We are very proud of this area as it forms the newest part of the Nursery. It is home to children aged 0 - 19 months. Four years ago we had the chance to buy the house adjacent to the nursery. We then had a link built to join both areas. The link itself now provides the main space of the Caterpillar Room - it enjoys underfloor heating as well as air conditioning. This room also has direct access to the enclosed soft surface Caterpillar Playground. Our youngest children also use a shaded lawned area in the summer months. The Caterpillars also have two activity rooms, a nappy changing room and a sleep room with cots (not shown on the short video) and their own utility room in the downstairs of the house.
From 12 months all our children take Nursery Food - breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and tea (a little and often via the Caroline Walker Trust guidelines). The EYFS demands that each child has 3.5m2 of floor area although we deliberately exceed that to provide a very spacious environment for our children. The EYFS staffing ratio is 1:3 and we regularly exceed that. Our nursery has specifically invested in high order facilities suitable for babies and all our Caterpillar Room staff regularly undergo training specific for the care of our youngest children. The room is managed by Rachael although our staff plan and operate as a team to when addressing daily activities. All our staff in this area love babies and only want to work with babies. Four of the Caterpillar Room staff are mothers themselves.
New Taster Sessions - we are mindful of the fact that unfamiliar adults can be unsettling to our young children. We also realise that it can be an anxious time for new parents. Because of these things we have to handle taster sessions with care. We have recently decided that new babies can have up to 2 free taster sessions. During the first one-hour session one parent can be present (this may be modified depending on NHS advice ref Covid) and this will take place in one of our cosy activity rooms accompanied by one member of staff. These are usually between 9.00-10.00am on a day where we have fewer children. This is a settling in time and gives us an opportunity to chat, exchange notes and for parents to feel a bit more familiar with the setting. The next taster session(s) is/are usually between 9.00-11.00am or 1.30-3.30pm (whichever is convenient) and are planned closer to the start date. This is a time where your child will be supported by our staff to join in with the play activies in the Caterpillar Room.
Caterpillar Room