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Holbourn House Day Nursery is a family run nursery that’s been open for 35 years in Dodford, Northamptonshire. They have up to 50 children a day, and they care for children from 9 months old to school age, offering free flow, mixed-age provision as well as an off-site Forest School. Throughout the research we’ve done in ‘Achieving high quality provision in the baby room of English nurseries’ our focus has been on ‘the baby room’, or a model of provision where children under the age of two are cared for in a separate space to older children in nurseries. In this blog post, we dive deep into how to offer high-quality mixed-age provision for babies with Holbourn House.

Ethos

Rachel Martin, Managing Director of Holbourn House, described how the nursery is underpinned by a strong belief in accessibility, meaning all children, regardless of age, ability, or background, should be able to access everything in the setting. The nursery welcomes many children with additional needs who blossom in this setting thanks to the mixed-age approach. No one is ever picked out, excluded or ‘held back’. Instead, because children are integrated, everything is accessible to them when they are ready for it. This approach flows into their philosophy for babies, as they feel all children, regardless of age, should have access to what suits them. This requires mindful and intentional practitioners who can support babies as they explore their world.

Pedagogy

Within this free flow, mixed-age provision, having the right environment and consistent relationships is key to helping babies flourish. The nursery has a cosy space with treasure baskets where babies start the day by connecting with their key people. The nursery team works hard to maintain consistent relationships for babies to help them settle in. They know each baby is different and that their key people need to spend time understanding what makes each child unique to develop strong, warm, and attuned relationships.

From their cosy space, babies go off and explore, flowing between indoor and outdoor spaces as they please throughout the day. When they need comfort, the nursery team helps babies come back to the cosy space, teaching them to seek that security before going off to explore again. This approach is about being attentive to babies cues and understanding when they are ready to go and explore, and when they need quiet time.

Throughout this pedagogy, the key people slowly introduce other adults that babies can feel secure with, expanding their world as they settle. Key workers communicate with the rest of the team how to support, comfort, and notice the cues of individual babies, ensuring each member of staff is equipped to support babies throughout the nursery.

Forest School

In addition to strong relationships with adults, Holbourn House appreciates how enabling environments facilitate opportunities for learning, making their Forest School foundational to their offer. Their Forest School is a separate space from the nursery, located in the village. In alignment with their ethos around accessibility and ensuring children can access everything on offer, babies are welcomed into Forest School. There are both baby sessions and mixed-age sessions throughout the week.

Forest School offers a wealth of opportunities for babies to explore their world, what their bodies can do in different spaces, and their relationships with others. Even the challenge of a different terrain is enough for babies to have the opportunity to explore a new way of doing things and ignite curiosity. For example, when babies come across a log whilst at Forest School, they not only learn about a new part of their world but how they can relate to it, asking, ‘Can I crawl over that log there? Can I make it?’

The open-ended space of Forest School is a joy for babies, and opportunities for exploration are infinite, changing based on the day. Babies can crawl over to the mud kitchen, pull themselves up, pick up utensils, bang on metal bowls, pour water from one vessel to another, stir pots, and the list goes on. Babies often observe others as well, and in the mixed age sessions where there are toddlers and children with more language present, it scaffolds babies’ learning and development, adding another layer of magic to Forest School.

The impact on babies

Rachel has found that their mixed-age provision offers babies access to so much diversity that it gives natural opportunities for them to grow their self-awareness and develop relational skills that will equip them for the future. She described how when children leave school, they will engage in personal and professional relationships with people of any age, from 0 to 100, so it’s important to learn how to interact with people of all different ages. Rachel believes that ‘Life isn’t boxed, it’s a mix, and we’re all learning from each other.’