Finkley brochure V11 - Flipbook - Page 7
Happy children
Your child is an individual
We encourage each and every child to be independent in their selection
of activities throughout the day. Our staff are passionate about child-led
learning and will ensure your child can choose their own activities and
experiences. They can visit the animals at the farm, join in at messy play,
cook in our fully fitted, child-size working kitchen, sit quietly and read a book
or relax in our sensory room – the opportunities are endless.
Finkley Down Farm
We have unlimited access to the farm so can spend time there in the morning
before it opens to the public and the children love it; whether they are
based at Finkley or visit from another Finkley nursery. A real highlight each
day is collecting eggs from ‘Cluckingham Palace’. The children get a real
understanding of how the animals at the farm change from season to season
– spring is magical when we get to feed the baby lambs and goats. The farm
attractions do not end there – there’s the soft play area, climbing frames, rideon tractors, go carts, sheep races and everything else the farm has to offer.
Inside
Inside we have intentionally chosen to do-away with conventional rooms
where the children are divided by age group. Instead we have a freeflowing space divided into zones. We find that this gives each child better
accessibility to everything there is to play with as well as the scope to
establish broader friendship groups – the older children tend to be very
caring towards the smaller children and the smaller children learn from the
older children who become excellent role models. It’s also great for children
who have brothers and sisters at the nursery so they can spend time
together when they can’t be at home. Communication flourishes.
Messy play is a hugely important part of our nursery life and the children love
it. Whether it’s sand and water, gloop or potions, messy play gives children
sensory experiences and lets their imagination run wild. With messy play
there are no rules so children can experiment and have fun whilst learning
through those hands-on opportunities.
At Finkley we link our activities and messy play to our theme of the week
to enhance learning even further. This can range from football pitches to
dinosaur swamps to wiggly worm spaghetti which inspires the children’s
imaginations and creative minds. Through messy play activities children
explore textures, sounds and smells and it allows the staff to extend learning
by asking open ended questions developing children’s critical thinking skills.
Our sensory space is really effective for children who need a bit of quiet time.
It’s a space where we can support children who might need to take a minute
to reset and refresh in a calm and secure environment. Ensuring children
feel safe, secure, and comfortable is one of our top priorities – we create a
home-from-home environment to encourage and support this. By knowing
our children and their individual needs we can better prioritise the support
needed to help them thrive. We frequently use the phrase Finkley family,
because to us, that is exactly what it is.
We have child-sized working kitchens in most of our nurseries so children can
learn those all-important skills by helping to prepare their own food as well as
bake some treats and healthy snacks.
It’s so important for children to have access to books so we have a dedicated
reading areas in each nursery. It’s a great opportunity for our keyworkers to
spend one-to-one time reading stories with each child.
Outside
Our gardens are a really fun place to be and we love the children to be outside
and play with their friends as much as possible so they benefit from fresh air
and plenty of exercise. They can play in the mud kitchen, plant vegetables
and watch them grow, spend time reading in the outdoor reading area, build
dens and relax in the outdoor sensory spaces we’ve created.
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