Roberts Centre Nursery

 

The Roberts Day Nursery is a safe and stimulating environment for children from birth to 5 years. We are open 51 weeks of the year from 8am to 6pm.

The Roberts Day Nursery is an inclusive full day care nursery which is located in the heart of the city centre with easy access routes in and out of the city.

The Nursery is a 44-place setting for children from birth to the age of five and is rated “Good” by Ofsted (April 2023). The nursery is open from 8am until 6pm Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year.

We value the children in our care, their parents, and our staff.  We are fully committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for young children.

Our nursery offers education, based on the Reggio Emilia approach, where our Educators take inspiration from the children’s interests to shape the environment around them allowing for free thinking and inquisitive minds to thrive. The children are encouraged to research their interests through books and on our large touch screen computer, explore the world around them in our enclosed, secure garden and design their own world in our creative space.

If you are searching for a nursery which provides a homely atmosphere for your child, we are that place. We believe that it is essential to give little ones love, support and personal attention, and we know that children thrive best when they feel safe, valued and listened to. We work together with our parents sharing knowledge, milestones and special moments.

I was so happy to see his learning journey, showing he can play alongside others and the ongoing support from the team is incredible.
Nursery parent

The Team

Our practitioners are qualified, caring and passionate and place a great emphasis on creating a loving, nurturing and warm environment for your child. Each member of staff follows the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) with a focus on learning through play and actively encourage parents to become involved. All our staff have enhanced DBS checks and hold a pediatric first aid certificate. Each child has a named Key Person to ensure that your child is cared for by a member of staff who gets to know you and your child.

Emma Gibb

My name is Emma Gibb, I am the Nursery Manager and I have nearly 10 years of experience within the early years sector. I hold a level 3 qualification in Childcare and recently studied in Reggio Emilia, Italy, to further my knowledge in child led education. I have a passion for inquiry-based learning and allowing children to have the autonomy to guide their own learning whilst supporting their innate curiosities through the environment and alongside our brilliant practitioners.

Caroline Mathieson

My name is Caroline Mathieson and I am the Deputy Nursery Manager. I have a level 3 Diploma in Childcare and my expertise is within Special Educational Needs. I lead the Nursery Practitioners and deliver programmes to get the best outcomes for children with special needs. 

Emma Bachelor

My name is Emma Bachelor and I am a Qualified Nursery Practitioner. I enjoy joining in with the children dancing and singing especially at Boogie Mites sessions. I love seeing them interact with their older friends.

Viki Matthews

My name is Viki Matthews and I am a Nursery Practitioner, with a level 3 NVQ in childcare. My favourite activities with the children are building, doing experiments, dancing and reading stories.

Sarah Mainwaring

My name is Sarah Mainwaring and I am a Nursery Practitioner. I have a level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education. I have nearly 15 years’ experience working with young children. My passion is child led education and I enjoy following the children’s interests as they navigate the world around them.

Rebecca Tiller

My name is Rebecca Gibbs –Tiller and I am an Apprentice Nursery Practitioner.

 

Our Environment

Our nursery provides excellent facilities including a multi-sensory room, educational resources and a spacious garden. The children benefit from a variety of interactive experiences designed for each child’s stage of development, with an emphasis on learning through free play, challenge and discovery. 

Our main room is spacious, bright and designed to nurture children’s imaginations. The room is furnished with age-appropriate toys and resources, with the scope for adventurous and imaginative play.

Our multi -sensory room is also used as a focused activity room which is perfect for small group work.

Our Vision and Mission

  • To meet the needs of each individual child.

  • To provide a secure, positive, safe and stimulating environment.

  • To ensure outcomes for our children.

Activities

We ensure that we are offering enriching opportunities every day to our children. There is a wide range of planned, challenging and stimulating activities. We also focus closely on the needs of children with special needs by setting up meaningful activities to support their learning and development.

Creative

Creativity promotes children’s ability to explore the world by making new connections and enabling them to reach new understanding.



Outings

We include visits and outings in our curriculum and this is planned within our monthly topics. In the past we have enjoyed trips to the Blue Reef aquarium, parks etc. as well as trips on trains, buses and boats. When planning trips we ensure that we exceed the recommended staffing ratio from Ofsted and encourage parents to come and join the fun!

Problem Solving

Problem solving is the foundation of a young child’s learning. It enables children to formulate new ideas, try things by using the trial and error methods.



