Lion Cubs
Ages: 3 - 16 months
The room
Our baby room cares for children between the ages of 12 weeks and around 16 / 17 months. Babies move through the nursery according to age and developmental ability, so the age ranges shown is for guidance only.
The child:staff ratio is one member of staff for every 3 children.
Babies have their own fully equipped playroom with designated sleep areas. They also have access to the secure garden area which they can access throughout the day.
Development
The Lion Cubs room fully implements the Early Years Foundation Stage (2021) framework. The purpose of this framework is to provide support, information and guidance for all those who care for babies and young children and recognises their individuality, efforts and achievements.
Our baby room is designed to provide a calming atmosphere where babies can thrive with warm, supportive relationships with staff whatever their development stage:
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Heads Up, Lookers and Communicators (babies still learning to sit and crawl) – during these first months, young babies react to people and situations with their whole bodies; they are also competent in observing and responding to their immediate environment and communicating with those around them.
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Sitters, Standers and Explorers (babies who have become more mobile) – as babies become more mobile they explore their environment with more intention; increasing mobility and language development enable them to find out and understand more about the world.
Babies are encouraged to communicate, and their attempts at communication are valued to ensure they receive an affirming experience, encouraging development, confidence and security.
Various activities are provided throughout the day to enhance development. These activities include messy play, painting, story and singing time, treasure baskets, sand and water play, all of which can be accessed indoors and outdoors.
Our babies take regular trips into the nursery garden and we often take babies out for walks with pushchairs.
Parent feedback
Many of our Lion Cubs will be making their first steps in terms of walking, talking and feeding themselves and we therefore make every effort to ensure staff and parents are working very closely together to monitor and share progress. Daily dairies are completed and sent home at the end of each day. This information for parents includes sleep times, meals, snacks, drinks and nappy changes and what they have been doing during the day.
Key person
Just as children seek reassurances from the adults in their family life, so too is it important that they have the same sense of comfort at nursery. Each baby is allocated their own “Key person”. This person will act as the crucial link between home and Nursery and aid the settling in process by building a positive and trusting relationship for baby and parents.
Nutrition
Parents are requested to provide formula milk or expressed milk for their child if it is required. We prepare each formula feed from fresh, which is following the current advice given by health visitors. Please ensure that all bottles, cups and personal items brought into nursery are clearly named.
We are very flexible with regards to the nutritional needs of your child depending on the stage of weaning your baby has reached. We provide traditional home cooked meals and can prepare to your own child’s individual needs.
We are aware of the benefits of breast feeding. If any mums wish to pop into Nursery during the day to feed their child they are very welcome to do so.
A typical day in Lion Cubs
Within the baby room there are no rigid routines, we believe that it is vital that we base your child’s day around the needs of your child. Some children come to us with an already established sleep routine whilst other children do not. We are very happy to accommodate the wishes of parents based upon the needs of your child. We operate a safe sleep policy, which means that sleeping babies are continuously monitored for the duration of the nap.
The key areas worked on are:
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Social skills: showing an interest in others and starting to join in
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Communication and Language: distinguishes and responds to sounds.
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Physical development: encourage independence to explore different patterns of movement.
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Literacy: use play and rhymes to familiar songs and stories to support enjoyment.
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Number: encourage babies to join in tapping and clapping along to simple rhymes.
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Expressive arts and design: to explore and experiment with a wide range of media through sensory activities and using the whole body.
Lion Cubs daily routine 2024