First Steps @ Brinsbury
First Steps @ Brinsbury can be found in the beautiful countryside of mid West Sussex, between the villages of Pulborough and Billingshurst. Our rural location enables the children to see and experience first hand, the many wonders of the natural habitat that surrounds the nursery.
It is important that the children should be able to discover, appreciate and care for their surroundings. Regardless of age, the babies and children are able to access their surroundings on a daily basis. The older children will regularly walk to the farm to see the cows, pigs, sheep and lambs as well as the tractors and trailers. For the younger children and babies a visit to the duck pond or the paddock where the rabbits, chickens, geese, goats and alpacas can be found is always very popular. Another favourite place is the woodland area where the older children love to explore and find many different species of wild flowers.
The nursery garden not only offers opportunities for the children to play in a safe environment, but to observe and care for the many different species of wild birds that have been encouraged into the garden through the introduction of bird feeders and nesting boxes. The wildlife garden attracts butterflies, moths, ladybirds, spiders and many other different insects that children can see and watch. In our rural environment the children are encouraged to be aware of the importance of caring by way of growing and looking after the vegetables and flowers that they have grown from seeds.
The nursery comprises of three units and the children are placed in a unit depending on their own developmental needs, not their age. There are many opportunities for the children to see their peers or join together throughout the course of the day. The nursery is registered to provide 48 places.
Our last Ofsted inspection took place in March 2006 and the overview was that "the quality and standards of the care are good" and "the quality and standards of the nursery education are good". Ofsted also reported that "Children enjoy an exciting and stimulating range of resources and experiences provided by staff who plan for the younger children and the curriculum for the funded children" and "Children build warm relationships with all staff who know them well and offer them praise and encouragement when appropriate".
We actively encourage our partnership with parents, both formally and informally and our children are given a named Keyworker when they join the nursery. We hold Keyworker evenings twice a year where the progress and development of the children can be discussed with their keyworker but we do operate an 'open door' policy where any issues can be discussed as they occur. We hold an annual Sports Day for all the family in June and a Nativity Concert at the beginning of December.
The activities on offer in all of our units encourage the children to develop their skills in the 6 main learning areas:
- Personal, Social and Emotional
- Communication, Language and Literacy
- Knowledge and Understanding of the World
- Problem Solving
- Reasoning and Numeracy
- Physical Development
- Creative Development
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