Meadow Lane Children’s Nursery in St Ives, Cambridgeshire will be on Channel 4’s ‘Escape to the Chateau Make Do and Mend’ this summer. Staff and children will be helped by the programme’s presenters Dick and Angel Strawbridge to build a ‘Bird Watch Hide’ at the Reggio Emilia inspired farm-based setting which won the Nursery World Enabling Environments Award 2020.
Lead educational co-ordinator Jenny Oldham said, ‘We feel privileged to be asked to go onto “Escape to the Chateau Make do and Mend” and are over the moon we are going to be working alongside Dick and Angel with ideas for the structure and design of our new little project here at Meadow Lane Children’s Nursery.
‘It will be a covered structure where the children can observe the birds quietly from a distance without movement.’
The programme normally features families but producers were drawn by the staff team’s confidence in using power tools and tackling DIY.
They were also impressed by the nursery’s love of the outdoors and its approach, including providing hands-on experiences on the farm, vegetable garden and atelier which supports the children to respect nature.
‘The environment is changing and being adapted all the time to support the interests of the children within the setting,’ added Ms Oldham.
‘The children are at the heart and centre of everything we do and are the reason we make and create resource for the environment by hand, to spark that imagination and curiosity day to day. With questions being more important than the answers, staff can co-learn alongside the children and let each child grow at their own pace.
‘We believe that the self-confidence gained through all those varied experiences and the skills and knowledge built naturally through self-directed play will allow children to become lifelong learners.’
The setting already has a custom-built dome which was inspired by Dick and Angel’s work and The Eden Project. It is used as an investigation centre for observing and investigating the children’s findings, using magnifying glasses and microscopes.
The Channel 4 programme featuring Meadow Lane Children's Nursery airs this summer
