Safe and Sound
We fully appreciate that a parent’s primary focus in choosing any childcare is the welfare of their child. At Atherton House we make every effort to ensure our nursery is a safe and positive place for children.
We work within the government guidelines for child to staff ratio and seek advice from Ofsted, the government regulators for childcare and Sefton’s Early Years team when needed.
Atherton House School provides a spacious environment in each of our rooms to ensure children feel comfortable in their surroundings. Our outdoor play area is surrounded by walls and fencing with the added bonus of being surrounded by trees and bushes. We encourage exploration and exercise when children play outside. We also take walks to the local parks, during which we ensure we follow an appropriate staff to child ratio.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are provided for the children in the meals we freshly prepare. We ensure the recommended five a day of fresh fruit and vegetables is catered for in the variety we provide. We have a wonderful cook who comes up with some innovative ways to encourage children to eat vegetables, through food presentation and sometimes by disguising them by blending them with other food. Our menu is displayed every day and the weekly menu is available for parents to take away. Our cook is open to menu suggestions from parents and is flexible to ensure we can cater for specific dietary needs. All children’s meals are prepared freshly on site every day.
Milk is served at breakfast and snack times and children are taught how it helps with strong bones and teeth. Drinking water is on offer throughout the day and the older children have access help themselves to this.
At meal times, we ensure children learn about the importance of washing their hands. We encourage table manners and help them to understand the importance of concentrating during meal times. Children are also encouraged to speak with each other during meal times to feel part of a community and social wellbeing.
Hearing “please” and “thank you” is common at Atherton House and the carers set the example of being just as polite with the children and between each other. Sharing and respecting each other are common ways to help children develop positive relationships with their friends and carers.
All of the nursery carers and staff are first aid trained and qualified.
We help with toilet training and the importance of hand washing after the toilet is encouraged from the beginning.
It is essential we help children at Atherton House School understand boundaries, risks and safety and we do this by encouraging them to point out dangers and outcomes in specific circumstances.
All of our staff make every effort to form positive relationships with parents. We do want to know if you have any problems or worries about your child, or if you need our help, equally we want to know if you have something exciting to tell us about your child, or if they do something new or interesting.
Each child is assigned a key carer giving parents some confidence that even though we have a team of carers looking after your child, we also have an individual responsible for monitoring the development of your child.
We take pride in ensuring love care and attention go hand in hand. Other parents have told us they can see this through our approach. Atherton House School makes every effort to assure all parents on the welfare of their child.
First Aid
All Nursery Practitioners are first aid trained and qualified and receive regular updates.