Learning & Development: Nursery Schools - The right combination

A city that has suffered a spate of closures of nurseries and primary schools recently because of surplus places, is celebrating the opening of a £4m maintained nursery school, training and research centre.

Nottingham Nursery School and Training Centre, designed to be a beacon of excellence, has been built in Radford, Nottingham, as part of council proposals to solve the problem of empty places at nursery and primary schools in the city. In 2006 there were 1,400 places for primary school pupils and only 840 children, amid predictions that the number of children would fall to 748 by 2009 - a 46 per cent surplus of places.

However, the council's proposals meant that three existing stand-alone nurseries, all of which had been graded outstanding and were greatly valued by the local community, were closed down. Under the plans, the number of primary schools with nurseries attached was also reduced, from seven in 2006 to just four by August 2008.

Jill Robey, head of Nottingham Nursery School and Training Centre, explains, 'The city has always had a strong tradition of nursery schools and the other buildings had served their purpose really well, but the space was no longer suitable. For example, one of the old nurseries was in a cricket pavilion and the building was in a poor state. However, all of the nurseries had excellent staff who worked really hard, and the care and curriculum was fantastic, so it's understandable that some people were upset to see the nurseries closed down.'

Pauline Trudell, an independent early years consultant who is leading a Government-funded research project on the status and role of maintained nursery schools, says, 'It is a great pity that any of the nurseries had to close, but the idea of having a nursery school as a centre for training is something I would applaud, and on the whole it sounds like a positive step.

'Nursery schools are the centre of a distinctive way of working. That quality needs to be spread across the country. We need to take that unique and distinctive way of working and generalise it.'

Open classrooms

Nottingham Nursery School and Training Centre, which opened last month, has 90 full-time equivalent places for children - 70 for children aged between three and five, and 20 for two-year-old children who have been selected for the Government's free early education entitlement pilot for two-year-olds.

Nottingham is one of 32 local authorities chosen for the three-year pilot, which provides disadvantaged two-year-olds with 15 hours a week free early education.

Daycare at the nursery is available from 7.30am to 6pm, and the nursery is open for 50 weeks a year. Parents can buy extra hours if they need them for longer than the standard 38-week academic year.

The £4m nursery building, funded with a grant from central Government, has four classrooms that open into each other. Each one features an interactive whiteboard that drops down for the children. The classrooms look out over the outdoor area to the rear of the building, where there is a playround and large covered areas so children can enjoy the outside regardless of the weather.

'We've got a huge outdoor play space, which features a climbing frame and sandpit, and has different textured surfaces,' says Ms Robey. 'There's a big tarmac area for wheeled toys and games, and we're going to have a large allotment where children can dig and plant. We've got jackets, sweatshirts and polo shirts for children with the nursery's logo, so children don't have to get their own clothes dirty.'

The building has a solar panel on the roof, and a special monitoring unit that collects rainwater before cleaning it and piping it back into the building's mains water supply. Two simple displays in reception help children to understand the environmental benefits of these features.

Diverse staff

One of the criticisms from those who opposed building the centre, and wanted the old nurseries to remain open, was that the new building would be too large and daunting for young children.

'I can see why people thought that,' says Ms Robey, 'because on the plans the nursery looked like a massive space. But I don't think the size of the nursery is daunting. I think any building is a little bit scary for a child the first time they go there.'

Ms Robey hopes that the building and the nursery's team of highly experienced childcare and play practitioners will help to ensure that the nursery training centre proves itself as a beacon of excellence in the area.

'We've got fantastic staff with diverse experience,' she says. 'We've got former private nannies, staff who have come from the maintained sector and others from the private sector. My deputy has worked as play development officer and we have a play therapist who works with parents and children and gives one-to-one tuition to children who may need extra support. We also link with the children's centre in Radford, so we will not be duplicating any services.'

Ms Robey has also created a different staffing structure to that of a traditional day nursery. 'I've created posts at three different levels - we've got senior early years workers, early years workers and early years assistants, and they are all qualified to a minimum of NVQ Level 3. We also have two full-time equivalent teachers.'

TRAINING AND RESEARCH

The first-floor training research and training centre, where early years practitioners can benefit from a wide variety of courses, from paediatric first aid to leadership and management training, has already seen high levels of demand and at the moment is fully booked until March 2009. Courses at the training centre, which has separate facilities from the nursery, are led by consultants and early years practitioners from both the maintained and private sectors. Anyone working in the early years can benefit from the training on offer at weekdays, evenings and weekends.

The centre has now officially opened, but as far as staff are concerned, the nursery is still a work in progress.

'There are still things we need to adjust,' Ms Robey explains. 'We need a water element in the outdoor play area, and we're also going to put a soft play area in the dining hall. But it was wonderful to see the new nursery team, who hadn't met before they started their jobs here, pull together and work so hard to get the nursery ready by the opening date.

'A lot of the furniture and equipment came from the schools that had closed down, and arrived during the summer holidays, so staff had to spend two days moving the furniture to the right rooms. But when the parents first came in and saw what the staff had put together in the space of a few days, it was unbelievable. The classrooms look exciting and vibrant. Everyone is just really excited about the whole thing.'