Messy Play

Messy play nurtures an early form of writing. It enhances good concentration and fosters curiosity for further experimentation and it is fun!

Role Play

When children are engaged in a role play activity, they pretend to be different characters. It allows them to experiment with the social and emotional roles of life and how they fit into the world. They develop empathy, learn how to work with others and take turns.

Outdoor

We have a secure outdoor space and garden which provides the children with an area to run around in, ride bikes, and grow fruits and vegetables. Once a year, the children and parents meet  farm animals which come to spend a day at the nursery.  Children go out every day and in all weathers.

Sensory

Sensory play can be beneficial for children’s development as it gives the opportunity for the child to investigate different materials which helps them to develop their social, emotional, physical, and speaking skills.

Free Flow Play

Free flow play sessions are great for children to explore and learn about the society they live in and the world around them. It allows them to develop a sense of who they are and to value the thoughts and feelings of others.

Opening Times and Fees

The Nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am – 6pm. We operate fifty-one weeks during the year. We only close for one week between Christmas and New Year and for all bank holidays. 

Nursery fees:

Birth to 3 years

£26.70 per session (8am to 1pm, or 1pm to 6pm)

Daily rate £53.40

£6 per additional hour

Weekly rate £262.50

3 years and over

£22.70 per session (8am to 1pm, or 1pm to 6pm)

Daily rate  £45.40

£5.30 per additional hour

Weekly rate £225.80

All sessions are invoiced weekly and please note that there is a minimum requirement of 2 sessions per week.

We are pleased to offer the 30 hours funded childcare, two years old funding and 15 hours for funding for all the eligible families. We also accept a range of voucher schemes , please ask for details.

Payment

Nursery Education Grant and education sessions for parents of 2, 3 and 4 year olds.

Accreditation

The Nursery is Ofsted Registered and recently received a good Ofsted Inspection report. Read the April 2023 report here: Ofsted Report

Interested?

For more information contact:
Info@robertscentre.org.uk
Telephone: 023 9229 6919

Download an enquiry form

Holiday Playscheme for 5–13 year olds

We run an activity based Playscheme each school holiday for children living in our Temporary Accommodation Service.

Playscheme provides them with an active, stimulating time, a welcome alternative to the difficulties they are experiencing in their young lives. If children are new to Portsmouth or the surrounding area, it also allows them to make new friendships and explore local attractions. The Playscheme provides fun, education and consistency for the children and their families at a time when they are experiencing a particularly difficult period.

Annually, our Playscheme provides a place for 80 children, offering them different and exciting activities to explore every day.

This year, 38 children from across our resettlement service have attended our play scheme. The children benefit from a wide variety of activities that they may not otherwise of been able to access, whilst also learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, making friendships, having fun and developing their confidence.  The Holiday Playscheme supports children and young people to feel and be safer, have improved mental health and wellbeing, form better, more positive relationships and be given more equal opportunities to flourish.

How the Holiday Playscheme has positively affected Lloyd (names changed)

Lloyd, 10, was referred to play scheme to support their Mum, Ruth, have much needed respite and to be able to go to work and to give Lloyd some time with other children to have fun.  

Lloyd always joins in the activities with enthusiasm, meeting new people and making new friends are just an additional perk for them! Ruth comments that she can “trust the Roberts Centre to keep them safe and does not need to worry about Lloyd”.

Lloyd has developed in confidence through attending play scheme accessing activities they would not normally be able to do such as canoeing, ice skating and martial arts. Ruth feels this benefits Lloyd as it allows for them “to get out of their comfort zone”.

The activities organised through play scheme are centred around physical development and health and fitness, Lloyd prefers the active opportunities offered to them and when giving their feedback always suggests other activities for the future such as swimming and indoor play areas, Ruth appreciates the physical activities play scheme offers as she does not want Lloyd to “be stuck at home sitting on the sofa”.

Ruth feels that play scheme has benefited Lloyd in many ways but most of all feels “it is a great opportunity for Lloyd to develop and have fun!”

Important Information

Safeguarding Children's Policy

SEND Policy & example IEP/SEN support plan

To see another of our other policies please ask a member of staff or email info@robertscentre.org.uk

For full details regarding Starting Nursery And Key Worker Information, Curriculum, Healthy Eating, Parental Involvement, Security, Physical Play and Visits please click the button below.