Raspberries

A Rich Learning Environment

Raspberries Meal Times:

Meal times are an important social time for the children. They sit in small groups supported at all times by an adult. The children are encouraged to use a knife and fork properly and to display good table manners. They are also encouraged to help serve themselves and control their own portioning where appropriate. Meal times are an excellent opportunity to expand children’s understanding of the natural world and the world around us. We talk to the children about what is in their food, how it is grown and where dishes originate from. Please see our Healthy Choices section for further information.

Raspberries: 2 years to 3 years.

The Raspberries’ room offers a bright and spacious room that was expanded in 2018 to almost double its size with the addition of a second floor!

The Raspberries room is a bespoke design that include an age specific sensory room with UV lighting, sensory items, bubble panel and sparkly LED light wall. This is for the sole use of the Raspberries children. The additional space provided by the development of the first floor provides a unique facility in the area with nearly double the required space per child provided. This means that even on the busiest days the Raspberries room is always calm and organised.

Raspberries Staffing and Ratios:

Children in our Raspberries room are cared for on a maximum 1:4 ratio. This enables us to support each child and to ensure their safety at all times. Your child will be allocated a key person in the room who will be your principle liaison with the nursery. They will help support your child in their personal care and development. For more information please see our Useful Stuff section.

The Raspberries Learning Environment:

Working with the EYFS ‘7 areas of learning’ the different areas of play become more defined in Raspberries. Our construction, small world, mark making, mathematics, role play and home corners are well stocked and laid out to encourage the children to use each area fully and to move from one activity to another as their interest guides them. We provide lots of creative and sensory play such as painting, playdough, sand, water and gloop as well as music and drama, allowing them to experiment and explore.

Raspberries in the garden:

The Raspberries room opens directly on to our outdoor play area allowing the Raspberries use free flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces easily throughout the day. The children particularly enjoy adventuring in the forest area, digging in the mud kitchen and improving their gross motor skills playing on the balance bikes. We provide a host of resources available to them to make outdoor play as varied and valuable as indoor play.

The Important Milestone of Toilet Training!

Every child achieves this milestone in their own time but it is common for many children to become interested in toileting at around the age of two years. We work alongside parents and carers to identify the right time for their child to start this important process and to support them in achieving this. To help make this process as smooth and successful as possible the Raspberries have 2 bathroom areas with 3 child sized loos downstairs and 2 upstairs, each has low level sinks. We know that the window of opportunity between a 2 year old identifying that they need to use the toilet and it being too late can be very small so we make sure that these facilities are as accessible as possible to improve their chances of success!

Sleep Time for Raspberries:

Many of our children in the Raspberries room still benefit from an afternoon nap. With the opening of the extended 1st floor we will are able to offer the children a specific sleep area for these periods. Children in the Raspberries room sleep on mats snuggled up with blankets and their favourite comforters.

Transitions:

Moving on to the Elderberries is a very big adventure for both child and parent. Our practitioners will work with you to help make this process as smooth as possible. Please see Transitions in our Useful Stuff section for more information.