Small Wonders Day Nursery Hemel Hempstead

About Us

We are a friendly, family run business and together have many years of experience in the child care sector. We have many parents amongst our brilliant team of nursery nurses and assistants and we value this as a great attribute; building strong, positive relationships between parents and carers is a key factor in children’s all round development and wellbeing and we firmly believe that empathy plays a significant role in this process. The safety, health and wellbeing of all our children remains a number one priority and we believe that we can offer parents a secure, child friendly environment that is free of risk and offers the freedom for children to play, learn and explore with the support of a sensitive team.

We believe in personalised care and learning and understand that each child is an individual with his or her own needs. We aim to demonstrate this through our daily practice and keep in constant touch with parents to ensure that children are developing to their full potential.
FREE SESSIONS
'Bright Start' FREE preschool sessions for 3 and 4 year olds
Monday to Friday (Term time only)
9:15am to 12:15pm

Lunch club available until 1pm for a small fee.
We are registered with the local edication authority to receive funding, equalling 15 hours of nursery care and education per week for children aged 3 and 4. These 15 hours are completely FREE and children are elidgible from the start of the term after they turn 3.

Meal Times
At Small Wonders, breakfast, Lunch, tea and snacks are all provided. Our menu is nutritiously well balanced and was recently revised with the input of a dietician. Each daily menu contains plenty of fruit and vegetables, arranged in excitingly attractive ways. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and make healthy choices. We do not offer biscuits, sweets, cakes or other foods that are too high in unsaturated fat and sugar. Fresh water is available to children throughout the day and milk or diluted fruit juice is offered with meals.

Special Diets
Special diets such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten/dairy free etc are all catered for at no extra cost. Parents can specify any restrictions to their child’s diet on registration and will have the opportunity to sit with their key person to discuss mealtimes and alternative meals.

Sample Menu

Breakfast
Cereal and fresh fruit

Mid Morning Snack
Rice cakes

Lunch
Beef mince bolognaise with jacket potato wedges
Stewed apple and blackberry pudding
with custard

Afternoon snack
Raisins and apricots

Tea
Crackers, ham, cheese and vegetable sticks
Fruit selection

Education
Each child at Small Wonders has a 'Learning Jouney' which starts from their very first day at nursery. Children are assessed against development goals, set out by the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) under 6 areas of learning and development:
•Personal, Social and Emotional Development
•Communication, Language and Literacy
•Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
•Knowledge and Understanding of the World
•Physical Development
•Creative Development

Each day has a structed routine with opportunities for both free choice play and focused learning. Individual learning is planned for on a daily and weekly basis and all children benefit from spending personal time with their key person as well as in small groups with children of their age.

Staff
Natasha Johnson
(Nursery Manager)
Level 3 Diploma in Child care and Education

Victoria Cooper
(Deputy Manager)
Level 3 Diploma in Child Care and Education

Sue Johnson
(Nursery nurse)
NVQ Level 2 in child care

Lauren Johnson
(Nursery nurse)
NVQ Level 2 in child care

Ratios
2 to 3 year olds 1:4
3 to 5 year olds 1:8

CRB Disclosures
ALL of our staff are required to undergo an enhance CRB background check before they begin work. This means that only suitable persons are employed by us.
Qualifications
Our staff are selected not only for their qualifications but also for their life experience and maturity. It is expected however, than any unqualified staff complete a relevant level 2 qualification within 2 years of starting work.

Babyroom Open