RECRUITING NOW!!! Join our team and receive a new starter bonus of up to £1000! (T&Cs apply) Find your new role News What Is an Early Years Practitioner? 23rd September, 2021 Here at All About Children, our early years practitioners are central to what we do. Working on the front line as early years specialists, we’re proud of the amazing job our early years practitioners do every day to nurture and support the babies and young children in their care. What Does an Early Years Practitioner […] Read More... How to Be a Winner at Your Next Nursery Job Interview 1st September, 2021 From what to wear, to what to expect – if you have a nursery job interview coming up, there’s lots to consider. But don’t panic! Read this guide for everything you need to know to bag your dream job in childcare. Do Your Research If there’s one big secret as to how to prepare for […] Read More... What Is a Nursery Manager? 10th June, 2021 Working as a Nursery Manager is a highly rewarding experience that comes with big responsibilities. In this role, you can play a major part in a child’s growth and development. If you’re interested in becoming a Nursery Manager, every All About Children nursery is a safe, caring, and friendly working environment with a real family […] Read More... All About Children Recognises Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 11th May, 2021 It’s Mental Health Awareness Week! Here, at All About Children, we know how important it is to take care of our staff’s wellbeing. One of the many benefits we offer our employees is continuous support and guidance on managing mental health and wellbeing at work. Read on to learn more about what we do to […] Read More... Give a Thumbs Up to Your Early Years Practitioners! 17th February, 2021 On the 18th February 2021, people up and down the country will be taking part in a sector-wide virtual show of thanks and support for all early years practitioners. At All About Children, this movement couldn’t resonate with us more! Here’s why: Our Practitioners Helped Keep Our Nurseries Open During COVID-19 We are so proud […] Read More... Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week 2021 8th February, 2021 What is National Apprenticeship Week? National Apprenticeship week is all about celebrating the dedication, commitment, and hard work that our Apprentices show in their roles with us. It is a time for us to show our appreciation for those undertaking their studies whilst working with All About Children at our nurseries. The Education and Skills […] Read More... What is Sensory Development in Early Childhood? 4th February, 2021 What is Sensory Development in Early Childhood? From the moment your child is born, he or she is constantly using all five senses to explore and make sense of their surroundings. Sensory development enhances the use of your child’s senses by incorporating different colours, textures, noises and more into their early education. This holistic learning […] Read More... How Early Childhood Education is Important 17th December, 2020 What is early childhood education? The early years, under five years old, are the most crucial years for children. It’s when they learn most rapidly and where their learning and experiences forms the person that they are and will grow into being. Early childhood education is so much more than just attending nursery or pre-school. […] Read More... All About Food 15th December, 2020 All year round we take time to research seasonal, healthy balanced foods. Our research helps us create a 3-week rolling menu that is provided at each one of our nurseries. We take extra care in creating our menus so that we can cater for allergies and special dietary requirements. Our Nursery Menus We work on […] Read More... A Beginner’s Guide to Weaning 1st December, 2020 At around six months, your baby will be ready for their first taste of solid food. Most parents have lots of questions about this important milestone, so our weaning guide for beginners provides you with useful tips and advice to help you get started on your baby’s weaning journey. What does weaning mean for you […] Read More... Pumpkin Playdough 30th October, 2020 The children were in the Halloween spirit this week so we decided to make some pumpkin playdough! The children were really creative and added some lentils to the playdough to resemble pumpkin seeds. How clever is that?! They also rolled pine cones over the playdough to create marks and give it some texture. We spoke […] Read More... Sand play with socks and spoons 19th October, 2020 Toddlers love to play with sand and why not make it more interesting and different. Use a selection of different size socks and spoons. What do you need? 1, A large bowl and add sand this can be dry sand or wet sand and must be “play sand” appropriate for use with children 2, Look […] Read More... Stick Man Activity With it being Autumn and there being lots of fun treats outside why not going on an adventure walk and see what items you can collect. You may need a bag to put all of your treasures in there. Last Friday the pre-schooler’s at Merchant Square went on adventure to the park and brought to […] Read More... Themed messy soil play 15th October, 2020 Soil play for children really is an activity that they can absolutely adore. It’s really no wonder why…. it’s messy as they want to make it, it’s squishy, it’s dry, it’d hard, it’s soft, it’s runny and sticky. There are so many different textures for your child to explore with soil play. Believe it or not, […] Read More... How We Feel Children’s wellbeing and emotional health is so important, but we can sometimes find it difficult to know how to approach this with our children. Look at these pictures below, talk about how they look like they are feeling? Do you think they are feeling the same in the pictures or different? Can you place these […] Read More... Building Sentences With Toddlers Why Talking and communicating for the first time is a great milestone in a child’s life. It allows them be heard by parents, carers, and friends clearly. It