Kiddi Caru Day Nursery, Crews Hole, Bristol

Children’s wellbeing is considered throughout the nursery day at Crews Hole. Bright, airy playrooms with plenty of natural light create a welcoming environment, with regular opportunities to spend time in our two outdoor spaces and explore at their own pace.

Nutritious meals and snacks form part of children’s daily routines, with menus designed to provide a varied and balanced range of food throughout the nursery day.

Building strong partnerships with families is an important part of our approach. Through the GrandirUK App, families receive daily updates about their child’s activities, meals, photos and milestones, helping them stay connected with their nursery experience.

Children at Kiddi Caru Crews Hole enjoy a varied mix of experiences, including Sing and Sign sessions, which provide opportunities to support early communication and language through songs and signing.

Boogie Mites brings together music, movement and play, giving children further opportunities to express themselves, move their bodies and enjoy learning through music.

Children also make monthly visits to a local care home, where they spend time singing and chatting with residents. These intergenerational visits provide opportunities to build connections with people of different ages and become involved in their wider local community.

Our Crews Hole nursery is arranged across two welcoming floors, with bright, airy and well-resourced playrooms and access to outdoor spaces. Each area is designed around children’s different ages and stages, with transitions supported when children are developmentally and emotionally ready.

Our baby room is located on the second floor and provides a welcoming environment for children under two, with age-appropriate resources and individual support from their key person.

On the first floor, our large open-plan playroom is home to toddlers and preschool children, with different areas and resources designed around their stages of development. Children have opportunities for imaginative play, creativity, exploration and learning, with plenty of natural light throughout the space.

Outdoor space

We have two outdoor spaces designed around the different ages and stages of the children using them. Our younger children have direct access to an AstroTurf courtyard, providing opportunities for outdoor play and exploration as part of their nursery day.

Preschool children have access to a large garden behind the nursery, with views across Troopers Hill Nature Reserve. With plenty of space for active play and the changing natural landscape close by, the garden gives children opportunities to move, explore and experience the natural world throughout the year.

Quality of care at Crews Hole starts with getting to know each child as an individual. Every child has a key person who takes time to understand their routines, interests and individual needs, while providing a consistent point of contact for their family.

Our SENCo team works closely with families and practitioners to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), helping to ensure individual needs are understood and appropriate support is considered.

Across the nursery, our approach recognises that children develop at different rates and have their own interests, preferences and ways of learning, so care and experiences are shaped around the individual child rather than simply their age.

Our child-centred curriculum follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and is inspired by the Curiosity Approach, encouraging children to follow their interests, explore their own ideas and become actively involved in their learning.

Our Pathways and Foundations for the Future education programmes introduce children to a varied range of experiences through Make & Bake, Move & Groove, Innovate & Investigate, Sow & Grow and Health & Self.

Through hands-on activities, exploration and child-led discovery, practitioners create opportunities for children to be creative, investigate, make choices and develop their knowledge and skills as they grow.

At Crews Hole, our setting beside Troopers Hill Nature Reserve gives children opportunities to discover and explore the natural world right on their doorstep.

Inspired by the Curiosity Approach, practitioners respond to what captures children’s interest and use these moments to extend their learning. A beetle discovered in the garden, changes in the seasons or something spotted on a nature walk can become the starting point for further investigation and discovery.

Children’s questions, interests and ideas help shape their experiences, with practitioners alongside them to observe, support and introduce new opportunities for learning.

For families with more than one child, having siblings at our Crews Hole nursery means one drop-off and pick-up, while each child can enjoy the room, experiences and friendships suited to their own age and stage.

A baby in our upstairs room and an older sibling in the open-plan room below may spend their days in different spaces, but they remain part of the same nursery community, with opportunities to see each other and share parts of nursery life.

Sibling places are subject to availability, but where we have space in the appropriate room, we will always look at the options for welcoming brothers and sisters together.

Led by Nursery Manager Charlotte, our Crews Hole team brings a wealth of Early Years knowledge and experience to the nursery, with many colleagues having been part of the team for more than a decade.

This long-standing experience provides children and families with continuity and familiar faces throughout their time at the nursery, while giving practitioners the opportunity to build a detailed understanding of the children in their care.

Knowledge and good practice are shared across the team, helping practitioners continue to learn from one another and provide thoughtful, individualised care and learning experiences.