Our Nursery

At Dovedale Nursery, we recognise that play is the foundation of learning. We have made a commitment to sustainability and spent the last couple of years swapping out plastic toys for natural resources and loose parts play. We have reduced the visual noise around the rooms and adopted a more minimalist approach to our décor. We take inspiration from a range of different approaches such as Montessori, Froebelian and Mosaic while implementing the EYFS framework.

Every room has access to outdoor space which acts as a continuation of our indoor space. As Alfred Wainwright said “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing” and we quite agree!

We believe every child deserves the very best start in life.

"The exciting environments, both indoors and outside, are organised to provide children with outstanding experiences across all areas of learning. Children are able to freely choose where to play"

The Office

Nursery Manager: Sarah Boultwood

Deputy Manager: Lacey Smith, Vicky King & Paige Wilson

Dovedale @ Moulsham Out of School Manager: Flossie Brown

Admin Assistant: Faye Grantham

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The Rooms

Nest | 10 months to 16 months

The Nest room is carefully set up to support babies as they begin to explore the world around them. Whether they are crawling, pulling themselves up, taking their first steps, or beginning to communicate, we provide a range of age-appropriate experiences that promote confidence and independence. Some of our favourite things are singing and listening to music, listening to stories, sensory play and outdoor exploration. Ask us about our safer sleep policy at your show round.

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Chicks | 16 months to 2.5 years

Chicks Room is a stimulating and nurturing environment where children are encouraged to explore and begin to develop their independence. Through a balance of child-led and adult-guided activities, we inspire children to develop new skills, build friendships, and become confident little people. Some of our favourite things to do in this room are story time, role play, playing in the garden and exploring early mathematic experiences through counting, sorting and matching.

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Fledglings | 2.5 years to 3 years

Fledglings Room provides an inspiring environment where curiosity is encouraged and independence is fostered. At this stage, children are becoming more independent, developing stronger communication skills, and showing an increasing interest in the world around them. Our team create meaningful learning experiences that build on each child's interests while supporting their individual development. We encourage children to become confident learners, problem-solvers, and kind, respectful friends. In this room we start to include some mark making activities to develop fine motor skills which supports early writing development. We introduce circle time so the children can sit together for the register or stories and an opportunity to promote our nursery values. The staff begin to introduce opportunities for the children to recognise their name and other familiar words.

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Eagles | 3 years to 4 years (Pre-School)

Our Pre-School Room encourages children to become confident, independent, and enthusiastic learners. Our team provide opportunities that develop essential life skills while nurturing each child's unique personality, interests, and abilities. Through a carefully planned balance of child-led play and adult-guided learning, we help children develop the confidence, resilience, and curiosity they need to thrive both at nursery and beyond. One of our favourite activities in this room is developed role play where the children are given space to see where their imagination takes them. We provide opportunities for the children to develop independence through self-care, decision-making, and taking responsibility for simple daily tasks.

Towards the end of the year we focus on preparing the children for Reception, we have a self-serve lunchtime where the children are supported in collecting their own food on trays, circle time becomes a big feature of the day where the children are registered and talk about their current topics and there are many opportunities for the children to recognise their name and other familiar words such as finding their peg name and snack cards.

Out of School

We offer quality breakfast and after-school care in a safe, welcoming, technology-free environment where children can play, explore, build friendships and develop independence.

Out-of-School Provision

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