A Productive Lockdown

It’s not very often the nurseries are child-free for longer than a weekend (Easter weekend and Christmas specifically). So, we decided to make the most of the first lockdown when we sadly closed the doors of our Mickleover nursery in April 2020. Although we would’ve rather carried on as normal (without the pandemic too) it did give us the opportunity to renovate, refresh and replenish the nursery ready for reopening.

Between our fantastic team made up of maintenance staff, nursery nurses and management, we completely cleansed the nursery and gave it the much-needed revitalisation it deserved!

The outdoor space took on the biggest transformation, removing a huge sandpit, creating a separate space for the Baby Unit, fantastic new toys and equipment throughout and the installation of our much-loved mud kitchen!

Each unit benefitted from stunning new equipment and an injection of freshness by redecoration. A few of our favourite changes included the climbing frame in the Baby Unit, an overhaul of the sensory room and a block play area proved to be a big hit with the children. They are all budding architects and designers, but above all this area has encouraged team work, communication, spatial awareness and most importantly hours of fun.

Alongside the renovation, communication with parents became a pressing priority as end of day feedback was limited due to not being able to have parents in the setting. We wanted to still converse with parents about the fun parts of their child’s day rather than spend the limited time talking about meals and sleep times. So, we rolled out our communication app, ‘Famly’. It has allowed parents to receive live updates about their child’s day, including meals, sleep times and toileting, all saved to their child’s timeline. This has given us the time to talk about activities and interactions instead.

We hope as restrictions ease, we will be able to invite parents in to see these wonderful areas where children play on a daily basis.