Baby Barn

Here in Baby Barn, we welcome a home from home approach, offering a cosy, safe and explorative environment where children get to follow their interests with all resources being low levelled and accessible to babies of all ages and stages. Baby Barn is slowly transitioning into more of a Curiosity Approach, where loose parts, treasure baskets/ pods, sensory play and items from the real world will spark children’s imaginative play. Story time and singing are a big part of our daily routine, where circle time becomes a time for children to express themselves freely supporting their developmental areas through Makaton, puppets, signs, and actions and often talking about feelings and emotions. When children start with us, we offer a meet and greet session for parents to meet the team, go through their child’s individual needs and ask any questions about the nursery and their child’s day. After this your child will be offered 3-4 settling in sessions to allow both parents and child to settle and feel comfortable leaving your child prior to their start date. All parents will also be given a welcome pack for Baby Barn. Our routine is fully flexible, and we try to follow each children’s individual routine they would normally have at home. Baby Barn can take up to 9 babies each day ranging from 6 months to 2 years of age, with practitioners working on a 1:3 ratio. We welcome babies to eventually peg their own coats and bags on their picture peg and be greeted by their key person who will support them to settle and engage in play from the moment they arrive. Baby Barn children have a daybook that Folly Farm have created allowing parents to take home each day. This allows parents/ carers to revise their child’s personal routine of the day, along with a little bit about what activities they have been engaged with and explored. Baby Barn also have their own sensory safety surfaced garden space with shelter, allowing their garden to be an all-weather area along with the fields and large open space in all gardens to use. Babies and the team are outside all together at least once a day whether this may be in the Folly Farm fields, walks or in the babies’ garden following our welly boot culture. As a nursery we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum as well as Birth – five matters to support practitioners to allow all children to develop in their own unique way. Learning journeys are paper based and accessible at any time for parents to take home and see their children’s progress.