Great Expectations Nursery

Great Expectations nursery is perfectly located in the very heart of Middlesbrough town centre (opposite Captain Cook’s multi-storey car park). We are in the middle of the main shopping area and just a few minutes’ walk from the University and Middlesbrough College. We are also ideally located for those travelling by car as we have a designated drop off area in which parents are able to park for a short period whilst dropping off or collecting. We are close to both the bus and the train station. 

Our provision caters for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years, along with free funded places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds for those eligible. Dietary and cultural dietary needs are met through a fresh wholesome approach to meals which are cooked from scratch on the premises each day and meet the governments healthy guidelines for early years menus.

At Great Expectations our passion is to provide a warm, welcoming, safe and stimulating environment in which every child will flourish and meet their full potential. We are committed to providing the highest possible standards of care and education and achieve this by continually building on good practice. Each child is valued as an individual and their viewpoints respected and taken into account when planning experiences thus ensuring their voices are heard. By meeting the children's individual needs, be that dietary, cultural, physical and emotional we ensure that we are building strong foundations for future learning and achieving throughout school and beyond.

Our setting comprises of three main rooms which are carefully planned to suit the age and developmental stages of all our children from birth school age.

Baby Room
We have designed our beautiful baby room to enable our caring and professional staff who have over 15 years’ experience with caring for babies. Practitioners arrange the day in harmony for your baby, ensuring continuity from home to nursery by following their individual routines and needs. The room will spark their investigation skills, enticing them to explore, building on their muscle development and encouragement to pull themselves up on equipment. It is a room just for babies, making it a safer environment for them to play.

In caring for your baby, we shall do as you ask. When parent and baby first come to our baby room we will ask you to spend some time with us to help us to understand your baby’s routine and needs. We will gently integrate your baby’s routine into our nursery day. Your baby’s day will be filled with toys (regularly cleaned and sterilised), messy play, exploration, talk, music, walks and hugs. Gradually, we will work with you to wean your baby onto a varied menu of homemade food. Finally, when babies are tired, they are encouraged to sleep in our comfy cots.

With their care needs met and their special adults close, babies can get to work exploring. We provide a stimulating environment that encourages natural curiosity, exploration, and development. There is a wide range of equipment and resources to support learning this together with knowledgeable staff who create opportunities for all round development, including heuristic play- exploration of treasure baskets, natural objects, open ended resources, and stimulating black and white resources.

Toddler Room
Our wonderful Toddler unit has been created for children aged 18 to 30 months, to spark curiosity and inspire exploration with lots of natural resources and access to a safe outdoor play area. The unit also has toilet and sleep facilities to ensure that children are comfortable and well rested during their busy day.

Toddlers has been designed as a fun, safe inviting space for them to be able to explore with independence. The Toddlers interests are used to enhance the environment following themes of their individual interests. Individual plans are organised by key workers to ensure your toddlers likes, development and happiness is met throughout the day. The three Prime areas of learning for toddlers as outlined in the EYFS are Communication and Language development, Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development, they are all met in a cross curricular way. We also provide activities in support of the four specific areas of learning; Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts and Design.

Toddlers, like babies, learn from the people around them and how they are attended to, the environment that they are in and the opportunities it provides. At Great Expectations, the key worker system continues to be a crucial part of each child’s learning environment. They gather information from you on your child’s needs, likes and dislikes, developmental stage and interests. We make sure that there is regular dialogue about each child’s changing needs between the key worker and the family. As well as daily feedback on our E-Portfolio Tapestry, we provide termly review meetings with your child’s key worker and invite you to contribute to their developmental record.

Preschool
Our magnificent pre-school area has been carefully constructed to immerse children in a world of endless possibilities! There is so much to ignite interest and motivate enquiring minds including access to the wonderful outdoor beach themed play area.

A highly qualified teaching team is on hand to make sure that children’s investigations are fun and valuable learning experiences. As with all of our children’s spaces, there are toilet and sleeping facilities readily available to promote independence and ensure children are comfortable and well rested. We have built close relationships with the children in our care, we are sensitive to their transition and understand what it means to each individual child. Our role is very much about enabling children to test and try out their ideas, to help children expand upon these with a view to maximising their learning potential.

Wonder and awe – two things that as adults we have probably long forgotten about – but not so for children. Children are experts at enjoying and appreciating the world around them and they do this with excitement, fun and enthusiasm. Luckily for us at Great Expectations, we follow the children’s lead on their pathways of discovery which means we have the honour of sharing in these special moments. It also means that we get to learn about children’s unique fascinations and we use them to support their learning.

Outdoor Environment
At Great Expectations we believe that a high-quality outdoor environment offers infinite possibilities for learning. The children have access to the garden whenever they choose to with a vast choice of learning opportunities. Children’s wellbeing and positive mental health benefit from being outdoors. Spending time in natural environments can help become less anxious and develop a stronger sense of self-worth. Lots of time, thought, and planning has been invested in our outdoor area and facilities making them what they are today. We have recently had an extension to our outdoor area and we now also have a brand-new bike park for the children to enjoy.