With a waiting list stretching until 2013, Eagley School House Nursery in Lancashire decided expansion was the only answer. But its owner had a surprise when she was inundated with bookings before the nursery opened.
Owner Julie Robinson says, 'The new nursery is called Eagley School House 2. It is set to open in April and is registered for 50 places and I already have 44 of them filled. The new nursery is just five minutes from our existing nursery. There will be up to 12 staff initially, but this may rise as it becomes more established.'
This success is hardly surprising in the light of Eagley's achievements and strong reputation in Bolton. In its 2010/2011 Ofsted report it was graded outstanding and the 46-place nursery has been steadily oversubscribed since it established itself in 2003.
Quality of staff is what makes the setting vibrant, with its 19 staff highly motivated and well qualified.
'Two of us have EYPS, one has a degree and four have foundation degrees. We have a culture of staff training at the nursery and I think this makes such a difference,' Ms Robinson says. 'I have also taught at FE colleges before setting up my own nursery and was one of the first nursery practitioners to get EYPS.'
Ofsted particularly praised her nursery's sensory garden and outdoor play. Lancashire local authority's early years team show people around as an example of best practice.
'When Ofsted came round, they said they had never seen anything like it. I have designed it so it raises boys' achievement as it appeals to boys, engaging them at every level.'
Creating a superb outdoor area for the new nursery will be a priority and much has been learned from the experience of developing the garden at Eagley 1. During this process, the children were given cameras as they walked around the garden while Ms Robinson asked them what they liked and what they would like to change.
LISTENING TO CHILDREN
'We have listened to the children and it really works,' she says. 'They said they wanted a bigger digging area with a cover and a water play area. The water play area has taps which you can move to make the water squirt out, which the children think is really funny. There is also an undercover area where children can paint.'
Ms Robinson says she was going to have a chicken coop but this was changed when the boys said it looked like a castle. 'It now has a telescope and a flag,' she says.
Nursery staff created different paths around the secret sensory garden outdoors and children made marks within the concrete path such as arrows and handprints shapes. A 6ft wooden observation tower was also erected and underneath it is a den.
'The Wendy House was converted into a windmill, making it more of a neutral place to play,' says Ms Robinson. 'Also within the sensory garden, there is a path and tunnels and a giant wobbly bridge, a story corner and a big Jenga set.
'We want to have something similar at the new nursery and have an outdoor classroom where they can listen to stories and observe wildlife. There will be a sensory garden as well as a role play area. In addition there is a summer house which we are converting to an outside classroom. There is also going to be a greenhouse to grow plants and vegetables,' Ms Robinson says.
HOME VISITS
Eagley School House Nursery's partnership with parents will be an important part of life at the new nursery. One aspect of this is home visits, from when a child joins the nursery.
'It means we can identify really early on whether there are any learning difficulties or behavioural problems we should be looking at,' Ms Robinson says. 'We were one of the first nurseries in this area to put in webcams so parents can log on any time of the day and see what their child is doing.'
She is replicating this at the new nursery, where she has invested £3,000 in a webcam.
Her current nursery is in a residential area and her home is above it.
'This gives the nursery a really homely feel. One of our parents said to us that when you walk in you feel like you are being hugged, which was so nice,' she says.
The new nursery will be on the ground floor of a large detached house so she hopes it will have a similar family feel.
For Ms Robinson, going into the nursery business has never been to make money.
'I wanted to make a difference and I feel I have achieved this. Although different in design in terms of the rooms and outdoors, the new nursery will have a similar theme. This ethos has gained us our outstanding status which we aim to achieve at the new nursery as soon as possible.'
