Orchards Day Nurseries were established in 1991 when founder Laura Gentry noticed a real need for quality early years settings in Cambridgeshire.
The family-run business is now owned and managed by Aimee Gentry and has grown to include three nurseries in Royston and St Neots which provide quality care and education for children up to five years old.
Though each unique in character, all the Orchards Nurseries are bound by an ethos of providing exceptional standards of care and education within a nurturing home from home environment. Staff focus on the holistic development of each individual child and draw on best nursery practice and the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage to support learning and development.
A variety of fun indoor and outdoor activities are offered, and highly qualified staff are dedicated to providing the very best standards of care.
Our Vision
The Orchards' philosophy remains the same today as when we first opened our doors 1991; we aim to help children grow into happy, confident individuals with a curiosity for the world around them.
Keeping our nurseries small has been key to ensuring that we can provide children with a safe and supportive home from home environment that provides space for children to learn and grow their self-esteem.
Every child is viewed as an individual at our nurseries; we understand that every child has their own interests, needs and pace of development and we encourage them to explore these. We also know that children learn best when they are happy, so play is central to everything we do. We provide each child with exciting activities and experiences that are appropriate for their age and development within inclusive settings. Our stimulating environments ensure that children can explore and develop their skills in a safe astrosphere.
We are committed to ensuring that our teaching, learning and caring environment promotes and upholds ‘British Values’ which involves valuing and being aware of the multi-cultural society we live in.
We do this by encouraging:
- Turn-taking and sharing
- Inclusion
- Challenging negative attitudes and stereotypes
- Learning right from wrong
- Mutual respect and tolerance
Our Staff
We know that our staff are key in providing outstanding care and education within our nurseries.
We can assure you that:
- Our staff team are very experienced and many of them have worked for Orchards for many years.
- All staff are trained in paediatric first aid and have training in safeguarding .
- Our staff have been carefully selected for their friendly, caring manner, experience and their love for working with children.
- The majority of our staff are qualified, with a few in training for their qualification (all staff are given the opportunity to further their training and attend specialised courses).
- We have a low staff turnover.
- We carefully place our staff according to experience, skills and personality to create the perfect teams.
- All staff undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check upon joining Orchards and will hold a current First Aid certificate.
‘Leaders and managers motivate staff and have built a qualified and well-trained team who demonstrates consistently good teaching skills.’
‘Staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn and provide a rich, varied educational programme with precise assessment and planning for individual children.’
Safeguarding
It is our responsibility to put the safety of children first. There is much information available to explain our commitment to safeguarding and the procedures we follow. We encourage parents to be familiar with these policies and to discuss their child’s safety and wellbeing with us.
We work very hard to support every family unit and will never breach confidentiality or act unprofessionally. Please do not be offended if questions are asked, as your child’s protection is our priority.
We have a Safeguarding Lead Professional at each setting who is trained alongside your key person to support any parents who are experiencing difficult times and will make decisions on when a referral to the local social care team may be needed. Please take note of our safeguarding board to be assured of how seriously we take the safety and protection of children within our care.
‘Safeguarding is effective.’ Ofsted report, St Neots, December 2016)
‘Staff have a clear and up to date understanding about safeguarding children and understand their role in protecting them.’ (Ofsted report, Royston, May 2013)