Aim
Our Nursery aims to provide the children and parents of Ballymun and surrounding areas, with a high quality, affordable and accessible community childcare facility

Objectives
The following points serve as objectives of high-quality care that will be provided for children in the service:

• The Nursery is a home away from home with a warm welcoming atmosphere.
• The correct child/staff ratio is always in operation.
The Nursery environment is well planned and well organised in a way that suits the different needs of individual children (keeping in mind the importance of safety and hygiene).
• The daily programme includes a variety of activities which encourage the physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social development of the children.
• The children can make their own choices on how they spend their day – this promotes independence and self-motivation. The materials and equipment are set out in such a way that they are accessible to children.
• Information and communication with parents is encouraged. Staff will give feedback at the end of each day and this keeps parents up to date with the on-going developments in policies and procedures.
• The parents are involved in settling in their child if necessary, at the beginning of the day and will be made feel welcome in doing this.
• A good system of record keeping available to all staff will be in operation in order to ensure the welfare and safety of all children.
• Staff listens and responds to the needs of all the children. There is enough staff to ensure individual attention can be given to the child.
• Sociability, friendship and co-operation with others is encouraged through co-operative play.
• There are equal opportunities to all children irrespective of race, gender, disability or religion.
• Fairness and consistency is always evidence when dealing with children’s behaviour, remembering that children who are encouraged to make decisions and to be independent are much less likely to be disruptive than children who are bored.
• Staff see themselves as facilitators rather than being ‘in control’. This helps children develop self-esteem as they will be actively involved in their own learning and find ways to resolve conflicts.
• We implement the High Scope curriculum and we are working under the Siolta Quality Framework / HSE Quality Guidelines and the Goals of Aster to ensure quality within out Nursery.

Statement of Intent
The Nursery caters for up to 112 children. The nursery opens from 9.00 am to 4pm Monday to Friday. We offer sessional service for babies and toddlers, Full time hours for preschool children and a FREE two-year pre-school session for children qualifying for the ECCE scheme. Our Nursery closes over the Christmas and Easter period.

Our Facilities include
• 4 preschool rooms that cater for 16 preschool children from 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday each week.
• 1 Free Preschool room that caters for 22 children aged from 2years 8months to school age (11 in morning session and 11 in afternoon session)
• 1 toddler room that caters for 14 children aged 1yr 6months to 2yrs 9mths (7 in morning session and 7 in afternoon session)
• 1 baby room that caters for 12 children aged 4 months to 1year 6 months (6 in morning session and 6 in afternoon session)
• 2 Large fully fenced, well-equipped outdoor Play area’s with safety surface.
Large, bright, spacious playrooms,

Our Nursery is a High Scope centre where children learn through the High Scope curriculum the age group of children attending the nursery is between 6 months to school age.

HighScope Curriculum
HighScope is an evidence based high quality early care and education curriculum. The High Scope curriculum allows children to get a balance between doing things on their own and with others.

High Scope promotes a holistic approach to children’s learning and development. Activities and experiences meet the children’s needs across all areas of development:
• Physical
• Cognitive
• Linguistic
• Social
• Emotional
• Creative
• Moral & Spiritual

High Scope places a strong emphasis on planning the layout of the childcare rooms and selecting appropriate material. The activities encourage the child’s creative, emotional, social and physical development. The rooms are designed in such a way as to meet the developing needs of each individual child. The children are guided through a range of educational and play activities at their own pace. Our teachers create a positive and secure environment where children feel confident in exploring their surroundings.

Our curriculum allows the children to learn through the High Scope method where they learn through active participatory learning. The child has direct experiences which helps them make sense of their world.