The Close Nursery School Banbury

The main aim of The Close Nursery School is to care and look after your child, whether that is for a whole day or just a few hours. We endeavour to create an atmosphere that is home from home and one which you should feel from the very first time you visit.

The care takes place in the grounds of the owner’s house and I (Mrs Page) am always available to speak with parents or to offer extra support in the nursery in an emergency. I know all the children who attend and all of the parents. I am not an absentee owner. All the staff are known to each other and work very closely with each other and like the key workers and buddy system we have for the children, we also have a buddy system for the staff. We have a very low turnover of staff which is a top indicator that we have a happy environment.

The outside gates are locked at 09.00hrs and only opened after this time when the bell is pressed. Everyone passing through the internal gates, is required to close them firmly behind them. All visitors are required to identify themselves and to sign in. Children are not allowed to be taken home by any unauthorised person.

You can be confident that your child will be well cared for, respected in their own right and be part of the larger “family” that we have.

We offer a great deal of activities and facilities, usually around a central theme, that enable the children to grow and progress. We follow the Early Years Foundation model set up by Oxfordshire County Council and monitor and observe the children’s progress against this model. We will create a file specifically for your child where all observations and assessments are kept. This will enable the child’s key worker to maintain an accurate record of your child’s achievements and forms the first part of the Foundation Stage on entry to primary school.

All the rooms are bright and airy and contain a wealth of resources that can be used and played with. We try to have as much fun as we can whilst all the time making sure that the children gain something from the activities on offer. We do lots of cookery and then have fun eating the end results and have competently made everything from bread to pizzas, biscuits to special birthday cakes  and stews  to kebabs. We have a Morrisons very nearby and it is not unusual for us to go shopping for the ingredients we need, as we have realised that the children take ownership if they pick the pizza toppings and so are more likely to try those “green bits” they normally find so off putting!

The room are regularly re-arranged and re stocked with different core equipment

Visitors are regularly invited to talk to the children e.g Fire Brigade, local chef on pancake day, RAC breakdown van and so on.

We have a huge outdoor area for play and gardening activities. We have recently grown our own potatoes, peas, runner beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and pumpkins ready for Halloween. The sprouts are growing and hopefully will be big enough to try before Christmas!

Features

a) We operate under the guidance of the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles and cover the six areas of learning which are

• Personal, Social and Emotional
• Creative
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Communication, Language and Literacy
• Physical Development
• Problem Solving, Reasoning, and  Numeracy

b) We have a full set of policy documents all of which are regularly reviewed and updated. All staff members and students whether full or part time, are required to read these so that they understand the workings and policies of the nursery.

c) All staff are CRB checked .

d) All staff hold relevant childcare qualifications and constantly strive to update and improve these qualifications. A full list can be found inside our prospectus.

Meet the team