Nursery Equipment: Care routines - Happy days

The close teamwork between staff and their excellent relationships with parents are clearly apparent when observing the care routines for babies at Giant Steps Horden Limited.

This 'outstanding' nursery provides full daycare and creche facilities for up to 54 children and is located within Horden Sure Start Children's Centre, County Durham.

Parents enter the nursery eagerly and are relaxed and confident as they talk to staff about their children. The atmosphere is homely, with older babies involved in a busy hum of activity alongside interested younger babies. It is evident from their body language and verbal exchanges that staff know individual babies well and place great importance on ensuring that their differing needs are met.

Clear policies and procedures help underpin the nursery's care routines and excellent practice, as Rachel Priestman and Sam Neil explain:

FEEDING ROUTINES

As soon as a baby is registered with us we talk to parents in a relaxed way to encourage them to tell us about essential aspects of their baby's feeding routines. For example, we ask questions about what the baby likes to eat, when, where and how.

This includes finding out about particular brands of baby food and formula milk. We write down vital information about any dietary requirements or allergies and explain that parents have a choice between providing their own baby's meals or having staff prepare food for them.

We strive to ensure that babies experience a good variety of healthy produce, with interesting tastes and textures when they are developmentally ready. All babies are offered a morning snack, dinner and dessert, afternoon snack and tea, and these are served when the baby is ready. Breakfast is also available should it be needed.

Every baby has a daily diary that parents take home at the end of the day. Staff write in it exactly what the baby eats and drinks during the course of the day and the times. This includes comments on foods the baby really enjoyed and new tastes that were not so popular.

Key person

Babies are usually fed by their key person or a familiar member of staff to ensure continuity. Small babies are bottle fed on an adult lap in a comfortable armchair so that the experience is as close to home as possible. Older babies are fed on demand in low chairs with a tray attachment, or at a table alongside other adults, babies or toddlers, depending on their individual routines.

Low chairs are used so that babies can watch those around them. Throughout the meal or snack time, the key person talks animatedly and engages in close eye contact with the baby to ensure that eating is a happy, comforting experience.

Parents work closely with us in organising their child's feeding routines. They are familiar with our milk kitchen where the excellent s prepared by our chef for older children are blended or pureed for babies, and bottles are prepared. We share our three-weekly menu and talk about the range of produce offered.

CHANGING ROUTINES

We have a nappy changing area with a purpose-built unit where key persons, or familiar staff members, can change the baby quietly. This unit houses fold-down steps for toddlers to access so that they can be more involved in the process.

Shelves behind the unit house individual babies' changing materials supplied by parents. Nappies are hygienically disposed of in a unit supplied by a commercial organisation and emptied at regular intervals.

There is a written nappy change procedure and all staff adhere to this. To avoid spread of infection, staff wear aprons and disposable gloves to change babies, and wash their hands before and after each change. In addition, the changing mat is sprayed and wiped down after each change.

Changing time is when babies come into close contact with their key persons and other familiar adults. Staff talk through their actions, sing to them and make close eye contact. Babies coo contentedly, and happily stretch their hands up to touch the well-known faces.

Times and details of individual nappy changes are recorded on a chart which is given to parents. Any changes in a child's toileting habits are discussed with them. Staff strive to encourage babies to look upon this natural process with comfort to lead into confident potty training.

Parents are involved in all of our routines and work closely with us to ensure that their baby's experiences of nappy changes mirror home experiences as closely as possible. This close dialogue continues throughout the potty training process until the toddler or older child can visit the toilet independently. Parents provide nappies, wipes and cream for their baby to avoid cross-contamination and ensure continuity of experience.

SLEEP ROUTINES

Babies have different preferences when it comes to sleep and do not always want to go in a traditional cot. Our close partnership with parents ensures that we can make appropriate provision for any sleeping style.

Some babies prefer to sleep on demand and like to find a cosy quiet corner where they can curl up on one of our 'dog basket-style' beds or bean bags. Other babies like to have a cuddle in the arms of a familiar adult, and so this area also has an adult-sized rocking chair.

The whole area is enclosed by drapes of shimmering fabric suspended from the ceiling along with twinkling lights and stars. Babies lying in this area are comforted by calming music and light displays.

Occasionally we have babies who sleep in a buggy during the day at home and so we continue with this practice, often putting the buggy outside so that the baby can benefit from the fresh air. Again, babies' own blankets are used every time. We keep charts of their sleep patterns to share with parents and staff so that we can always ensure we meet their needs.

Comfort toys

Good facilities for sleeping are essential if babies are to be relaxed and comfortable in the nursery surroundings. We make the environment as homely as possible by talking to parents about when, where and how their babies like to sleep. They are encouraged to supply favourite comfort toys, blankets and dummies and this helps enormously with the initial transition from home to nursery. Babies continue to have their own comfort toys for as long as they wish.

Designated area

We have a designated sleep area with cots for individual babies situated in a quiet corner behind some shimmering drapes. Children have their own bed linen, which is changed every time a cot is used, and personal comfort toys and dummies are encouraged. A shelf alongside houses named baskets for these resources.

Staff have created an informative wall display for parents with photographs of sleeping babies and appropriate words such as 'sleep tight', 'peaceful moments', 'snuggle in' and 'shhh' to add to the atmosphere.

There is a sleep observation sheet on display as well as references to the EYFS. Staff check babies every ten minutes throughout their sleep and sign the chart. The time the baby starts to sleep and wakes up again are both recorded. Room temperatures are monitored closely.

Rachel Priestman is deputy manager and Sam Neil is a nursery nurse at Giant Steps Horden Limited, County Durham

MORE INFORMATION

Nursery World articles:

- 'Rest assured' - about sleep routines (17 August 2008)

- 'With care' - about nappy routines (1 November 2007)

- 'All about ... infection control' (7 September 2006)

- 'Cottoning on' - pros and cons of reusable nappies (16 June 2005)

- 'Right from the start' - appropriate planning for under threes (17 March 2005)

RESOURCES INFORMATION

- Changing table with steps, mealtime chairs, cots and other essential equipment for babies are available from Community Playthings (www.communityplaythings.co.uk). NES Arnold supplies similar items (www.nesarnold.co.uk)

- Accessories such as lights, cushions and beanbags are available from Ikea (www.ikea.com)

- Nappy disposal units are available from Cannon Hygiene (www.cannonhygiene.com)

- General baby equipment is available from The Consortium (www.theconsortium.co.uk) and Babies R Us (www.babiesrus.co.uk)

- Tommee Tippee provides a full range of products for baby feeding, weaning, soothing, baby changing and resting (www.tommeetippee.co.uk)

- The Great Little Trading Company's wide range of products includes cutlery and fo od containers (www.gltc.co.uk)

- SteadyCo has designed a cup that is an alternative to spouted mugs and offers a range of cutlery and crockery (www.steadyco.com)

- Somerset Willow makes 'dog basket' beds to order (www.somersetwillow.co.uk)

- The Real Nappy Campaign offers tips on using real nappies in nurseries (www.realnappycampaign.com)

- Siren Films specialises in videos tracking babies' and young chldren's early development (www.sirenfilms.co.uk)