How can we help you?

We take on board a vast array of early years theorists and philosophers. However, there are four schools of thought from which we take specific guidance – Reggio, Montessori, Bruner and Forest School. Each has inspired our practice in a different way and you can find out more about what we’ve taken from each on The N Approach page.  

We take on board a vast array of early years theorists and philosophers. However, there are four schools of thought from which we take specific guidance – Reggio, Montessori, Bruner and Forest School. Each has inspired our practice in a different way and you can find out more about what we’ve taken from each on The N Approach page. Working with experts, we’ve developed our own curriculum, the delivery of which is bespoke to each child. Our curriculum is divided into four pillars and is designed to prepare children for life in the modern world. These four pillars are: Holistic Health, Global Responsibility, Self Expression and inventive Ideas. You can find out each pillar on The N Curriculum page.

We’ve taken advice from experts, as well as building out a hugely experienced education team in house, who have led the development of our curriculum. They have been influenced by our founding philosophies – Reggio, Montessori, Bruner and Forest School, as well as emerging evidence on child development. Dr David Whitebread, an early years specialist at the University of Cambridge, was one of our key advisors when we founded N Family Club and his guidance on the benefits of learning through play are still at the core of everything we deliver.

A typical day is 8-6pm, though this can be extended by an hour each way. Breakfast is from 8-9am, lunch from 11.30am and dinner at 4pm, with morning and afternoon snacks. Babies nap a few times a day, depending on their home sleep pattern and older children usually nap after lunch until they stop napping during their preschool years. In the mornings and afternoons children will be engaged in a balance of purposeful play and educator inspired experiences and spending lots of time outdoors – we will also have some special group sessions that we run every week, like yoga and Spanish – check out The N Day and The N Curriculum pages for more information.

All children will spend time outdoors every day, as we really encourage outdoor learning, but it will depend on what the children are learning that week and how extreme the weather is (we take children outside no matter the weather but if it is really rainy/snowy this might be for a shorter period!).

We do plenty of different activities outside, including physical activities, games, planting, Forest School and learning about the local community. You can find out more about our Outdoor Learning programme on the Outdoor Learning page.

We have a Spanish programme which involves weekly Spanish sessions, focusing on building an early appreciation of how different languages work through simple songs and play.

In addition to our core curriculum, we offer the N Extras, which are Spanish, Yoga, Doodle Dance (which leads to Phonics), and Cooking & Baking. We also have the N Passport - a cultural experience programme. You can find more information about these on our N Curriculum page.

Our N App is where we upload observations regularly, along with a daily picture of your child and what they’ve been up to at nursery. We also use the N App to share key dates, news and announcements. Every term a child’s progress is assessed against EYFS and updated on the N App. We also add ‘next steps’ for each child in line with The N Curriculum, so you can see what your child’s learning goals are.

We informally observe the children (including a Baseline Assessment), with termly assessments and twice-annual parents evenings. We will complete a Two Year Check, and we also have a Before School assessment which ensures a smooth transition from nursery to school.

They are held twice a year, in Autumn and Spring. These are a more formal way for parents to receive updates about children’s progress and time at nursery!

Their results will be shared on the N App termly.