Mosaic Nursery

The Mosaic Centre is one of three nurseries run by The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. It opened in 2005 and is situated in Chapeltown, Leeds. It operates from four rooms in a purpose-built building. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.00 to 18.00 all year round. All children share access to two secure enclosed outdoor play areas.

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 70 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery supports a number of children with learning difficulties and disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

There are 27 members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least NVQ at level 3. Two of the managers hold a Foundation Degree in Business Management, one has a BA hons in Childhood Studies and one has a Foundation Degree in Childhood Studies. Three of the managers hold the Early Years Professional Status.   The nursery receives support from the trust and the local authority and the emphasis is on learning through play.

We encourage all children, from the very young to build on their communication skills and develop a perception of self, encouraging them to express their needs and feelings.
This is developed by forming warm and emotional bonds within the nursery allowing the children to gain a positive self concept and to develop curiosity, coordination and physical abilities as they become more mobile whilst supported and encouraged by their key worker.

Sunshine Room

The Sunshine holds up to 12 children aged from 3 month to 16 month olds and has a homely, exciting, stimulating and explorative indoor and outdoor environment. Young children use movement and sensory exploration to connect with their immediate environment.

We provide a range of equipment and support allowing our children the freedom to explore. Throughout the day children can enjoy play using natural materials, musical toys, sensory equipment, treasure baskets, messy play and physical equipment.

Raindrop Room

The Raindrop room has a capacity of 18 children aged from 16 months. The children develop to their individual needs and are moved into the Snowflake room when they are ready. We do not put an age on their transition as each child develops at their own pace.

The staff provide a variety of activities including messy play, water & sand play and music an movement offered both indoors and outdoors. All activities provided are organised to get the best from each child’s individual needs and development. There is also time for sleep and rest.

Snowflake Room

The Snowflake room caters for 16 children up to the age of 3. Our children learn about themselves through their play and the relationship they have with others, they learn cooperating and sharing which are important social skills, whilst finding a balance between independence and understanding.

Adults will help children to develop a positive self-concept with encouragement and praise whilst the room and activities are aimed at learning through doing, the children will access areas of make believe, construction, creative, story books, music and physical both indoor and outside whilst adults interaction and questioning will encourage language and number skills encouraging the children’s thoughts and ideas to become more complex, to be more confident by compounding language and developing listening and sound recognition skills. In this room the adults understand that the children still need comfort a place of safety and time to relax for their wellbeing and those warm and caring relationships are the foundation of learning.

Rainbow Room

We have a 24 place pre-school room that encourages children to learn through the aid of adults who are dedicated to working towards the Early Years Foundation Stage and its learning outcomes. The environment has been created to encourage independence and a positive self-concept whilst learning to understand their place and belonging in the wider world.

Our focus is to learn through play, experimentation and exploration in the areas of numeracy, literacy, music and movement, fantasy, science, creativity and physical understanding, our adults encourage the children to understand the value of respect for both themselves and others to celebrate cultural diversity and understand the importance of social rules and the significance of self control when discovering their own feelings and behaviours.

We understand the complexity of learning and the effort our children undergo each day so quiet times and areas are provided to allow our children to relax and connect with their special adult.

Outdoor Play

Outdoor play is of utmost importance here at The Mosaic Centre and is paramount to a child’s sense of community, their connection with the natural world and their physical and mental well being.

The large outdoor area has been carefully designed to allow children the freedom of play in their own age appropriate garden and to take managed risks such as climbing, rolling, digging, building and dangling whilst having an attentive adult nearby to support and encourage, this allows the children to try out and practice skills and developing a can-do orientation to learning.

Our mixture of natural and recycled equipment allows the children to use their own imagination during play, adults allow children to make decisions, find alternative strategies if things don’t go as planned and give them time to persevere with a task even when it is challenging and with this comes a sense of working collaboratively with peers and adults.

Our children learn about the awe and wonder of the elements and of the natural world through being engaged and involved in the cycle of life, they experience play during times of rain, snow and ice and through growing plants and vegetables. They learn the science and properties of organic materials, and also learn about being responsible, loving and caring for other living beings by looking after the nurseries many pets.

Here at the Mosaic Centre our ethos is to encompass all the areas of learning allowing our children to grow into a confident caring and knowledgeable individual.