Toddlers & Foundation Room
Our Toddler and Foundation Rooms provide all the essentials for the inquisitive, active two-year old. They have been designed with an emphasis firmly on education through play.
Our aim is to develop learning through positive interest and enjoyment, but not in a haphazard way. We structure our materials, information and language in extremely precise ways and continually assess and evaluate each child’s progress. The children have a routine to the day, which helps to keep them stimulated but also helps develop a sense of time as they can anticipate future events. It also helps those children who join our Educare family in our Toddler and Foundation Rooms as it provides consistency and security to help them settle in as quickly as possible.
Our Facilities
The cleanliness of our rooms is apparent throughout, as is our commitment to resourcing them with an abundance of toys, equipment and educational materials.
Our high-quality furniture allows the children to select their own toys, learning activities and materials, which helps to build their confidence and decision-making skills. Activities are also set up based your child’s interests to encourage them to explore. In the Toddler Room, a large role-play area is key for this age group as much of their day-to-day play is made up of retelling and acting out experiences. The room also includes a cosy reading area and lots of floor and table space for construction and small world play. Mealtimes are always made a social occasion where the children are encouraged to talk about things they have done that day and they also start to take small responsibilities like setting out their own cutlery and cup.
The Foundation children are based in the Art Studio and will follow similar routines to Toddlers and Preschool to allow all three of these ages to access the different provision in each room. The toilet facilities are easily accessible from all three rooms, essential for this crucial stage in development when our Toddlers are learning to toilet train and become that little bit more independent. Staff will also help with toilet training within this age group and will closely work with you to make this a fun and easy process.
Our Toddler and Foundation children make good use of all our outdoor spaces; they have four to choose from including our forest area and large climbing frame. These areas are an extension to the learning environment and are used every day regardless of the weather. They also use our indoor physical play space ‘Playclub’ for their daily Toddler Moves sessions – more information on the benefits of these sessions for this age group can be found on our Baby Moves section of the website.
Your Toddler’s Development
Staff are constantly aware of children’s varying individual needs such as quiet times, physical times, concentration times etc. and plan multiple activities to fit around the children. Just like in our Baby and Mini Rooms your child will be assigned a key worker to closely work with you and your child to make sure their individual needs are met and they continue to make progress within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum. We also follow The Curiosity Approach, which is a modern day approach to Early Childhood.
For more information on the Curiosity Approach see our inspiration tab on our webpage.