Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries - Providing a secure, caring environment for children aged 3 months to 5 years

August (what happened to July?) 2010 Newsletter

Planning permission

We are really excited to announce that we have finally secured permission from Tunbridge wells council to make some further improvements to the nursery.

As you all will know by now, we see the nursery as “work in progress”. We are always looking to improve things….but frustratingly - some things you need to jump through (Council) hoops for and some you need to save your pennies for – so we just can’t do everything as quickly as we would like!

Our latest project will start (weather allowing) in the first week of October. The plans are to say goodbye to the temporary tent (The Den) and lay block paving to improve the surface. Instead of the tent, we are building a new timber carport and walkway – the combination of which will vastly improve the entrance to the Pre-school and toddler rooms and also improve the area for the children to play in. These improvements will dramatically improve the aesthetics of the entrance, but just as importantly also address the safety issues of the current surface and improve the disabled access.

On the other side of the building, we are also converting some of the area of hard standing (next to the large “soft play” area and baby entrance) and adding a new grassed garden with a new timber office and studio. We have retained space for four cars which should be ample for Parents to park safely while dropping their children off.

We are sooo looking forward to these improvements as they will further improve the facilities the setting is able to offer the children.

The works are due to take about a month (Rain/ snow/ etc allowing). We will of course keep you updated nearer the date, but we ask for your understanding a co operation while these exciting changes are made.

Vouchers

Most of you will already be aware that Government free funding for 3 year olds and over will increase from 12.5hrs to 15hrs as of January 1^st 2001.

To maximise the benefit to families using Monkey Puzzle, this funding can be offset against the time your child is with us sessions to a maximum of 4.5hrs per session.

Please see Denise or Vicky for further details of how you can claim.

Denise, Vicky and Graham

Our extensive menu’s have been devised by a nutritionist in-order to provide fresh balanced meals to all children at each meal or snack time.

Fresh water is available to the children at all times (no squash or juice) is served in the nursery.

At mid morning children enjoy a selection of various fruit from our snack bar where they learn to serve themselves (under supervision). This facility provides a welcome energy boost, while teaching the children independence and choice.

Lunch is always a balanced hot meal and copies of our 6 weekly menus are available at each nursery. We always use fresh organic/ free range or locally sourced produce in our meals.

Children are encouraged to sit together and use their knives and forks correctly. Lunch is always finished off with the children brushing their teeth.

Please see below for an up to date menu.

Mid afternoon snacks are again fresh and balanced and are designed to encourage all the children to try new foods together. In winter times soups are served with sandwiches and dips.

Our recent Ofsted report:

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Cranbrook

Three recent testimonials:

We had a good feeling about Monkey Puzzle the first time we visited and I cannot reiterate what an excellent choice we made for our daughter. I have been thrilled with the care my daughter is receiving and can honestly say that it has exceeded all my expectations; it is simply outstanding. C. is treated as an individual, it is clear that the staff has put in a lot of time and effort into getting to know her. She has developed immensely and always has a new nursery rhyme or skill to show me when I collect her.

The staff’s level of professionalism and observation is superior to the norm. Our daughter was diagnosed with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip at a late age and this was initially detected by the manager of Monkey Puzzle who gently urged me to investigate further. Our consultant at Great Ormond Street hospital was very impressed that she was able to detect this and stated that we were lucky to have such a conscientious member of staff at the nursery. C. was in a Spica Cast for seven weeks and during this time I could not have wished for more support in helping her to try and lead a normal life both physically and emotionally. I was amazed at their flexibility and dedication to care.

The other children were also very loving and helpful towards C, a real testament to their teaching of good social skills. This is also evident in the way the children interact with each other and the staff. It was a very stressful time for the whole family and all the staff at Monkey Puzzle made it a much easier time for us. The staff gives the general impression of loving their jobs and especially the children and I would highly recommend this nursery to anyone wanting outstanding nursery care. It’s an excellent nursery to send your children, where you will know they are being well looked after.

