Within Pre-school at Cottontails we believe in employing qualified teachers to deliver the Early Years curriculum, ensuring every child is ready socially, emotionally, and academically for their school journey. 

Our Pre-school room is divided into learning spaces including reading and writing, mathematics, small world imagination, art and craft and imaginative role play! Within these spaces, children are encouraged to challenge themselves re-creating what they know and building on this to discover new learning!

Each week, learning is launched using our ‘curiosity cube’ as children question what they may be learning through the items contained inside; developing early questioning skills to support critical analysis. Learning is linked to a termly theme which runs throughout the nursery. Using themes to steer learning ensures we provide our children with topics that spark their interest and experiences outside of their normal day to day lives. Often topics link to seasons and transitions or stem from children’s personal interests. Topics include, space, vehicles, growing, mini-beasts, superheroes… the list continues! Uniting children’s interests within their learning is why we allow time within our curriculum for free exploration, alongside our topic opportunities. This way children have the freedom to share what they know, extend, and explore their own avenues of interest. All children have their own individual passions, even at such a young age! It is our responsibility to encourage these early interests to support children into becoming strong, individuals for the future. 

Here at Cottontails we learn and discover indoors and outdoors, recognising the importance of learning outside and how this can support positive mental wellbeing. Understanding the importance of mindfulness within young children, we have dedicated space within every classroom where children can reflect and relax supporting positive regulation and sense of self. We even partake in yoga with our children! 

Health and wellbeing at Cottontails provides a foundation for our practise. Our in-house chef sources local produce to provide healthy and nutritious, home cooked meals for our children. We’ve even started to grow some of our own food! 

As part of our inclusive ethos, where children require a more tailored diet, we will provide appropriate alternatives and substitutes. This way every child receives the very best nutrients to reinforce their positive development. 

Sharing learning experiences with our families is celebrated using our nursery management system. Parents are invited to download the app so they do not miss a learning moment. Parents can view their child’s development profile, key learning moments, and communicate directly with the class teachers and nursery management. As part of our learning community parents will receive termly topic information and weekly learning focus updates, including home learning suggestions. We upload our timetable and key events, meaning our parents are re-assured and receive enough notification and reminders (when needed) to prepare their child for their day at nursery. We all lead busy lives and as a parent we know how easily we can forget small things that mean so much to our children. Our nursery app. provides parents with key information at their fingertips, at any time of the day!

As a community nursery, involving parents and families within nursery life has been part of our practise for over 20 years! Holding events from parent’s evenings, community open days and craft fayres, to graduation ceremonies and sports day, performances and coffee and tea mornings. We value our community and those who live here. Instilling these community values within the everyday life of the nursery provides lasting memories for our children that will help to shape their values and identity as an adult.  

Widening the experiences for our children extends to life outside of the nursery. Our children experience trips and walks within our local community and wider afield, developing their understanding of the world in which we live.