About Norland Nursery

Norland College has always had a nursery attached to it to offer care for children as well as allow training Norland Nannies the opportunity to gain experience with children. In 2009 it was decided that this tradition should continue in Bath. A location was sought out and found, and work began to develop a wonderful learning environment for the children of Bath and in August 2009 the nursery opened.

Norland Nursery is based on a family structure with a key person responsible for the care of children in mixed age groups. This allows children to play and learn from each other, with the older children helping younger ones to develop and progress just like they would at home. 

Each child’s key person is available to them at all times and the family comes together at special moments in the day for small group activities and meal times.

The key person supports the children’s learning and documents individual development through photographs and observations. This ensures that learning opportunities are planned to meet the unique needs and interests of each child.

The nursery offers a free flow system which gives children the freedom to move around the different areas of the nursery, allowing them to develop their own interests which can then be built on and encouraged by their key person.

The nursery seeks to promote children’s learning and development holistically. This means that we promote opportunities for children to actively explore. This enables them to get a sense of the world around them and form their own ideas whilst also developing their skills, knowledge and interests.

Family Structure

Working with children in mixed age key families feels the most natural way to work; after all it happens in every home across the world. 

Supporting children to play and learn alongside peers of different ages enables the children’s development, with older children showing care and responsibility to those younger then themselves, role modelling new skills and understanding as well as future life skills such as negotiation, cooperation and turn taking. In turn the younger children bring an additional dimension to the relationship showing awe and wonder, as they observe and work alongside their peers.   

From a social and emotional developmental perspective having mixed age key families within the nursery also allows siblings to remain together sharing in their experiences through the day, strengthening relationships and enabling greater security for the child.  The relationship between the key person, child and their family is also able to develop into a much deeper and effective partnership, as children are able to remain within one key person (the practitioner leading the care and education of a small group of a children) for the full duration of their time at the nursery therefore no unsettling transitions between carers are required.

Free Flow

The philosophy of the nursery places the children at the heart of the all we do.

The free flow enables children to become autonomous in their learning, making choices and taking suitable risk.  The mixed age key families allow children to share in their thinking as they consolidate and make new connections in their learning.  Children are encouraged and supported in their unique development  via strong partnership with parents, all drawn together by a team of highly skilled knowledgeable staff that make the nursery a happy place to play and learn.

Student Placements

Norland Nursery is one of the placement settings for Norland College students who are studying to become Norland Childcare Professionals. Some students will be at the nursery every other week each term to gain experience with children in a nursery environment.

Students are not counted as part of the on-staff ratio and are supervised closely at all times as part of their training at the college.

For more information about the courses at Norland College please visit www.norland.co.uk.

Every summer Norland College hosts a summer school for Japanese Early Years Practitioners to learn about early years education in English nursery settings. As part of this the students spend some time at Norland Nursery interacting with the children, teaching them origami and talking about the Japanese culture.

One of the Japanese practitioners commented "Norland Nursery is like a treasure box".