A.M.

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After almost one year of research in Children Nurseries and trials at four different sites I finally come across Monkey Puzzle. The process of finding a Nursery was as important as buying your own home, you have to see some and know that is the right place as soon as you walk in!

I have two daughters and both attended Monkey Puzzle from the age of one and two. A year on, and the girls still see Monkey Puzzle as an exciting place to go to. Facilities and staff are of high standards, with children’s wellbeing and development at the forefront of agenda. And for me, I can go about doing my daily activities thinking that the girls are happy, and in a place where they are cared for in a very nurturing way’

LG

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The Monkey Puzzle Nursery is a truely exceptional place. Visually it is colourful, vibrant and well organised.

The food is varied and healthy and I always know J will eat well on nursery days. Infact he eats more than he does at home - which I am trying not to take personally!

The staff are attentive professional and caring and filled us with confidence from the minute we handed J over for the first time.

Both my husband and I could not wish for a better nursery and I would recommend Monkey Puzzle in a heartbeat.

AMac

The vast majority of our staff are either NNEB (National Nursery Examination Board) or equivalent, or participating in the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Early Years and Childcare. We find it invaluable to train our own staff, as this way we ensure continuity of care for children and familiarity for our parents. There are great career opportunities within our Nurseries and we always encourage internal applications first.

Career opportunities

Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries are committed to providing great career opportunities for its entire staff. We are very keen to ensure the majority of staff participate in training at all levels. Whether you have had experience in child care previously or if you are joining us straight from school or another career, we will do all we can to support you in your training needs. We have a resident NVQ assessor who will assist all students with any elements of the Level 2, 3 or 4 courses.

Naturally not everybody wants to pursue a dedicated training course and we appreciate that some may just want to work with children. We will ensure that First Aid and Food Hygiene courses are regularly available to you.

Our policy is always to recruit and/or promote internally if at all possible. We want to offer diverse career opportunities to all staff that are seeking them. Whether it is your goal to become a Senior Nursery Nurse, a Nursery Manager, an Educational Co-ordinator or an Area Manager, wherever we can we will assist you in achieving that goal.

However as a rapidly expanding business we are always looking for quality staff for our existing Nurseries. See our Current Vacancies below:

Nursery Staff - all rooms

Catering assistant

All fees are payable in advance by direct debit.

Full time places are charged for only 50 weeks to account for Public and Bank holidays.

All prices include breakfast, lunch and a light tea where appropriate.

Our food is either Organic/ Free range/ or locally sourced and is freshly prepared and cooked on the premises.

Babies (3 months - 2 Years)

Full day - £47

Session - £26

Toddlers (2 - 3 Years)

Full day - £45

Session - £26

Pre School (3 - 5 years)

Full day - £43

Session - £26

All children at Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries are encouraged to learn through play. Our Curriculum covers all the key areas of learning and is designed to meet the needs of the children at each individual Nursery.

Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries has a dedicated Educational Co-ordinator to help each Pre School leader devise their curriculum plans and records according to the needs of the children attending. Long, Medium and short term plans are all displayed in each of the rooms along with details of all our topics which will be covered in the coming months.

We keep detailed records on the development of all children attending Nursery and these are available to be viewed and discussed at any time by parents. We always encourage parents to add details of their child’s experiences and progress from outside nursery to help keep these development records accurate.

Parent’s evenings are held at least once a year and are an opportunity for parent’s to discuss their child’s progress on a formal one to one basis.

Once in the Pre School department all children are entitled to a contribution to their fees from the Government. This is part of the Government initiative to provide all 3 and 4 year olds with free nursery sessions. Please speak to your Monkey Puzzle Manager for further details and amounts.

The Nursery is divided into four main age groups:

Babies

Non mobile babies benefit from a large, bright, open plan day room, well equipped with the latest in sensory equipment and toys to stimulate the babies during their formative months. As babies spend a lot of time sleeping at this early age, we provide a dedicated sleep room with the temperature constantly monitored to ensure the babies are comfortable at all times. There are never more than three babies to any one member of staff in this room. Your baby is assigned their own key worker who will keep you informed of your baby’s developments through the day.

