Training and Professional Development are important to us - to that extent that we employ a Training & Quality Manager to ensure that best practice is embedded in our service.

We believe that children's development is directly linked to staff learning and a high priority is given to developing and extending the knowledge of all adults in the nursery and school. We want to keep up to date with research on how children learn and how practice can be even more effective. We want our staff to:

• Share ideas through talking informally, visiting each other's base rooms and in staff meetings.
• Study research/practice and debate their impact in their base room.
• Be part of nursery/school improvement groups to generate new learning
• Share an understanding of common principles of learning
• Visit other nurseries and schools
• Attend courses and share their expertise within the nursery and school
• Extend their knowledge through personal research
• Take risks and try out new ideas

Qualifications
Qualifications are supported for all staff from NVQ 2 in Childcare and Early Years Professional status and Montessori Primary Teaching Diploma and beyond. We are also an accredited training centre for delivering Montessori Training. This includes:

Introduction to Montessori course - this has been undertaken by 45 staff and parents in recent years and is run on a rolling programme.

Level 4 Montessori Diploma which, to date, fourteen member shave staff have achieved.

Primary Montessori Teaching Diploma - which six members of staff are currently completing

Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a priority across the company and covers:

• Core/regulatory training such as health and safety, first aid and child protection
• Curriculum/Pedagogy training including Early Years Foundation Stage, Montessori underpinning knowledge
• Management Skills including customer service, teambuilding, mentoring and leadership.
• Innovation training such as workshops with an artist in residence, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Emotional Intelligence, Baby Signing

Conferences, seminars, network events, exchange visits and mentoring are all supported whether staff are starting out in their career us or qualified to Masters level. We also offer a range of in-house professional development opportunities for our team from our training room. These courses are also available to other early years settings and cover:

• Introduction to Montessori
• Observing to Inform Practice in Childcare Settings
• Schematic Learning
• Working in Partnership with Parents
• Marketing and Public Relations for a Nursery
• Pricing and fees for your Nursery
• Sustainability
• Recruitment & Selection
• The Value of Performance Review
• Mentoring
• Leading a Team
• Seeking funding
• Customer Care

For more information on Montessori training or CPD course contact our Training & Quality Assurance Manager on Tel 01472 859589