Cygnets Education & Childcare operate as a Charitable Trust chaired by Linda
Findon founder of Cygnets. It began in 1982 as a toddler group and soon evolved into one nursery (Broad Street) that in 1994 became two (Alveston). These continue to provide the highest standards of care and education for every child, whether they attend each day or just for a few hours. A broad based curriculum was developed around carefully planned activities and assessments with a big emphasis on outdoor activities. This has now been adapted to compliment the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements and principles. Our early success has been the firm base on which Cygnets has grown steadily over the years along with our reputation. In our most recent inspections Ofsted graded our Broad Street setting OUTSTANDING and our Alveston setting GOOD in all areas.
We believe that children develop socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually when interested in and motivated by an exciting and stimulating learning environment, especially when encouraged and supported in individual achievements. We can provide the expertise, equipment, situations and opportunities to give the best possible start to your child’s education. Every child is treated as an individual within a framework of the highest ethical standards and equal opportunities in a setting where well trained, supervised and dedicated staff are enthusiastic about their important jobs.
We are eligible to take children in receipt of nursery education funding and use the revised Early Years Foundation Stage (September 2012) Curriculum (used up until the end of Reception year at Primary School) as a framework to deliver learning through play. Through the EYFS we encourage the 7 areas of learning and development.
Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first:
- Communication and language
- Physical development
- Personal, social and emotional development
As children grow, the prime areas will help them develop skills in the 4 specific areas:
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the World
- Expressive arts and design
Each child and their family are encouraged to work in partnership with staff to build a profile of achievements which create an individual learning journey that is transferred to the next setting or primary school when each child leaves nursery.
Our own goal is to encourage happy, healthy children who are socially well adjusted, equipped with skills in all areas and a love of learning, which hopefully will last for the rest of their lives.