Teenies

When the time is right and your baby becomes mobile (usually around 12 months to 2 years), our large open plan room makes the transition into the The Teenies room an easy one. Here they will enjoy activities and games structured around their changing interests. The Teenies room is very well appointed with outstanding levels of equipment, the room follows the ‘birth to three matters’ framework and encourages learning through play. There are various dedicated areas in the Teenies room offering different activities, including a ‘Story Corner’ where Teenies can listen to group stories, a sand and water play area, a construction area to develop coordination and a messy play area for painting and generally getting messy! As with babies the Teenies also benefit from a staffing ratio of one member of staff looking after no more than three children.

Toddlers

As in the Teenies room, The ‘Toddler’ room also benefits from a number of dedicated areas. There are creative areas, a reading corner, circle time and a home corner area.

As this is the time when the majority of children start ‘potty training’, the toddlers room has access to brightly decorated childrens’ toilets, encouraging independence. The Toddlers have access to an outside play area with an impact absorbing surface and lots of outside equipment designed to encourage coordination and balance.

Pre School

Pre School children follow the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’ preparing them for their eventual move to school. This is a more structured routine, with children working in groups and becoming accustomed to paying attention for longer periods of time while undertaking monthly topics, based on the six areas of learning: Physical development, personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy, creative development, knowledge and understanding of the world and problem solving, reasoning and numeracy. The Pre School room is fully equipped with child focused IT systems, designed to familiarise the children with the essential IT skills before moving on to school. Pre School also have their own easily accessible, brightly decorated childrens’ toilets and the outside play area, designed to stimulate creative activities.

Monkey Puzzle is open from 7.00am - 7.00pm, however our core opening hours are 8.00am - 6.00 pm and parents or guardians are welcome to drop off or collect between these times whenever they like. Parents wishing to take advantage of the extended opening hours can do so on request.

Our fees are inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, tea, snacks and drinks.

Branded quality nappies, wipes (and creams if required) are also supplied - although parents are welcome to supply their own brands if preferred.

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery
Bramley House
Hartley Dyke Business Centre
Hartley Road
Cranbrook
Kent
TN17 3QG

Tel: 01580 713033
Email: denise@monkeypuzzledaynurseries.com

Map:

Monkey Puzzle Cranbrook is conveniently located adjacent to the Hartley Dyke Farm Shop on the A229 between Cranbrook and Hawkhurst. The new purpose built air-conditioned nursery provides outstanding facilities and care for children aged from 3 months through to pre school age.

Babies, Teenies, Toddlers and Pre School all benefit from their own large, dedicated, well equipped areas as the nursery offers over 2,700 square feet of accommodation across 2 floors. The nursery can only be accessed via an intercom entry system enhancing the safety and security of the building. There is ample parking within the large drop off and collection area away from public roads.

We are pleased to have the pleasure of working with Kirsty King from Groundforce on the design of the garden. The large outside play areas are well equipped and stimulating, designed to burn off energy and encourage role play. There are separate play areas designed specifically for pre-school and toddlers, as well as a lawned area for babies to enjoy the fresh air. The areas benefit from having the latest soft impact surface to ensure peace of mind should tumbles occur, and the garden also has an ‘indoor/outdoor’ area for extra activities.

• FULL DAY CARE FROM 3 MONTHS TO PRE-SCHOOL AGE
• FULLY EXPERIENCED, MOTIVATED AND QUALIFIED STAFF
• AIR CONDITIONED
• SECURE AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT
• GARDENS AND PLAY AREAS PROFFESIONALLY DESIGNED
• ORGANIC/ LOCAL PRODUCED FOOD
• PLAY AREAS WITH SAFETY SURFACING
• LARGE PARKING AREA

A Monkey Puzzle Franchise owned and operated under license by Junior Childcare Ltd.