also enables them to communicate their needs and wants without the frustration of not being understood. How Once your child begins to uses single words each time […] Read More... All About Food 14th October, 2020 All year round we take time to research seasonal, healthy balanced foods. These are then created onto a 3 week rolling menu that is provided at each one of our nurseries. We provide for allergies and special dietary requirements. Come and have a look at our menus and see how they are devised. You may […] Read More... Spice Paints 9th October, 2020 I absolutely love this time of year and for some reason it seems to inspire more art and craft activities than almost any other season. It’s the abundance of natural materials to use as well as the wonderfully warm coloured palette that is so inspiring! We decided to have a go at making our own […] Read More... PUMPKIN FINE MOTOR SKILLS ACTIVITY Set up a fun, no preparation, pumpkin fine motor skills activity for Autumn play and learning! This combines motor skills and creativity and is a great for hand strength for pre-writing development. Use some mini “munchkin” pumpkins that are sold in the supermarket and set them in a tray alongside a dish of coloured rubber […] Read More... Posting Activity Ideas Spoons and Mugs This one is great for babies just starting to post, because little ones need to develop the ability to grab and release before they can post into a closed container. Being able to see the spoons here while taking in and out lays a foundation for later posting activities. Baby Milk Container […] Read More... Tugging Lid A tugging lid is a cheap and easy thing to make for your baby to explore, with things that you will most likely have, hanging around the house! As the picture shows, a tugging lid is created by making small incisions into an old tupperware lid and threading pieces of material through, for your baby […] Read More... Toddler Time to Talk 30th September, 2020 Point Two… How to play: Sit face to face with the toddler so that they can easily see you and you can easily see them. Start by pointing to different parts of the body and saying what they are “This is my eye”, “Here is your nose” Then ask the child to point to something […] Read More... Toddler Time to Talk Playing with Teddy WHAT YOU NEED Use pretend people, a doll or a teddy and have some items to play with such as a sponge, a hairbrush, cup or plate etc. HOW TO PLAY Ask the child to “Wash teddy” and use the sponge to help them. Later they will not need your help. […] Read More... A Family Gratitude Jar 28th September, 2020 The power of gratitude is never-ending Gratitude can strengthen relationships, improve emotional well-being and improve self-esteem. How can we strengthen gratitude at home with our children? First, talk to your children about what gratitude is: “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”. Give them examples to help them […] Read More... Design a Boat to Balance Pennies This activity is going to challenge your child. The idea is to design a small boat using stationary and kitchen items with the aim that this boat will be able to float and hold 20 pennies! Your child can be as creative and imaginative as they want to be and together you can plan the […] Read More... Stamp & Match – Letter Matching Activity for Kids 18th September, 2020 This letter match activity is quick to throw together and doesn’t use up anything. Gather your materials. You will need some playdough, a tray, and letter stamps with both upper and lowercase letters. Encourage the children to make small circles out of your playdough. You have probably noticed that there is not all 26 letters, […] Read More... Painting with Different Size Balls 14th September, 2020 Next time you pop to the shops, look out for different sized balls including golf balls, tennis balls, ping pong balls or small foam balls. Pick up a selection and bring them home for your children to use for their painting. Whilst you’re at the shops, remember to pick up some paint in lots of […] Read More... Obstacle Course Get creative and use whatever you have around the house or in the garden to build a toddler-appropriate obstacle course. Please make sure you haveplenty of space. Set up a climb over by using pillow’s followed by a crawl through a cardboard box, a circle around a footstool, outdoor slide, paddling pool etc. You can […] Read More... Letters Matching Game 13th September, 2020 This activity lets children practice their letters and sounds in play. For this activity, you need a few magnetic letters and you place them onto a baking sheet. You then need to write the letters that have been chosen on a piece of paper for your child to use as a key. Next, you cover […] Read More... Toddler Talk Playing Shops WHAT YOU NEED Set up a pretend shop with toys or real things to buy. Have a shopping bag and some real money or credit cards to play with HOW TO PLAY Take it in turns to be the shopkeeper and the customer. Use sentences like “What do you need?” “What […] Read More... I CAN – Babbling Babies – Developing and Exploring 4th September, 2020 This is a great way to explore with your baby, introduce new words, name objects and develop their understanding from a very young age. Exploring my environment 0-6 Months Spending time in different spaces gives you new things to talk about Lie together in a tent or drape material high over the cot Carry baby […] Read More... Stop and Watch We are so often in such a rush that we forget to stop and watch. Have you ever noticed the way in which your baby observes the world around them? The pure wonder and awe as they see something for the first time? Sometimes there is no need to do an elaborate activity or fill […] Read More... Water Xylophone A nice activity which can be done indoors and outdoors. Although initially a science idea, I found I was able to use it in other areas of learning. There is a music link, where children can be encouraged to listen for the sounds and to potentially make a little tune. But you can also use […] Read