ABOUT US
About De Havilland Pre-School & Nursery
We are situated in the heart of Hatfield, offering high-quality care and education for children aged 2 to 5 in a safe, secure and stimulating environment. The Nursery is open term-time only (we follow the same schedule as Hertfordshire schools) and we run flexible morning sessions, lunch clubs and afternoon play sessions from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
We welcome children from 2 years old until they go to primary school, from any and every background, nationality, culture and religion. We pride ourselves in celebrating all cultures, religions, traditions and languages. We support children with special needs and have a resident Special Needs Coordinator on staff as well as close ties with Children’s Services, our area SENCO and all the local health visitors.
Experienced Team
Click here to meet our De Havilland Family.
Following Our Curriculum
Partnership with Parents
Our Commitment
Children are at the centre of our processes; we start with the child’s needs and then offer the flexibility to meet those needs.
Our commitment is to ensure play empowers the children in our care and supports their right to make their own choices, find solutions to their problems and develop in their own ways.
We do this by:
- Ensuring staff are sensitive to children’s needs and never try to control child’s play as long as it remains within safe and acceptable boundaries
- Providing a play environment that stimulates and provides opportunities for risk, challenge and growth of confidence
- Providing an environment that is hazard free and ensures physical and personal safety
- Ensuring every child in an individual and respected
- Being considerate and caring
- Ensuring that Benington Nursery is free of any form of discrimination (economic, racial, sexual, religious, cultural or otherwise)
- Ensuring all play is inclusive and that equality is always promoted
- Offering the opportunity for children to understand and explore the wider world
- Encouraging children to be sensitive to others
- Ensuring all play opportunities are in line with the current legislative framework relevant to children's rights, health, safety and well-being
Our Aims & Values
Our aim is to provide each child with a fun, caring and loving environment leading to a unique and positive learning experience that encourages them to be inquisitive and enquiring.
As they develop physically and emotionally, we aim for the children to be socially confident, constructive, creative, numerate, on the way to being literate and most importantly, extremely happy! To do this we provide an environment that stimulates curiosity and wonder in the children. We believe in children having time to access and create opportunities to explore real items, loose parts and open-ended play that allow them to truly engage and lead their own learning.
Children are born curious. They have an insatiable interest in learning and absorbing the world around them. Our aim is to truly embrace children’s natural curiosity, follow their lead, and place them at the heart of everything we do.Our wonderful team of experienced practitioners encourage and empower the children in their learning by providing a curriculum based on the children’s own interests, engaging with our local community, the natural opportunities that the seasons offer us and playful, exciting experiences and activities that develop essential skills.
We believe that every child’s learning needs and stage of development should be reflected in our curriculum and as a result they will access a nursery that is meaningful to them and allows them to develop the essential foundations for learning that will help them as they journey into primary school. Our aim is for the children to leave us as strong individuals with defined and unique personalities; children who know right from wrong and make good choices. We want them to be socially confident and have good senses of humour as we believe these attributes make the best (and happiest) learners.
Our Curriculum
Purpose and Aims of the Early Years Foundation Stage
At De Havilland Pre-School & Nursery we support every child in developing to their full potential at their own pace. By means of developmentally appropriate play activities, in the moment planning, outdoor learning and individual adult input, we offer a curriculum which enables the children to progress towards the early learning goals by the end of the foundation stage.
The Early Years Foundation Stage is divided into seven areas of learning, three prime areas and four specific areas. Your child’s development and progress will be recorded in their Learning Book.
Areas of Learning:
3 Prime Areas:
- Communication and Language
- Physical Development
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
4 Specific Areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive Art and Design
Outdoor Play and Learning
All children at De Havilland Pre-School & Nursery enjoy the benefits of outdoor learning every day.
We believe that outdoor play is essential for our children.
Our garden offers a natural and inspiring outdoor space to play together.
Benefits of Outdoor Play
- The outdoor environment has unique characteristics and features.
- Outdoor learning has equal value to indoor learning.
- Outdoor learning has a positive impact on children’s well-being and development.
- Outdoor learning enhances children's play experiences as it is richly resourced with open ended play materials that can be adapted and used in different ways.
- Outdoor learning encompasses all that children do, see, hear or feel in their outdoor space.
Play and learning that flows seamlessly between indoors and outdoors enables children to make the most of the resources and materials available to them and develop their ideas without unnecessary interruption.
Staff can respond to children's spontaneous interests and ideas as well as enabling children to have first-hand experiences of the naturally occurring cyclical opportunities linked to the seasons, weather and nature.
Why is Outdoor Learning Important?
- Supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles.
- Offers children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement.
- Promotes a sense of confidence and well-being.
- Provides opportunities for developing relationships and cooperating with others.
- Supports children who learn best through activity or movement.
- Provides safe and supervised opportunities for children to experience new challenges.
- Helps children to assess and experience small risks and develop the skills to solve problems.
- Provides rich opportunities for imagination, inventiveness, and resourcefulness.
- Gives children contact with their environment.
A Typical Day At De Havilland Pre-School & Nursery
8.30am - 9.00am
Arrival of all children and the morning session starts.
8.30am - 11.15am
Indoor/Outdoor play
Planning in the moment (one-to-one time with children)
9.20am - 10.20am
Snack time in small groups
11.15am - 11.45am
Nursery group time (different groups)
11.45am - 11.50am
Tidy up time
12.00pm
Home time/Arrival
11.50am - 12.20pm
Wash hands, sit down for lunch
12.30pm - 2.30pm
1.00pm home time
Indoor/Outdoor play
Planning in the moment
2.30pm - 2.50pm
Tidy up time
Nursery group time e.g. story, singing and signing, yoga
2.50pm - 3.00pm
Home time
