Our Story
Kingsmead Day Nursery was opened by Mrs Helen Gaskell on 3rd September 1989. That year, there were 11 children on the register, and the nursery was based in a large Victorian house on the other side of the city to its current location. Mrs Gaskell is still the owner of the nursery, which relocated to its present site in December 2010, and is still much involved with the day-to-day running and decision-making. She meets regularly with the team and oversees both child and staff development.
Over the years, the nursery has evolved to accommodate young babies right through to preparing children for school.
We have cared for thousands of children over our 34 years and are now welcoming the children of children who attended the nursery in those early days.
Babies
0-2 Years
Staff to child ratio 1:3
Toddlers
2-3 Years
Staff to child ratio 1:4
Pre-School
3-5 Years
Staff to child ratio 1:8
Babies
Our Baby unit is for children aged 0-2.5 years and is situated on the first floor of the nursery, offering a homely, warm environment.
We have a very spacious baby unit: the ceilings are high, and there is a huge paned window allowing daylight to flood the two large open-plan rooms.
The unit has been carefully designed and equipped to enable our children to develop at their own pace. In this unit, we focus on the three prime areas of the EYFS: PSE, or personal, social and emotional; Physical; and CL, or communication and language.
Toddlers & Pre-School
Our Toddler and Pre-School unit is for children from two to five years old. The unit has 7 clearly defined rooms, together with two separate nappy changing and toilet areas and free flow access to the outdoor space.
Staff
We are really proud of our dedicated staff team working here at Kingsmead. Our staff are the heart of the Nursery; they understand that each child is unique and deserves every opportunity to excel in life.
Our staff foster strong relationships with parents to understand the needs of their children. This ensures that we act in the best interest of each individual child so that they meet their development and learning goals.
All our staff undertake continuous training in all areas of early years including official qualifications Level 2 – 6, behaviour management, caring for babies and many more. In addition to this 100% of our staff are Paediatric First Aid trained and hold level 2 or higher safeguarding training. We also have a degree level trained practitioner in Special Educational Needs (SENCo) on our team
Jemma Nicholson – Nursery Manager
Garden
We have worked hard on our purpose-built garden at Kingsmead Day Nursery. We’re lucky enough to have a large outdoor play area whilst still being in the centre of Winchester for easy access for parents.
Included in our outdoor area is:
- Rubber Race Track
- Climbing Mound and Tunnel
- Children’s Vegetable Garden
- Baby Zone
- Fire Pit
- Reading Nook
- Cookery Garden
- Mud Kitchen
- Wooden Playhouse
- Pirate Sand Pit
- Music Wall
- Canopy For Shaded Play
- Construction Zone
- Children’s Buggy Park
- Mark-Making Areas (e.g Painting)
- Theatre Zone
- Outdoor Classroom