More... Make a Wind Sock – The Wild Weather Book 28th August, 2020 Cut the bottom and top off a plastic bottle to make a cylinder about 15cm long. Pierce a hole in each side on one end of the cylinder and thread a long piece of string or wool through; letting the children practice this is good for their dexterity. This will create a handle. Cut out […] Read More... Simple and Quick to Set up Physical Activities These activities will obviously keep your children active but getting them involved on design and build of the activities helps them to evaluate and analyse what will work. And let us not forget the obvious maths as they keep score, measure heights and judge angles. Balloon Volleyball – Set up your court by using a rope […] Read More... Mud Painting 25th August, 2020 Not an activity for those who do not like mess but as we all know how much children naturally gravitate to dirt why not turn it into a learning experience. Given the heavy rain a lot of us have had recently what better time to go outside and explore the Mud. All you need is: […] Read More... Small Construction With little encouragement from us children will build and create using a range of materials. Instead of paying out for that expensive Lego kit why not take a look at what you have around the house and garden. This Curiosity approach nursery has collected a whole range of things; Old spanners, blocks of wood, packaging, […] Read More... These magic milk colours 24th August, 2020 What do you need? Milk, food colouring, dish soap, and a toothpick. Start off by pouring your milk into a small dish with a lip. We found tupper ware lids worked really well. After the milk is poured, add a few drops of various colours of food colouring all around your dish. Now comes the “magic” […] Read More... Physical Water Play 14th August, 2020 We all like to see children splashing around keeping cool but why not follow the lead of our Children’s House Nursery in Binfield and make it more about Gross motor skills and a little science combined. The team started by filling different sizes of containers with clear or coloured watered and the children arranged pipes […] Read More... Messy Play for babies We understand that the prospect of messy play in your home may be daunting. Messy play and explorations offer so many learning opportunities and for your baby, is one of the safest first ways they will start to link the action of moving their hands and feet which creates and leaves marks. They will explore […] Read More... We’re going on a bear hunt A great way to get your child moving and further develop their imagination is to actively recreate the story of we’re going on a bear hunt. At home, in the garden or a park you can bring this story to is full adventure potential. If you have the story to hand you can read along […] Read More... Make your own Unicorn Hobby horses are childhood games of our grandparents but why not bring this in to modern times and on your next walk out see if you can find some sticks and treasures to create these Unicorns which inspire the imagination but also provide lots of physical activity. This activity is also a good starting point […] Read More... Let’s Get Moving! When your baby grows and become more aware of what is going on around them, they will start to reach out and make sounds to be heard. Most of the time we guess what they would like or what they are trying to tell us, they often point to things they want. If your baby […] Read More... Painted Ice Tunnels 4th August, 2020 A fascinating experiment as you observe the salt melting craters into the ice, that’s where the colouring seeps through and creates beautiful, coloured tunnels! You will need: Blocks of ice Ice Cream tub Food Colouring Salt Paintbrush Bowls Here is what we do next Take an old ice cream tub to freeze a block of […] Read More... Disappearing Cheerio This is an enjoyable activity that involves active learning, problem-solving, exploring and will help develop the skills of remembering where an object first started and watching to see where it finishes. What you will need are some Cheerios and some opaque plastic cups. This game is the same as playing the shell game, however hiding […] Read More... Number Recognition This week the children have been learning about number recognition and how to understand the concept of numbers. We chose to use pegs to peg on the cards, but why not try this activity at home with your children, using anything you have such as buttons, paperclips or even stones or leaves from the garden, […] Read More... Treasure hunt A fun way to open conversations on your daily walk is to have a treasure hunt with your child. There are lots of learning opportunities across the seven areas of learning as you engage in conversations along the way. It’s also nice to have a different purpose to get out and about in your local […] Read More... Why wearing a mask is important! Please take a moment to look at this animated video made by UNICEF. This video will help your child to understand why we must wear masks. Read More... Magnetism Science 27th July, 2020 This activity explores magnetism. It requires the simple task of using a magnet to steer a coin through the side of a plastic bottle using a maze. What you will need for this activity A large plastic bottle A coin A magnet A marker pen How does it all work? A magnet is anything that […] Read More... Toilet training tips – Penny Tassoni via PACEY Toilet training can be a tricky time. There is a huge variation in when children will be ready to come out of nappies. Anything between 18 months and nearly 3 years is not unusual. The word “training” is misleading. Children can only come out of nappies when they are physically ready. If the timing is […] Read More... Mathematical Scavenger Hunt 17th July, 2020 Take a few pictures of things around the garden or in the house and print them off on a little sheet that will fit in an egg box. If you don’t have a printer keep the pictures on your phone and share with the children. Using an egg box invite the children to make a […] Read More... When life gives you lemons make lemonade For many of us life has had a few lemons moments lately but what a lovely activity to do with your children so why not follow Playtime Shepperton example and create your own lemonade. The exploration of the senses in this activity lends itself to enrich children’s vocabulary; how does the lemon taste is bitter, […] Read More... Nature’s Paintbrushes What you need: Twigs A selection of leaves, grasses, or flowers Elastic bands Paints Paper Step 1: Gather your supplies Head outside armed with a basket or bag. Gather some thin, strong twigs and a selection of leaves, branches, grasses or flowers with stalks. You can use whatever you find and whatever you like, so […] Read More... Activities for children and parent support during lockdown…. 