Well-Being

Our Learning Environment, Nutrition & Sustainability

The beautiful indoor and outdoor environment we have planned around the children reflects our image of the child as capable and curious.

Our Learning Environment

Planners, Thinkers and Learners

Our environment allows children to access open-ended, high quality resources to enable them to set about the task of learning. This allows them to select resources to support their chosen activity and to see themselves as ‘planners’, ‘thinkers’ and ‘learners’.

Nutrition

Eating well and the enjoyment of family-style dining

Nature’s way of giving us the right nutrients that we need at the right time of year, seasonal food is the key to eating well. Especially important for children, the food that we eat has a direct impact on our health, our emotions, our ability to process information and the overall balance within our bodies.

Our Approach

Encouraging children to love their food from an early age, to taste it and experiment with it, is a key part of our approach. We encourage children to respect the food that they are given and understand where it comes from, that someone has grown it, nurtured it and lovingly prepared it before it arrives on their plates.

Our Kitchens

Our kitchens are state of the art commercial designs with stainless steel surfaces, steam ovens and induction hobs allowing us to provide the best meals for the children.

In addition to our own herb and vegetable garden, we have links with several suppliers who are very happy for us to take the children to visit them and see first hand where their food comes from.

One of the cornerstones of the Back to the Garden Childcare philosophy is a focus on nutrition and we create and serve a seasonal menu of locally sourced organic (where possible) food that incorporates fresh, plant-based produce, meat and fish. At Back to the Garden Childcare food is also a cause for celebration. Dining is a wonderful way to come together, to sit together, share a good meal and take part in conversation. We enjoy a family dining approach with the children helping to set the table, serve the meals and clear up afterwards.

Sustainability

Our Environmental Policy

In a world where our way of life increasingly isolates us from the natural environment, we feel it is vital and beneficial for our children to have as much contact as possible with the wonders of the natural world.

This not only benefits children directly, exposing them to the stimulation which the natural world can offer, but, as they mature into citizens, it will help them acknowledge the importance of protecting the earth’s fragile ecosystems.

We are not saving the world since it will carry on for the foreseeable future with or without humans, animals, plants, atmosphere seas and rivers. The risk is to us, or rather our children and their future descendants. We are in serious danger of making the earth uninhabitable by our species. Therefore, our environmental policy is of huge importance and the education of our children to take care of their environment vital to their lives.

There is a need for children to become aware of their responsibilities towards the environment – to nurture resources such as water and heat. The habit of recycling materials is introduced at an early age, and one in which we hope will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

In our playing and learning activities, our children are brought into regular contact with trees and plants, animals, insects and other elements of the natural environment such as sand, soil, rocks and water.

They will become aware of the rhythms of the seasons and the elements of climate, wind, clouds and sunshine. They will marvel at the wonders of the sky, clouds, the sun, moon and stars and consider the motions of time and direction.

Our Environmental Mission

In our operation of the nursery our environmental task is to reduce our impact on the world around us and its populations through the use of the building, our choice of suppliers and our knowledge as to what things are made of and where they are sourced. As a company we strive to recycle wherever possible, use products that have limited impact on the environment.

Suppliers and Materials

Suppliers are checked for their environmental credentials and we ensure that hard woods are sustainably farmed and that we are not contributing to the depletion of the rainforests. We check that manufacturing processes meet the required standards. When sourcing consumables, soaps, creams etc. we check that there are no synthetic colourings and preservatives which could cause a reaction. By buying fresh food we reduce the use of packaging, but some is unavoidable. We recycle packaging and other materials wherever possible. We work to minimise waste and encourage children to be aware of conservation.