Tigers Day Nursery

Last updated: 22/01/2024

Tigers Day Nursery has been established for 29 years and is a happy, safe, fun-filled day nursery set in beautiful countryside close to the A4 in Thatcham, Berkshire.  Caring for babies and children from 3 months to 5 years we have a homely feel in our barn conversion with fantastic outdoor space that sets Tigers above the rest.

We have exceptional facilities and resources both indoors and outside. With a large wild garden, mud kitchen, tents and large mushroom tree under which the children have picnics, drinks and stories. We have a lovely planting area where the children can grow their own flowers and vegetables. 

There are multiple spacious outdoor play areas, all with safety surfaces and high-quality equipment for the children to explore. Inside the children enjoy stimulating, well-equipped rooms, each with its own bathroom and hand-washing facilities, as well as the sensory Bubble Room and mirrored dance studio. We offer extra activities such as French, dance and Forest School sessions for the older children. Our on-site cook produces well balanced meals from fresh ingredients daily and caters for all allergies and dietary requirements. The children also have access to fresh fruit throughout the day.

We use the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework to provide stimulating activities based around the children’s interests to support the children’s learning and development. Each child has a key worker who tracks the children’s development and uploads observations with pictures and videos, so parents are involved with their child’s learning using the Parentzone app.

The senior staff are well qualified which ensures the children are receiving high quality early years education and all staff have regular training opportunities to enhance and build on their existing knowledge.

Our experienced management team have a hands-on approach and are involved in all aspects of the Nursery.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Nicola Barkhouse
Contact Position
Nursery Manager
Telephone
01635 528857
E-mail
tigers@tigersdaynurseries.co.uk
Website
Tigers Day Nursery
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/tigersdaynurseries/

Where to go

Name
Henwick Court
Address
Thatcham
Berkshire
Postcode
RG18 3QY

Other Details

Costs

Details
Please contact us for costs as they depend on ages, sessions and times. Term time rates are different to the all year round rates.

Availability

Age Ranges
0-1
1-4
4-11

Age Range Notes

From 0 years 3 months to 5 years 0 months

Inclusion Information

Dietary Needs

Has Provision
Yes
Experience with
Yes
Details
We cater for allergies and all cultural requirements. A meeting with the kitchen can be arranged to discuss individual needs.

Childcare Information

Vacancies

Immediate vacancies
Details
Vacancies change daily so please contact the nursery.
Date updated
22/01/2024
Vacancy range(s)
Vacancy range(s)
PlacesStart AgeEnd Age
4 0 1
8 2 2
14 3 4

Funded Places

3 & 4 year old funding
2 year old funding

30 Hours Extended Entitlements

Are you intending to provide 30 Hours?
Yes
Are you registered to provide 30 Hours?
Yes
30 Hour Partner Summary
n/a

Waiting List

Do you have a waiting list?
Yes

Opening Times & Facilities

Opening Times
Opening Times
DayOpening TimeClosing Time
Monday 07:45 18:15
Tuesday 07:45 18:15
Wednesday 07:45 18:15
Thursday 07:45 18:15
Friday 07:45 18:15

School Pickups

Offers pickups

Ofsted Information

Ofsted URN
110634
Link to latest ofsted inspection report 
Inspection history
Inspection History
Inspection DateInspection typeInspection Outcome
06/11/2018Inspection (Early Years Register)Good
12/01/2016Inspection (Early Years Register)Good
06/09/2010Inspection (Early Years Register)Good
02/10/2008Inspection (Early Years Register)Satisfactory
22/06/2005IntegratedGood

Local Offer

Description

We are a 180 place day care setting offering high quality care for children aged from 3 months to 5 years. We offer all year round care for 51 weeks of the year, as well as term time only care. We employ highly qualified and experienced staff and offer a parent friendly approach. Our children progress onto various schools in a large demographic area and we support many families whose children have special educational needs and/or disabilities. We have an extensive range of training to support our staff in meeting children and families needs and have received awards from other local training providers for the quality of our staff.

Contact Name
Nicola Barkhouse
Contact Telephone
01635 528857
Contact Email
tigers@tigersdaynurseries.co.uk
SEN Provision Type
Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, Medical, Specific Literacy Difficulties, Speech & Language Difficulties, Behavioural, Emotional & Social Difficulties, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Physical Disability, Hearing Impairment, Moderate Learning Difficulties, Severe Learning Difficulties, Visual Impairment
Local Offer Age Bands
0 to 1
1 to 4
Needs Level
Low

Early Years Private, Voluntary & Independent Settings

1: How does the setting identify children with additional needs or SEND?