7th July, 2020 All About Children’s Childcare & Education team have been working together on activities you can explore at home with your children during the lockdown. We wanted to share with you a document from the Foundation Years team called ‘What to Expect When?’ Which you may have seen in nurseries already. This is a parent-friendly guide […] Read More... All About Children Nurseries Re-open 10th June, 2020 We would like to share with you a message from our Childcare and Education Director, Clair Drury, explaining what measures we will be taking in our nurseries to make sure everyone is kept safe when we re-open. If you have any questions, contact our friendly team today. Read More... We’re ready to welcome children back from June All About Children have been working together with a nursery providers group to help share information and support each other with the opening of childcare settings. Sarah Mackenzie writes an article in Nursery World on behalf of the Covid-19 response group. ‘It’s not an easy decision’, says Sarah Mackenzie, Education Director of N Family Club, […] Read More... Parent Update We are currently preparing to open from 1st June 2020. We will be introducing a phased return for our children and families to help support them settle back into their routines. Existing parents will be contacted next week to confirm their requirements. We will also be sending out copies of our operational plan and all […] Read More... Government Guidance to Re-open Childcare Settings Below are the government guidance documents that have become available for all childcare settings. Actions for educational and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020 Coronavirus (COVID-19): implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings What parents and carers need to know about schools and other education settings during the coronavirus […] Read More... Nursery News following Prime Minister’s announcement on lockdown Following the information from the Prime Minister on Sunday 10th May 2020, we continue to follow Government guidelines whilst waiting for further clarification on when we will be able to open. Once this information is available we will update you. We thank you for your patience. Read More... All About Children Staff Volunteer to help others during the Coronavirus pandemic. 28th April, 2020 Many of us are helping each other to get through this coronavirus outbreak, however we have staff members that have gone the extra mile to help more than just their friends and families….. Emma from Angels at Play Nursery in Ware and her friend Allie have been collecting donations for their local hospitals, care homes […] Read More... Covid-19 Information for Parents 23rd April, 2020 It is really important for us all to follow Government advice and stay home during the pandemic. We are here to help and share useful resources to get us through this period. What to do when your child is unwell It can be confusing and difficult to know what to do when your child is […] Read More... Stories and Songs with Heidi Enjoy stories and songs with one of our ‘Angels at Play’ managers, Heidi. Get cosy and comfortable whilst Heidi takes you on an adventure into her world of storytelling… Join in with some of Heidi’s songs and rhymes… Read More... We Teamed up With the Woodlands Trust to Help Save the Environment 9th April, 2020 Our Natures & Forest School Nursery in Ascot has teamed up with the Woodland Trust to help plant over 350 trees across our nurseries. All About Children nurseries have all worked together to share these trees between us to help teach our children how important the environment is. We have also encouraged our parents to […] Read More... We Value Our Colleagues – 93% of Respondents Agree 9th March, 2020 A recent survey conducted by one of the leading sector publications, Nursery World, was undertaken in June 2019 and gathered the opinions of 1,647 respondents across the UK. This built upon a previous survey conducted back in February 2018. The aims of the survey were to; Understand the motivations and aspirations of people working in […] Read More... What Our Staff Say My name is Carla and I’m the room leader in Preschool. I go to work knowing that my knowledge, experience and passion is appreciated, I have a fantastic management team who listen, support and encourage me to be the best I can be. Working with a great team to deliver the best care for every child in our room. I love my role and feel like I make a difference. Carla – Room Leader All About Children About Us Childcare Careers Childcare Apprenticeships Why Work for Us Our Approach Testimonials Cookies Privacy Policy Latest News What Is an Early Years Practitioner? 23rd September 2021 How to Be a Winner at Your Next Nursery Job Interview 1st September 2021 What Is a Nursery Manager? 10th June 2021 All About Children Recognises Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 11th May 2021 Give a Thumbs Up to Your Early Years Practitioners! 17th February 2021 Get in Touch All About Children, Kingsthorpe Road, Northampton, NN2 6EZ Email : info@allaboutchildren.co.uk Careers: 01604 265445 Find us on Facebook © All About Children Ltd. | Company Number. 07223697 Website by: Wagada Digital Marketing