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St Gabriel’s

St Gabriel’s

Our Rooms

The Nursery has three separate rooms which are appropriate for each age and stage of development. All rooms come together on a regular basis for story times and singing sessions.

+ Baby Room 6 months - 2 years

Our Baby Room provides our youngest children with a calm, warm and nurturing environment from their very first day, allowing parents to return to work secure in the knowledge that their baby's individual needs are being met.

This light and airy self-contained room has access to its own garden, allowing your baby to explore freely inside and out in a variety of flexible learning areas. There is a dedicated sleep area where babies rest in Dream Coracles or on sleep mattresses, which gives them greater independence and security.  Babies love curling up in their own snuggle space and happily drift off to sleep like a little bird in its nest.

Each baby has a nominated Key Person, who will follow your child's home routine until they turn one when they will be encouraged to settle in to the Nursery routine.  Your child's Key Person will get to know your baby the best and will respond to their physical and emotional needs and provide activities which will enable them to thrive.

This room can hold 12 Babies and the ratio is 1:3

Children are cared for by the following staff:

Katherine Lee - Room Leader
Katherine is also a Duty Manager and the ECAT (Every Child A Talker) leader for the Nursery. She has an Advanced Apprenticeship in Early Years Educator (Level 3) and has worked in the Nursery since October 2014. 

Shannon McDonald - Nursery Staff
Shannon has a Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and is based in the Baby Room.  Shannon has worked in the Nursery since November 2023. 

David Taylor - Break Cover 
David is NNEB (Level 3) qualified and has worked in the Nursery since February 2015. David is the Nursery's outdoor specialist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abigail Baggs - Deputy Room Leader
Abigail is also the Transition Coordinator for the Nursery, ensuring that a child's Key Person is liaising with the other settings a child might be attending alongside our Nursery. Abigail holds a Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and has has worked in the Nursery since June 2019. 

Evie Drewitt - Nursery Staff
Evie holds an Early Years Educator Level 3 qualification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

+ Toddler Room: 2 - 3 Years

Our Toddler Room is a busy and exciting environment which encourages children to begin to learn to do things for themselves; indeed, our toddlers are very inquisitive and increasingly independent.

The room has a variety of features including its own Nursery gym, which promotes physical development, social interaction and problem-solving skills, together with a creative area where the children can express themselves through a variety of media. The secure outside play area allows children to explore freely between their indoor and outdoor environment.

Each child has a Key Person who provides bespoke activities to develop their physical, personal and social skills and, at the same time, encourages them to communicate their thoughts and ideas.

This room can hold 16 Toddlers and the ratio is 1:4

Children are cared for by the following staff:

Lisa Barrett - Room Leader 
In addition to being the Room Leader, Lisa is a Duty Manager, a named SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) for the Nursery, a DDSL (Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) and a fire warden. Lisa holds a NVQ Level 3 qualification in Childcare and has has over 20 years’ experience of working in a nursery.  She joined our Nursery in July 2020.

Emily Sells - Nursery Staff 
Emily has a Level 3 Childcare Qualification.  She started working in the Nursery in January 2022 as an apprentice before gaining her Level 3 qualification

Charlotte Tayler - Break Cover 
Charlotte has worked in the Nursery since September 2019. She is a Nursery Assistant. 

Katie Grineau - Deputy Room Leader 
Katie holds an Award Certificate and Diploma in Childcare & Education (Level 3).  She has worked in the Nursery since May 2016.

Leonie Moeller - Nursery Apprentice
Leonie is studying towards her NVQ Level 3 qualification.  Leonie has worked in the Nursery since June 2023.

+ Pre-School Room: 3 - 4 Years

The Pre-School Room provides a perfect environment to ignite your child’s love of learning. The free-flowing space allows children to have access to both indoor and outdoor learning opportunities, which are both child-initiated and adult-led.

Activities are planned thoughtfully by each child’s Key Person to cater for the children’s personal interests, widen their knowledge and stimulate future learning. Children are encouraged to become more independent and are supported to become school ready (independence with self-care, dressing themselves, taking turns and sharing and building strong communication skills). 

Children attending our Pre-School room are required to have learnt to use the toilet and be dry most days as well as dropped their daytime nap. 

Potty training: How to Start & Best Age to Potty Train

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is further enhanced for children in their final year in the Pre-School Room by lessons in PE, music and drama, which may be taken by a teacher or member of Nursery staff.  The children still have plenty of time to learn through play and express themselves independently.

This room can hold 40 Pre-School children and the ratio is 1:8

Children are cared for by the following staff:

Miriam Hamm - Room Leader
Miriam holds a Level 3 Diploma for the Children & Young Peoples Workforce and has worked in the Nursery since November 2015.  

Kaylie Pontin - Nursery Staff
Kaylie holds a CACHE Level 3 qualification in Childcare and has worked in the Nursery since October 2021. 

Robyn Reed - Apprentice
Robyn is currently studying towards her NVQ Level 3 Qualification. Robyn has worked in the Nursery since February 2024.

Jill Magusao - Deputy Room Leader
Jill holds a Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and has worked in the Nursery since September 2019.  

Samantha Exelby - Nursery Staff 
Samantha holds an Early Years Educator Level 3 qualification.

Tiffany Dry - Break Cover
Tiffany is a named SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) for the Nursery.  She has a Level 3 Diploma for the Children & Young Peoples Workforce and has worked in the Nursery since October 2022.