Children work on a rotary basis in small groups with the classroom practitioners, while others enjoy child-led free-play. Each child's key worker plans guided activities following the EYFS strands, to support their individual development. The practitioner records their daily observations of play and progress, using these to plan the next activities for the child's learning. This is all fed back and discussed with parents and carers on a daily basis. 

Children are given continuous provision, with access to a vast range of resources and activities, all chosen to support their ongoing development, and carefully laid out to appeal to the children. Children have ownership of the classroom, knowing where everything is stored and within their reach, enabling them to acess the resources of their choice, and take responsibility to tidy up again afterwards.

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Children can choose to play with friends, or alone, and with support of their key worker and other nursery practitioners. With classroom access to the outdoors, children can move between the indoor and outdoor areas throughout the session. Available activities cover a broad spectrum, and include sand, playdough, painting, music, role play and costumes, puppet play, messy play activities (time to get gooey!), IT equipment, sensory toys, building blocks, picture books and reading books, balls, climbing equipment, bikes, and balance boards, as well as space to run, jump, crawl, etc. Additional resources are made available according to age and the child's stage of development.

Although we have fixed meal times, fruit and vegetable snacks are available throughout the day, for a rolling snack time. Children may choose to take a piece of fruit at any time, and sit down calmly to eat it. Drinking water is always available in their own water bottles, throughout the day. Breakfast, lunch, and high tea are all cooked/prepared on site fresh and daily, by our cook, following a varied and healthy menu plan.

Although meal times and open/close times remain constant, every day is different at Abacus Day nursery. After all, how could it be predictable or routine, when every child wakes up and arrives with their own expectations, curiosities, hopes, and desires for the day, and we adapt to meet these development needs, and fuel every child's love for learning. But here's how a typical day will look.