Nursery World - Mixed-Age Groups

One benefit of coronavirus is that mixed-age groups have become a practical reality in some settings. By Annette Rawstrone

Red Hen Day Nursery in Lincolnshire has embraced the opportunity to mix ages

When children returned after lockdown to Red Hen Day Nursery in Legbourne, Lincolnshire, they moved into mixed-age bubbles, instead of being separated by age. This practical management solution has brought so many benefits for the children that staff have no plans to return to the old model of separate baby, toddler and pre-school groups.

‘We’ve always been proud of the family feel of the nursery and would come together for mealtimes and in the nature area, but it was not truly embedded in practice,’ says owner Jane Harrison. ‘Being closed during most of lockdown gave us the opportunity to rejig what we do, and we kept returning to the idea of mixing the age groups.’

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