About Hampton Court

At Katey’s Nursery & Pre-school Hampton Court, we have been inspired by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. ‘The Reggio Emilia philosophy believes in the rights and opinions of each child. A child is a competent, capable, and natural researcher who has the desire for knowledge and life and is always ready for challenges.’

At Katey’s Nursery & Pre-school we believe learning is never a solo experience, it happens with the interaction of others; children, adults, environment and spaces. Our focus is on the processes that evolve from discussions, reflection and the children’s imagery rather than the final product, this way the children create originals from their own poetic versions of the world. Our priority is to encourage our children to become the authors of their learning process, with the key role of the adult being; to set-up crucial, smart contexts that create enriching situations, rather than to teach children what they can teach themselves. We believe children grow from the differences of others.

The interior space of our Nursery & Pre-school is designed to foster interaction, autonomy, exploration, curiosity and communication, and offers a place for our children and for adults to investigate and grow together. The environment interacts with, is modified by, and takes shape in relation to the projects and learning experiences of the children and of the adults.
We believe that children learn best whilst being in nature and exposed to the natural and real environment, so ‘out of the setting’ activities and excursions are provided every day.
We feel very fortunate to be situated just a short walk from Hampton Court Palace and the River Thames, so a leisurely walk to feed the ducks is always a popular excursion, as well as visiting the beautiful Palace Gardens and exploring the Royal Maze.

We value parents as participants in their child’s learning process. Your involvement in the nursery gives your children a sense of security and is deeply appreciated. This lends itself to having parents be a role model for their children, and for your children to have an incentive for their learning.

Our curriculum is play-based and child-lead. It is the critical role of the adult to follow the interests of the child, and to recognise the many learning possibilities. The adult refers to the seven areas of learning as defined by the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’, which is the national guidance for the Early Years, in order to extend the learning process of each child.

We are extremely proud of our highly qualified team of childcare professionals. Our working environment is formed on the principles that we all work together and that everyone is highly valued, we believe that this promotes a sense of family and wellbeing amongst the staff which is directly reflected onto the children in our care. All our staff are supported in their continuous professional development, and receive regular training opportunities, this includes external conferences as well as in-house workshops and reviews that produce fresh ideas and new ways of thinking. All our staff hold a current Pediatric first aid qualification.

We send out monthly newsletters, setting out a brief outline of the month’s learning activities, as well as updates on what is currently happening at the nursery. A daily diary is also sent home in the Cherries and Plums rooms to enable further communication between home and nursery. In addition to this, we hold termly Progress Evenings, where parents can discuss with the respective ‘Key Persons’ their child(ren)’s developmental stage and share ideas to make their learning as consistent as possible.

The settling-in process is a gradual introduction for your child; to the nursery, to the other children, activities, daily programme and staff. It is also a gradual withdrawal of your presence and the parent and the ‘Key Person’ carefully and sensitively plan these two aspects together. The ‘Key Person’ is a member of staff that will work with your child and that will be working on forming a strong bond with your child from the first day your child comes to the nursery; the ‘Key Person’ will make sure that your child is happy and well taken care of and will provide a personal learning provision to your child. We know that the first weeks of your child attending the nursery are of crucial importance to their later happiness in the nursery, so we will provide extra care during this process to maximise your child’s happiness and well-being the best we can.

Katey’s Nursery & Pre-school offers a very warm and supportive environment for your child; your child’s happiness, well-being and development are our priorities. In meeting this, we work in partnership with parents and welcome you to visit, call or feedback to us at any time; we value your opinion and will work with you to provide the best care for your child.

We regard snack and meal times as an important part of our daily routine, which is why our staff and children sit down together, as you would at home. This promotes interaction and helps younger children to learn how to self-feed. Our older children are encouraged to be independent by helping to serve their own food and clear up their plates afterwards. We aim to provide nutritious food, which meets the children’s individual dietary needs. Menus are planned in advance and offer a healthy, balanced diet. Each meal is freshly prepared by our Chef and we cater for all dietary needs. Drinks consist of milk, water and smoothies.