Little Explorers at Derby College Take Root

Derby, United Kingdom, December 02, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Work has started on Derby College’s new day nursery, after school and holiday club at the Broomfield Hall campus.

Little Explorers will be a 54 place nursery, catering for children aged three months to five years and then older children after school and during the holidays. It is due to open in February 2011 – replacing the existing Little Learners nursery at the College’s Mackworth site.

The College nursery will be based in a new purpose-built £400,000 building in the heart of the Broomfield Hall land-based campus which is easily accessible for staff and students based at the other College sites in Derby city, Ilkeston and Heanor and also for local families.

Little Explorers will be based on the outdoor nursery model, developed in Scandinavia, where most of the day is spent outside – exploring the natural environment and will be the first in the area to have Forest School status.

Head of Broomfield Hall Louise Curd explained: “We are very excited about the new Little Explorers nursery at Broomfield Hall which will provide the children with wonderful purpose-built facilities in a countryside setting to that they can enjoy their surroundings and gain a real appreciation of environmental issues as part of the pre-school curriculum.

“The concept for Little Explorers will be to use the outdoors as a classroom. It is important to emphasis that the outdoors is enjoyable, good for children and to teach them how to enjoy it.

"The Forest Schools work further builds on our eco- schools status for which we already have the silver status.

"We are also working towards the top award, the Green Flag. and have proved that we are running the nursery in an environmentally-friendly way."

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