About The Nursery

The Nursery is a 42 place nursery set in Victorian School building along the River Kennet andworks closely with the East Reading Childrens Centre.

We offer a warm, caring and stimulating environment for children to grow and develop with friendly, well-trained staff in a fully equipped and comfortable setting.We care for children from 3 months to 5 years, following policies, principals and practices and curriculum guidance for the foundation stage Department for Education and Employment

The nursery is run by a committee which consists of volunteers and parents. Riverside Day Nursery is a not-for-profit organisation, we are a registered charity. Our funding still comes from fees but unlike a commercial nursery it all goes towards running the nursery.

We are registered with Reading Borough Council Social Services Department under the provisions of the Children Act 1989 and with the Early Years Directorate within the Office for Standards in Education.

The nursery was last inspected by Ofsted in January 2011.

Get in touch

The best way to evaluate a new nursery, to find out if it is right for you and your child, is by calling in for a visit. Our Manager, Deborah or the Transition Officer, Helen will be pleased to show you our Nursery and introduce you to our team so that you can get a feel for Riverside.

Tel: 0118 9665040

Email: riversidenursery@btconnect.com

Staffing

The quality of the Nursery is dependent upon the skills, attitudes and commitment of the staff. At our Nursery we work as a team to create a safe, stimulating and caring environment in which the children learn and develop to their full potential.

Riverside Day Nursery is run by the Manager, Deborah, who has a foundation degree in Business and Management. Deborah is also level 3 qualified and a trained assessor. She has worked in Early years for the past 15 years.Judith is the Deputy Manager and she has worked at the nursery since it opened.Both our Room seniorare at least NVQ 3 qualified with 7 years or more experience in childcare working with all ages from 3months to 5years. We have recently filled our Inclusion and transition officer post, Helen is a qualified early years worker who is working to create excellent links for the nursery with parents, local schools and the children's centre.

The nursery also employs 6 nursery nurses qualified to level 3 and 5 nursery assistants working towards their NVQ qualification, which could be level 2 or level 3.The staff provide the experiences and opportunities necessary for the children's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development, helping the extend their knowledge of the world around them. Our staff are happy to work together and, through the care and respect they show each other, give a clear model of behaviour to the children.

The nursery strongly encourages staff to take up the opportunity of external training days as and when they occur. The staff also visit other nurseries and areas of professional interest within the community.

We employ a chef who prepares fresh cooked meals everyday in our fully equipped kitchen on site.The kitchen has recently been awarded 5 stars.

A hairdresser comes into nursery every 6-8 weeks and trims/cuts the children's hair.

The Committee

The committee is elected each year at the AGM and members are responsible for the running of the Nursery for the appointed year. Usually we ask that anyone coming on to the committee can give commitment of at least one year. No member can serve on the committee for more than four consecutive years. The committee comprises of 3 officers and 9 members. Up to 3 members may be co-opted each year. The committee meets approximately once a term, in the evenings. At these meetings decisions are made on the running of the nursery.

Parents are always encouraged to come along to meetings and contribute their ideas to the running of the nursery.