Milk or water
LIGHT TEA (4.15 & 4.30) Drinks: Water only	Teriyaki salmon served with sticky rice balls, sesame seed and seaweed (v) Halloumi/Carrots *Vegan Cheese/Oat Milk	Jacket potatoes with mixed beans and cheese (D) free from cheese (Sweet potatoes or King Edwards)	Turkey and vegetable wholewheat pasta bake served with sweetcorn and broccoli florets	Miced beef lasagne with mixed vegetables (v) Veg lasagne (D) free from cheese *layered potato	Otakar’s cannelli beans and cheese served on wholemeal toast (D) free from cheese

Week 2	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
BREAKFAST Planned to provide 20% of a child’s nutritional requirements Drinks: Water 8.15am to 8.45am	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement	Porridge Oats (+ flax seeds) or Cereal Mixed berries/banana Warm full fat milk offered or alternative if dietary requirement
MID MORNING ROLLING SNACK Planned to provide 10% of a child’s nutritional requirements 9.30am	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water	Mixed Fruit Cups topped with a Natural coconut yoghurt Milk or Water
LUNCH (11.30 or 12) Planned to provide 30% of a child’s nutritional requirements Drinks: Water only	Creamy cheese spinach and salmon tagliatelle pasta topped served with peas (v) Homemade lentil tofu	Sami’s chickpea and sweet potato curry with rice served with mini garlic naans	Shaan’s haddock fishcakes served with roasted winter squash and bulgar wheat medley (v) lentil fishcake	Max’s Beef spaghetti Bolognaise served with shredded lettuce & leaves salad (v) Quorn mince	Three bean chilli served with rice and side of steamed greens
MID AFTERNOON ROLLING SNACK Planned to provide 10% of a child’s nutritional requirements 2.30pm	Blueberry mini pancakes Milk or water	Apple & cranberry flapjacks and yogurt dip Milk or water	Sadie’s cheese and tomato pinwheels Milk or water	Crumpet topped with berry compote Milk or water	Homemade savoury broccoli and cheese muffins served with cream cheese
LIGHT TEA (4.15 & 4.30) Drinks: Water only	Cheese and beans on wholemeal toasties served with crunchy sweet peppers and courgette ribbons	Mini chicken and vegetable quesadillas served with *vegetable sticks *softened for babies (v) mushroom and diced peppers	Turkey meatballs served with cous cous, home made tzatziki and tomato slices (v) Brown lentil & spinach meatballs	Athena’s Spanish frittatas (with chicken) served with cucumber and tomato slices (v) tofu	Pumpkin and Butternut squash soup served with wholemeal pitta slices

*Children are served breakfast between 8 - 8.45am selection of cereals and toast or fresh berries Pumpkins Room children may have more frequent meal options due to their age and stage of development, alongside formulae or milk. All children are provided with access to fresh jugs of water every day with beakers to help themselves. Pumpkins have beakers. All other children drink from a cup/china mug.

Our daily routines for the younger children are split into morning and afternoon sessions.

The morning sessions run from 8am until 12.30pm. The afternoon sessions run from 1.30pm until 6pm.

Older children follow "The Curiosity Approach" with Prime areas incorporated throughout the whole day: personal, social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language.

Trips from the nursery are pre-planned and we aim to give parents at least a weeks’ notice. The ratio of children to staff is 2:1 regardless of age so children tend to go for trips in smaller groups.

We welcome any suggestions for local trips and visits. Please request our trips and visits policy from the office.

Some examples of trips that we conduct include; going to the post office, going to the local shops, a trip to the park or to Brook Farm Open Space. All trips must be risk assessed prior to the children leaving the nursery. Staff are required to complete an observation on the trip to show the educational significance of their trip and why it was carried out.