OUR NURSERY

Our Nursery

Our Building

The Little Lane Nursery has made our home in a converted barn, the conversion was made some 20 years ago for the specific use as a Montessori school, so careful thought has gone in to the layout and design. It’s been described by some parents as a bit of a “Tardis”, it doesn’t look very big from the outside, but opens up in to this beautiful and deceptively spacious building.

Our Rooms

We have 5 rooms at Little Lane for our babies, toddlers and preschoolers: 
Primrose, Buttercup, Daisy, Bluebell and Dandelion.

Primrose Room

9 Babies, Ratio 1:3

The Primrose room caters for our smallest family members. A beautiful open space, encorporating a separate eating area, messy play and sleep room with beautiful bespoke full sized cots.

Decorated in a vintage style, we wanted it to be a real home from home environment which is especially important for infants. Like most homes, the kitchen table is where it all happens; we have restored a gorgeous 6ft table where specialist baby seats are fixed at the table to avoid cluttering the space with highchairs. The children are then at table-height for eating or cooking.

Buttercup Room

6 Babies, Ratio 1:3

The Buttercup room caters for our older babies. As with the Primrose room, the area is softly lit and provides an airy, warm and homely feel – parent feedback includes “it’s like walking into a front room” - which was exactly our aim!  

In preparation for the next room, the older babies sit at a small table. This age group will use the separate sleep room for nap times.

Double doors open onto a small baby garden with specialist rubber flooring to protect those young knees.  

Daisy Room 

12 Toddlers, Ratio 1:3 or 1:4 (depending on ages)

The Daisy room is a bright, airy and vibrant room – ready to stir the senses of our busy toddlers! A cosy chill-out area under a canopy provides a peaceful time-out zone for those wishing to settle down with a book, build a train track or produce some lovely artwork for the parents. The Daisy room also has two child-sized toileting facilities so children can start to become independent with their toilet use.

Bluebell Room

16 Pre-schoolers, Ratio 1:4 or 1:8 (depending on ages)

The Bluebell Room is for our pre-schoolers – a grand and colourful room with quirky eaves, a miniature settee and an array of activities on offer. Children can check the globe feature, create the next Van Gogh “Sunflowers” painting, feed our pet giant African land snail or watch the worms – this room has it all! As with the Daisy room, this room also has two child-sized toileting facilities.

Dandelion Room

Sleep & Sensory Room

The Dandelion Room is a separate sleep and sensory room – a tranquil and calming area complete with sensory bubble tubes, fairy lights and a sky of fibre optic twinkly stars. We are equipped with specialist toddler beds (no sleeping on mats on the floor!) and snuggly pillows and blankets. The Dandelion room can also be used by nursery nurses to have story or quiet time with children when it’s not being used as a sleep room.

Our Garden

The Little Lane’s secret garden is a real oasis with a freshly laid lawn of artificial grass, inter-active gardening area (for seed-sowing in the planters!), a construction area,  sand and water station, a music wall and an undercover play area with specialist rubber floor for those inclement days. How many animals will the children be able to spot? Remember to look up high!

Forest School & Outdoor Learning

Forest Schools in the UK have been adapted from a Scandinavian approach to learning. The original source of the concept was from Sweden and has spread all over the world.

The Little Lane Nursery Forest School is run by two Level 3 qualified Forest School practitioners, Melissa and Charlie, who between them have a wealth of knowledge and expertise for the children to enjoy these activities in a safe environment. During these forest school sessions children have the time and space to be directors of their own learning with the staff taking an observational role.

Children growing up in nurturing environments flourish and we know that children thrive when they are building strong relationships with other children, grown ups and the environment in which they live and learning outside supports this.  Children experience accelerated learning techniques in a unique environment and develop a new range of skills, communication and improved health and personal development by spending time learning outdoors, This regular time spent in changing outdoor spaces and the accompanying reflective practise, develops a child's resilience and reframes a child's own view of risk.

Providing realistic challenges for children and allowing them to work through tasks themselves supports their development; actively engaging them to understand themselves and each other, promoting communication, problem solving and social skills. Just some of the activities the children experience are making mud monsters, pond dipping, bush craft and bug hunts the list goes on and on!

The Little Lane Nursery is very lucky to have access to our very own outdoor learning site just outside Stamford. We have 4.5 acres, complete with our very own forest, pond (which is fenced off) and converted stable as a base. In the summer months we also use a bell tent. All pre-school children within the nursery will be able to access to outdoor learning and/or forest school sessions within their timetable of nursery attendance.

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