Coundon Primary School - This is The North East

Education 20033Learning is fun: While Sunflowers’younger children enjoy the many andvaried facilities of the special baby unit(right), some of the nursery’s olderchildren hone their computer skills inpreparation for starting school (below)A nurserywherechildrenGet to grips with pre-school careITH so many mums These are inexpensive and companies or individuals, managed by or on behalf of annow working there has perform a useful role, not only community groups oremployer for the children of hisWbeen a huge growth in in giving hard-pressed mums a employers. Children can attend employees or a facility attachedthe number of pre-schoolnurseries, although manypeople would say there arestill not enough.Certainly, anyone who thinksthey can simply pop down to anursery and start their childthere immediately could be infor a nasty shock. Most havewaiting lists so you should getyour child’s name down as soonas possible.One of the boom areas in recentyears has been the growth ofprivate nursery schoolscatering for parents who arewilling to pay for the extraflexibility they may offer.These are often used byworking mums who find theirfees worth paying to maintain awage.Pre-school providers varyenormously, both in thefacilities they offer and the costto the parent.The most widespread are playgroups which may take thechildren for so many morningsor afternoons per week.break, but also in introducingchildren to the sort of socialand group play situations theywill certainly encounter inschools.Most local authorities also offernursery school places, in manycases attached to existingprimary schools, which againintroduce the children to schoolroutine.The most important thing for aparent is to find out as much aspossible about a nursery or playgroup before making a decision.Speak to other parents aboutthe services on offer anddon’t be afraid to drop inunexpectedly on the staff andchildren – in most instancesyou should be made welcome.Here are some of the types ofday care services and facilitiesavailable for children.DAY NURSERIES look afterunder-fives for the length of theadult working day. These maybe run by social servicesdepartments, voluntaryorganisations, privateeither part-time orfull-time depending on theirand their parents’ needs.PLAYGROUPS providesessional care for children agedbetween three and five, thoughsome may take children at twoand-a-half.They aim to providelearning experiences throughstructured play opportunities ingroups.Most playgroups are run on aself-help basis by groups ofparents with one or two paidstaff, but a few are run by localauthorities. Some are calledopportunity groups and caterspecifically for children withspecial needs. Playgroupsessions last for no longerthan four hours.EXTENDED PLAYGROUPSprovide care for children formore than four hours a day.Many will be used by workingparents on the same basis as aday nursery.CRECHE is a term commonlyused to describe two differentfacilities: a day nurseryto a shopping centre, shop orleisure centre where childrenare left by their parents forshort spells of time.PRIVATE DAY NURSERIESvary considerably in characterbut all offer educational andday-care facilities.MAINTAINED NURSERYSCHOOLS AND CLASSES areestablishments with their ownidentity. Nursery classes orunits are integral parts ofprimary schools. Both kinds ofprovision are open during thenormal school day, but thegreat majority of childrenattend part-time – usually fivemornings or five afternoonsa week.RECEPTION CLASSES INPRIMARY SCHOOLS – A largenumber of primary schoolsadmit children to receptionclasses before they are five.Most are four-year-oldsadmitted at the start of theschool year or term in whichthey reach five. The greatmajority attend full-time.Looking for great qualitychildcare?Our sixty place, purpose builtchildren’s day nursery is openat Mount View, NorthallertonSunflowers Day Nursery provides an exceptionalstandard of early years care and education,delivered by the highest calibre staff in anenvironment designed, fitted out and equipped tothe best possible standards.We are taking registrations for children from 3months to 5 years and for our Out of School Club.For a parent’s information pack, contact us on01609 781755or visit our website at www.sunflowersdaynursery.comblossomSUNFLOWERSDay Nursery atMount View,Northallerton, onlyopened it’s doors inSeptember, but italready has a waitinglist of more than a yearfor some age groups.The 60-place nurserytakes children fromthree months up topre-school age and alsoruns an out-of-schoolclub with a pick-up anddrop-off service at localschools.Purpose-designed andbuilt from the groundup as a nursery,Sunflowershas a total of ninededicated childcarerooms to help ensurethe very particularneeds of young childrenare met. Its baby unit,for example, has amessy play and eatingarea, a large playroomfor older babies, asmaller play room fornon-mobile babies and asleeping room – not tomention its own outsideplay space.Bruce Warnes, who runsthe company behindSunflowers, explained:“Purpose building ournursery has given us theperfect opportunity toget things right and thepositive response fromlocal parents has beenoverwhelming.“Demand for babyplaces has been so highthat we are even takingbookings from peoplewhose children haven’tSUNFLOWERS DAY NURSERYbeen born yet!”It’s not just thenursery’s baby unitthat has been wellthought out.Children from the ageof two move up into abright and spacious unitwhere they benefit fromfour separate roomsthat provide a wholerange of learning andplaying environments.Pre-school children agedthree and above, whoqualify for freechildcare places atSunflowers, have theirown separate roomwhere they can spend alittle more timebrushing up on some ofthe skills they’ll needfor school.Joanna Smith, whomanages the nursery,commented: “Havingthe perfect nurserybuilding is only a part ofour success. What reallymakes Sunflowers aspecial place to bringyour child is the warmand friendly outlook ofmy team of staff.“We work for a companythat repects us aschildcare professionalsand, in turn, we respectand value every childand their parents orcarers who comethrough our doors.”Further informationabout Sunflowers DayNursery, includingdetails of free places, isavailable on (01609)781755 or 781756Asquith CourtNurseriesProviding excellence in earlyyears learning and childcareOpenDaySaturday 10thMay10am - 2pmAsquith CourtNurseryTeessidec/o David Lloyd LeisureTees Barrage Way,Navigation Way,Tees Barrage, Thornaby,Stockton-on-Tees TS17 6QATelephone 01642 670676www.asquithcourt.co.uk