Tigers Day Nursery has a robust observation and assessment program to support children's development and learning and identify if children need additional support in particular areas of their development. Initially we gather information from various sources including parents, otrher carers, specialist support services (if already involved), previous settings and from other areas of our own setting, to establish the children's interests and targets from progression. We offer parental meetings and complete entry profiles with parents to get to know the child better, which supports us in planning for that individual child's progress and development. Home visits by key worker staff are offered to parents if they prefer to establish initial links in the comfort of their own environment. If a child has a special need that has already been identified before they join our setting, we will arrange an inital meeting with our special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) and one to one support assistant to support the child with their transition and settling into our setting. A keyworker will be allocated and they will support the family to settle into nursery and complete inital observations and assessments to establish a starting point for the child and then plan individual targets for the child to develop towards using specific activities and resources.We use Development Matters and Early Years Outcomes guidelines to assess and plan for children's developmental needs, and we keep detailed learning journals on each of the children using written observations, snapshots, photographs and checklists to monitor and track each child's development. Regular meetings with parents and checking of children's learning journals enables staff to identify if children need additional support in a particular area. All groups of children have their progress marked on a tracking form termly to ensure all children are progressing and to identify quickly and easily those that aren't.

2: How will I be informed / consulted about the ways in which my child is being supported?

Parents are involved throughout all of the children's assessments and observations, and opportunities are given to parents and carers to allow them to contribute to their children's learning journals through the online apps. If we have a concern about a child's progress or development we would always consult the parent and inform them of our concern. We can then offer suggestions to gain additional support and, if the parent agrees, use our own services to work with that child on particular areas or strategies to support them. We can guide parents to additional support services including the Educational Psychology Team who offer drop in sessions at the local Children's Centre, the Children and Young Peoples Integrated Therapy Service (CYPIT) who can support families to gain access to NHS services, as well as offering advice to use their own G.P. and Health Visitor services and the local Children's Centres who can offer a wide range of services. We offer families emotional support as well as giving practical and informed advice. We suppport children with individual play plans to support their development and ensure activities and expectations are suitable for that individual child and will support them in making progress. We use our own SENCO and one to one support assistant to assist staff in using and developing strategies to support individual children's needs. We meet with parents whose children have an individual learning plan (ILP) every 6 weeks to 3 months depending on the child's needs, so we can ensure we are targetting and supporting the child, and their families needs appropriatley. All parents take part in a review of their child's progress at two years old and we complete an extended report which can also highlight any areas where there may be a concern about a child's development.

3: How will the setting adapt the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum for my child's needs?

Every child in our setting has a key worker who supports children individually and will plan and assess their needs individually too. We believe all children develop at their own pace and ensure activities and all opportunities for learning are planned around the child's own interests and level of development. Children with special needs are supported in exactly the same way, working from the basis of what they can achieve already and progressing on from there. Individual learning plans (ILP's) are shared with all staff involved with caring for that child so we can ensure strategies and appropriate support are used consistently. The one to one support assistant will provide all staff caring for a child with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) with up to date information about caring for that child's needs, their ILP, parental requests, interests, resources and equipment required etc., so everyone has the same information and the child receives the best possible care. The one to one support assistant is also able to model caring for children with SEND for less experienced staff and will establish positive relationships, good practice and promote independence for individual children.

4: What teaching strategies does the setting use for children with additional needs or learning difficulties?

As a setting we are very adaptable at meeting individual children's needs and we ensure our staff have the correct equipment and resources as required to support children with SEND. Children who have support strategies in place have these displayed where all staff working with them can access these easily. We use the ECAT guidelines and resources such as visual timetables, communication fans (pictures on keyrings which staff have on their uniforms so children can point to pictures of what they need if they have limited or no langauge), makaton sign langauge and baby signing as required by individual children. We also use photo scrapbooks to support the link between home and nursery.

5: What additional support does the setting provide for children with additional needs or SEND?

Interventions are delivered according to individual children's needs. Sometimes support is given on a one to one basis, at other times within a group. There is a main focus on positive behaviour and support, focussing on what the child can do rather than what they can't. We use simple strategies such as sticker charts and certificates to record children's achievements and we have a behaviour management co-ordinator who can support staff to promote confidence and self esteem for all children. We have access to the Educational Psychology Team and have used their drop in sessions at the local Children's Centre to suppoprt individual children's needs. We have links with the Pre-School Teacher Counsellor Team who can support us with funding with one to one support for children with SEN, as well as being able to offer advice about refferal for individual children. We have ECAT trained staff who have a wealth of experience and knowldge with supporting children with language and communication difficulties. Having our own Training Centre on site enables our staff to have access to every type of training on every type of need, which enables us to work at a high standard to meet children's needs.

6: How will the setting monitor my child's progress and how will I be involved in this?

Parents and carers are involved throughout the children's time at the setting and positive relationships with families are expected by all involved with the care of the child. The children's learning journals are shared with their parents, and parents are encouraged to share their own observations and photographs with these to build up the picture of the 'whole'child. Key worker staff set targets for children using their ILP and these are shared with the parent so we can work together to offer the child the same opportunities and promote consistency. If the child attends more than one setting we contact the other setting to share observations and assessments as well as the child's targets. Children are offered additional support with transistions from one room to another as well as onto school. Teacher visits from children's schools are positively encouraged and our one to one support assistant will accompany children and their parents on inital school visits if appropriate. Specialist support staff who work with children are encouraged to come into the setting and see the child in a familiar environment and can be involved with ILP's if appropriate. Parents are also encouraged and supported to take part in their child's care in all these ways too and are actively involved in planning for their child's needs with regular meetings and reviews.

