At Mulberry Corner Day Nursery in Eastleigh, we hold two inset days a year. Read on for more information about our Spring 2023 Inset!
Inset days are a beneficial event for both staff and the children within an early years setting. They provide an opportunity to reflect on practices, engage as a team, discuss our environments and have fun; gaining knowledge and skills.
A good and effective inset day should be fun, personalised, energetic and balanced between sitting and being active.
At Mulberry Corner we plan two inset days a year; one is for the individual nurseries and the second is a companywide inset day, where all nurseries come together to share.
On Tuesday 25th April, our Chandlers Ford Nursery team focused on six big areas of early years development. A brief summary of a couple of these areas are included below to give you an idea of how beneficial our inset days are. More details will be added to our blog in the coming months..
Provocations are a great subject to talk about! It allows our staff team to think and act upon children’s interests and to boost engagements through open ended set ups.
The staff team were given a subject and they had to come up with their own engaging provocation that the children could use. We had some great ideas including an Easter tuff tray and some flower painting using authentic flowers as our focus point. Provocations allow for staff and children to use their imaginations and to achieve a sense of awe and wonder within their day.
Something out of many peoples comfort zones is taking part in role play sessions, but the team did great!
Working in small groups, the team had a scenario to role play between the adults and one of the staff members would play the part of the supporting adult; asking open ended questions to support communication and engagements, and allowing the adult playing the part of the child to take risks but within a safe environment and talking them through processes to be safe. For example a child climbing on the table we wouldn’t just take the child off the table, we would get down to their level, make eye contact, ask them to come down and use propositional gestures for example, pointing to the floor.
Staff feel such a sense of achievement from doing this, knowing that when putting things into action day to day with the children they are supporting them to achieve many skills.
Staff feel such a sense of achievement from doing this, knowing that when putting things into action day to day with the children they are supporting them to achieve many skills.
Loose parts are such a game changer within nursery life! Not only can the resources be cost effective and environmentally friendly, they can provide endless opportunities for the children. From pine cones to stones to guttering; the endless fun and activities that can be embraced is inspiring.
Having loose parts as a resource in nursery allows each and every child to experience something different and to gain something different from it, then their peers. For example a piece of guttering could be a telescope, a tunnel for their cars, a hat or a walking stick.
The team at Mulberry all worked so hard, and had a lot of fun during their inset day! We're really proud of how everyone has been putting the learning into practice day-to-day.
We can't wait for our company wide Inset ay in the Autumn!
If you have any questions on our inset day, or other ways in which we are continuously learning and development please get in touch.
To enquire about spaces at our Nursery in Chandlers Ford, or to find out more about our nursery jobs, email [email protected]
Posted on 23rd May 2023
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