Organic, bilingual and multicultural childcare in the heart of Cardiff
Our methods
Nestlings’ Nursery embraces the renowned Scandinavian approach to early childhood education to deliver the Early Years Foundation Phase to young children.
The Scandinavian approach is widely recognised as one of the best early years education systems in the world. It focuses on nurturing children’s emotional well-being, fostering independence, and encouraging a strong connection with nature. Known for producing some of the happiest, most resilient, and well-rounded children globally, the Scandinavian model places a high value on play-based learning and outdoor exploration, providing children with the freedom to learn at their own pace in a safe and supportive environment.
At Nestlings, we incorporate these principles into our daily routines, offering a learning experience that emphasises hands-on exploration, self-directed play, and emotional growth.
While the structure of the day provides a comforting rhythm, it also allows flexibility, ensuring children have the freedom to choose their activities and develop their unique interests. The focus on outdoor learning ensures that children are engaged with nature, fostering curiosity and respect for the world around them.
Through research and experience, we believe that the Scandinavian approach provides an exceptional framework for creating a nurturing, joyful, and educational experience for children.
At Nestlings, we are proud to offer a world-class early education experience that combines the best aspects of Scandinavian practices, setting the foundation for your child’s future success, happiness, and well-being.
Routine
A daily routine gives children a sense of security and understanding, however within this routine children are given significant, supervised time to explore and investigate different activities for themselves. These times are carefully planned and set up by the nursery teachers to support the development stages of each child.
Activities
Our daily planning programmes are made up of a range of activities, including:
* Creative *Messy Play *RolePlay *Home Corner *Construction *Small World *Sand *Water *Outdoor *Large Physical *Table Top *Sensory *Gardening *Seasonal Table *Snack/Cooking *Story *Group Time
We develop programmes that consist of 10 different activities a day for the youngest babies up to 17 activities per day in our pre-school.
These different areas give children a solid foundation for development through the seven different fields of The Early Years’ Foundation Phase:
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Personal and Social Development, Well-Being and Cultural Diversity
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Language, Literacy and Communication Skills
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Mathematical Development
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Welsh Language Development
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Knowledge and Understanding of the World
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Physical Development
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Creative Development
Our Ethos
Teaching children about the natural world around us is high on the Nursery’s agenda and our daily activities emphasise the importance of looking after our planet, friends, family and neighbours.
The Natural World
Each day the children take part in a gardening activity, ranging from watering our homegrown organic plants in our indoor garden to building a willow dome in our fun outdoor space.
Nestlings’ Nursery tries to be as eco-friendly as we can be by sourcing local products, using little plastic, reusing and recycling items and being as organic as possible. The equipment provided for the children is mostly made from wood and other natural products.
We provide daily diaries, invoices and other materials via secure online platforms to save on paper and waste.
We provide a range of lunches each week: one meat, one poultry, one fish and two vegetarian. There is a lot of research to suggest that as well as providing a healthier diet, cutting down on meat-eating can help climate change by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Find out more about our menus here.
Our Community
We embrace the diversity of the human race by celebrating the festivities of different cultures and religions throughout the year. Each room has a Seasonal table and children are encouraged to bring items in to share with their friends.
We hold regular family days and at least twice a year we hold a charity fundraising activity to support local children’s hospice, Tŷ Hafan, allowing children the opportunity to help others in the community.
Recycling
Raw food waste is put into our Nursery compost bin and reused in our gardens once broken down. Other products are recycled via council resources.
Suggestions
We are always looking to improve our creative, learning delivery and to become more eco-friendly. We welcome input and embrace new ideas from all our children, parents and staff.