7: How do you ensure children with additional needs or SEND can be included in the same activities as other children, including trips?

Activities and opportunities are planned individually but we would always ensure an activity or opportunity could be adapted to support as many children as possible. Staff ratios are high so children can have one to one support as required to ensure they are safely able to participate. We have detailed risk assessments in place and these are reviewed around children's changing needs. Our designated Health and Safety Officer ensures equipment, resources, activities and opportunities for children are safe but still offer a challenge. As we work closely with parents many will accompany us on trips out of the setting or we have additional staff we can use to ensure the children's needs are met.

8: How accessible is the building for children with mobility difficulties / wheelchair users?

Most of our environment is accesible for those with a physical disability although some areas are upstairs. We would be happy to make reasonable adjustments to ensure children could access all areas as required. We have disabled toilet facilities throughout the building and doorways are wide to accomodate wheelchair access. We have access to additional equipment that we are able to loan fromThe Avenue Special School in Reading as we have forged strong and supportive links with them. This has been particularly useful for resources for children with visual impairments.We have a special needs budget to allow us to purchase equipment and resources as required and we also use the local toy libraries. Staff use communication keyrings on their uniforms which display simple pictures such as 'drink, food, toilet' to support children with communication difficulties. Some children use visual timetables to support their development and to help them feel safe and secure. Staff use makaton and baby sign language and we have a number of bi-lingual books as we have a number of families who have english as an additional language. We have an ECAT board with tips and practical ideas for parents as well as an easily accesible parents library where parents can borrow books on issues that may be affecting their child or books to share at home with their child.

9: How will you support my child's transition to a new setting or school?

We use our key worker system, SENCO and one to one support assistant throughout the children's transitions to support them and ensure all information is shared as required. We have regular parent and key worker meetings and we encourage as many trial sessions for that individual child as required. We prompt information sharing with the next setting and encourage the teacher or new carer to visit the child in our setting and chat to the key worker. We make all information gathered on the child available to the new carers, with parents permission. Our one to one support assistant will generally be involved with the child's school visits if she has been working directly with the child and it is felt by the parent that this is appropriate. Children can have photo books of their new setting so discussion can be informal and consistent while at their old setting. All key worker staff or the one to one support would also be part of any multi agency meeting regarding the child's needs, again with parental permission.

10: How does the setting assess the overall effectiveness of its SEN provision and how can parents / carers take part in this evaluation?

We monitor our own progress using the self evaluation form from Ofsted which is updated regularly by the staff team as a whole. We hold monthly SEND meetings with all staff involved in supporting children with special needs or disabilities to check we have everything required such as resources, equipment, information etc. We use the ECAT monitoring paperwork to track children's progress with communication and track all children on our own system which we have developed using the Development Matters curriculum to ensure all children are making steady and consistent progress in all areas. Parents are encouraged to add their voice regarding all aspects of our provison and this is encouraged through regular contact, face to face time with all parents and questionnaires We also use a moderation system where observations are taken on staff and the care they provide to monitor issues such as staff training, ratios, resources, environment, strategies etc.

11: Who should I contact if I am considering registering for a place at the setting?

Parents can contact us by telephone on 01635 528857 or email tigers@tigersdaynurseries.co.uk. We encourage parents to visit the setting and they will be shown around by the Nursery Manager or Deputy Manager and introduced to all staff. Staff are happy to discuss children and families individual needs to ensure parents are happy they have chosen the right setting for their child. Once regsitered parents are asked to come into the setting with their child for an inital visit and to complete an entry profile giving us as much information as possible on their child. We will then begin unlimited trial sessions for the children which gradually build up into the full sessions they will be attending with us. This also gives us an opportunity to ensure all support is in place and we have all the information we require such as dietary requirements, use of language etc.

12: What arrangements does the setting have for feedback from parents / carers, including compliments and complaints?

We send out annual questionairres for parents, and one for the children and have an open door policy which encouages and welcomes communiaction between the parents and ourselves. We believe working together with parents and carers of the children is the only way to support the child to make progress and we do everything we can to encourage communication and honesty. We have a complaints policy and the management team are a visual presence within the setting to ensure parents have the opportunity to speak to us regularly. Ofsted posters are in the hallway so parents are aware they have the information to hand to seek outside support if they require it. Staff working with individual children are introduced to parents so they know exactly who is doing what and how they are involved in their child's care. On joining the parents are given a parents information booklet to guide them through the setting and this has copies of all policies and procedures that parents need to be aware of. In the hallways we have a parents folder where we include pictures of the children's activities as well as information on learning journals, key worker systems etc so parents can feel as involved as they wish. This also has information on websites and support groups parents may be interested in.

Quality checks

  • DBS check

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