Age Divisions

To ensure that your child is cared for in suitable surroundings, and mixes with children of similar age and ability. The Oxford Nursery is divided into three units:

However, at various times during the day the children may meet up for story time, news sharing, songs or other special occasions.

Freshers - for children aged 0 - 2 years

Here a staffing ratio of 1 to 3 ensures a very high level of individual attention. The care team is led by a qualified nursery nurse.

From the very beginning your child will be offered a planned range of activities each day, tailored to his/her stage of development. This planning is displayed in the Freshers' area for you to see. Staff will encourage your child to develop language skills, playing with specially selected toys and interacting with staff and other children. Your child will be guided to develop cognitive, motor and social skills.

For your convenience, we provide your baby's feeds prepared in our kitchens by our own cooks. We use fresh foods and include a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables each day. We can cater for special diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten free etc.

We will supply your baby's formula milk and bottles. For babies still on breast milk we ask you to express and freeze your milk.

We ask parents to supply nappies, and you will be notified when they are running out. If you forget to replace them in time, we do keep a small supply of spares which are charged at 25p per nappy

The week before your baby starts at nursery we ask you to arrange two pre-placement visits. The first will last for about an hour and a half and will give both you and your baby time to get a feel for the nursery and get to know care-workers. We will also ask you to give us some information about baby's feeding, sleep patterns and nappy change needs. The second visit is a short time (about an hour) when you leave baby with us.

Children usually stay in this unit until their second birthday. However, as their birthday draws near, they spend an increasing amount of time with the Sophomores. If a child starts nursery close to his/her second birthday, then it would be in the child's best interest to begin their time at nursery in the Sophomores area, rather than getting used to one care-worker and then having to adjust to another.

Sophomores - for children aged 2 - 3 years

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Scholars - for children aged 3 - 5 years

Our Scholars enjoy a ratio of 1:8 in their own room. They take part in games and activities which will allow them to achieve the levels of literacy and numeracy desired on entry to primary school. Creative activities will help them to develop their fine-motor skills and imagination. They learn to work and play in co-operation with others.

The Scholars Room has bays for activities related to English, Maths, Science and Information Technology, as well as a home corner, wet area, sand area etc.

To enhance their love and appreciation of books we take Scholars to Peers Community Library on a regular basis. We have also formed a link with a home for the elderly in Boars Hill. Our children visit the residents of The Oxford Beaumont Residential Home every few weeks to sing songs and chat together. Young and old enjoy sharing stories and chatting about their lives in general.

Each week staff plan a varied range of activities based around six areas of development:

Language & literacy
Mathematics
Knowledge & understanding of the world
Creative development
Physical development
Personal development

The work in these areas is linked around a common theme, which usually lasts for around a month.

This stage of a child's development is when they begin to adopt gestures. Attitudes and actions of adults. We recognise the importance of role models and staff are encouraged to practice good manners and consideration at all times.

Our Scholars learn to enjoy the companionship of other children and discover the pleasure of co-operative play, sharing and caring for each other