Welcome to Growing Minds Childcare Barnton! Our Barnton nursery is spacious, bright and airy, and has a lovely homely feel. Please CLICK HERE to arrange your tour!
Nursey Room (0-2 yr)
Our Nursery Room is calm and prepared for children under two in mind. The resources focus on physical milestones (crawling, walking and climbing), hand-eye coordination and social development. Our practitioners use the resources and messy play to give the children sensory experiences and to promote communication and language. Children sit together at meal times to encourage good table manners and a healthy appetite. We have “bunk cots” to allow smaller babies to sleep without getting disturbed and to allow older babies to climb into the bottom cot independently. Traditionally Montessori promotes independence, so floor beds have become a key part of a child’s routine, allowing them to take a nap when they feel tired rather than wait for an adult to lift them into bed. (We will of course ensure your child gets the recommended sleep for their age)
Family Room (2-3 yr)
Our Family Room has been lovingly prepared for 2 to 3 year old’s. The areas for learning and development become more defined in here; we have an indoor climbing frame, lots of role play and group activities, a large number of children’s books, messy play and an easel, a tee-pee (this is important for children’s personal, social and emotional development) and some specific Montessori activities and materials. The Montessori approach to teach independence is evident in the activities of every day living in here. These activities include pouring with a jug, pairing socks, cleaning shoes, transferring with tongs and other every day activities.
Pre-school Room (3yr+)
Our Pre-school Room is our Montessori classroom. The environment is prepared for children over 3 years old and is quite different to other pre-school classrooms. Children have a natural inner motivation to learn and our resources ensure children make the most of that absorbent state of mind. Many of the resources in here are the ones that were designed by Maria Montessori, who was a pioneer in early years education. We still have modern day resources too, such as a dedicated children’s laptop, many children’s favourite books, arts and crafts and a toy kitchen. In the Pre-school Room children can help themselves to a glass of water and a snack independently.
Butterfly room
Our butterfly room is at the front of our building. Children are greeted here each morning and we use the space for bigger group activities, events, parent meetups, children’s/parents groups etc.
Our gardens
There are two areas in our garden; we have a small allotment for the children to grow their own food and we have a large play area. The large play area is split into sections, so children of all ages can enjoy the space simultaneously. There is a grassed area with special underlay, so it is as soft as a carpet for babies to explore and older children to safely roll on. We have a road for the children to ride in the cars and practice their road safety. There is a mud kitchen with all the finest ingredients – mud, sand and wood chip.. or cocoa, flour and butter!! We also have a forest school area where children can gather round for a story or to sing around the (pretend) camp fire. We often take activities outside too, so we can be messy on a large scale, dance making big movements or using large props or play team games.
What Our Parents Say
My daughter loves it at this nursery. They are very aware of development and learning without the stress of forced targets (this put me off other nurseries).
The choice of toys, outdoor play and activities are brilliant for all ages and I love the fact that all the children mix and aren’t kept separate all day. The children have constant opportunities to develop skills. My daughter has come on loads since joining. The food is fabulous and they also support baby led weaning which was another reason I went with the nursery.
I’m always kept up to date with everything that goes on during the day and my daughter naps really well. She loves all the staff and even sang the manager’s name to the tune of twinkle twinkle this morning on our way there!
After taking our daughter to another nursery first and not being happy with them, we came across Growing Minds Nursery and from the minute we met the Manager and she showed us around, we could tell they were miles ahead of the competition; wish we had come to Growing Minds first!
All the staff are very friendly and professional, and our daughter really enjoys going here. It’s such a weight off our minds not having to worry about leaving her for the day, knowing she is in such good hands.
The nursery also provides you with an app, which provides you with regular updates of food eaten, naps taken, photos, etc. which is great.
Would highly recommend Growing Minds to anyone!
My son has attended Growing Minds Montessori Childcare since he was 4 months old. He is now 3.5 years old and he absolutely loves his time at the setting! The staff have been fantastic, the communication has always been second to none, lots of photos and updates about his day which really puts my mind at ease. He has learnt so much especially during his time in pre school with his teacher Janet who he never stops talking about!
He has delicious home cooked food every day, and is always taking part in a wide range of activities and learning so many new skills. I feel like the setting has definitely got my little boy ready for school in September and I thank the team so much for their involvement in his early years.
