Mandy Tucker is Nursery Manager at Northumberland. Having previously covered the maternity Manager role Northumberland, I'm already well known to all the children and parents here. I love watching the children start in our baby room, moving up through the nursery, growing and learning as they go; it’s very rewarding to see them grow and go off to school, knowing that my team and I have helped them develop and become independent and confident little people.

Alongside Mandy is our Deputy Manger, Zee Dibley, who has worked for the company for 12 years and knows the nursery inside out. She is NVQ 3 Qualified and aspires to continue her training. Zee has two children of her own and loves the setting for its 'home-like feel' and 'flexibility' for parents. Zee is comitted to all of the children and parents making sure each and every one feels welcome and supported through their time at Northumberland.

Babies 3months to 1yr

Our loving Baby Room is spacious bright and  holds up to 8 children with a ration of 1 staff member to every 3 children. The Baby room has its own sleep room where each child is allocated their own cot and bedding, a nappy changing facility and a kitchen to prepare all of the milk needed. The children can enjoy a range resources here including a 'sensory area', 'book/quiet corner', 'musical place' and their very own 'creative space'. At Northumberland we understand that all babies are different so we adhere to all individual routines wherever possible. The Baby Room believes that it is important for all children to form an 'attachment' to a staff member at nursery so that settling in is enjoyable, therefore we follow a 'Key Person' approach where each child is assigned a member of staff to become that 'special someone' in their day.

Little Toddlers 1-2 year olds

Our 1-2's also have a ratio of 1 staff to 3 children and can hold up to 15 Little Toddler's. The room very spacious is split into two levels, the top level offers children free access to sand, water, home corner, construction toys, musical instruments and slide. The lower level consists of a ball pool, 'quiet couch' and comfortable seating where the children can spend valuable time with their Key Person. Little Toddlers also have daily use of the garden area which has soft paddedd flooring and all of the fresh air they need! The 1-2's also follow the 'Key Person' approach in which each child has their own 'Key Person' who is resonsible for caring for each child and becoming that 'special person' at nursery.

Big Toddlers 2-3 years

Big Toddlers is on the ground floor at Northumberland Day Nursery and has a ratio of 1 staff to 4 children and can hold up to 17 Big Toddlers. Big Toddlers have the benifit of their own 'free flow' system between 3 seperate areas. The main room includes a 'sensory area', 'Book corner', 'Home corner' and a giant soft play area for the children to master their physical development. Big Toddlers also have a 'creative room' where children can acess sand, water, play dough and paint freely. The final space for our 2-3's is a large outdoor snad pit that is covered and fully weather proof meaning that they can access fresh air by choice. The 'Key Person' system is also strong in this room and children have strong bonds with their 'Key person'.

School Room 3-5's

This is our largest room and with a ratio of 1 staff to 8 children it can hold up to 20 3-5's. They benifit from a main room which has free child acess to a Home Corner, Craetive Area, Maths Section, Construction Area, Computer suite and a cosy Book Area. Many of the resources in this room are kept at the children's height so they can choose their activities freely. In this room they also have their own Mark Making area where children are encouraged to write from an ealry age. The School Room has free access to a spacious garden area that is fenced off so that the children can access this at any point they wish in the day. Outside they can explore the same activites as indoors plus the advantage of the natural digging patches and planting spaces.

To see what other FREE great things we offer see our 'about Northumberland Day Nursery' page!