Exceptional Childcare in Oundle
Welcome to Small Wonders Day Nursery
We are renowned for delivering consistently high quality childcare. What makes us truly unique are our team members. We have many team members who have worked with us for many years. We invest in our team heavily with formal training and training that links to our children’s interests and needs at that time.
We take time to get to know you and your children. This means that we can tailor everything and really give your child a unique experience where they will make friends, develop their imagination, learn through play and be truly ready for their next adventure into school.
We use a system called In The Moment Planning and our team must be tuned into the children’s interest and adapt the environment and resources to support their current interest. Learning is all done through play. In our experience this is the absolutely best way to engage children and to develop their interest in learning.
In addition to this we believe that care is the basis of everything that we do. Respect is a large part of our learning process. Our team will always listen, always apologise to children if in fact the child is right, this frequently happens when it comes to Dinosaur knowledge and always ensure that each child has their coat done up and nose wiped.
We understand how difficult it is to leave your child in our care for the first time. We will work with you and your child to ensure that your settling in experience is specific to you. If you do need additional sessions to settle in we are more than happy to do this for you. If you do want to contact us regularly throughout the day to check on your child we are more than happy for you to do this.

Home From Home Environment
If you’re planning ahead and thinking about childcare for the first time or maybe you’re thinking about changing day nursery in Northamptonshire, we know it’s one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. You will be looking for a day nursery that’s safe and clean, that’s bright and inspiring and with a family-feel.
At Small Wonders Day Nursery in Northamptonshire, we pride ourselves on delivering excellent quality childcare and education to each child in our care alongside a "home from home’’ environment where children are encouraged to engage in new experiences and opportunities to learn through play.
Our Nursery in Northamptonshire is an inclusive setting, and we have a fully qualified Special Education Needs Lead. We can work with local authorities and other charities to arrange for training and support for children in our care who have specific needs.
All of our team members are First Aid trained including the Chef. Our staff repeat their Safeguarding training annually although the requirement is every three years to ensure your child is receiving the best childcare.



What You Can Expect
Caring And Nurturing Staff
Our main focus is our children and therefore, we have measures in place to ensure your child is getting the care they need. If your child has had medication prior to coming into nursery can you please notify the Room Leader. All medications are stored in a locked medical cabinet or where required a designated fridge.
Ofsted 'Good' Rating Across All Our Nurseries
The First For Childcare nursery group has an 'Good' Ofsted rating. We are constantly developing our methods and ensuring our quality and standards stay high.
Ideal Environment For Your Child To Grow
Our children LOVE getting messy. We do lots of creative activities that the
children really look forward to and fully engage in. We provide an engaging environment to enable us to produce intuitive and developing children. We very much see ourselves as a resource, constantly updating the environment and offering new and interesting opportunities to learn.
Safeguarding Measures
We ensure your child is kept safe at all times from any dangers. Our entrances are secure and we do ask that you do not allow any other visitors into the nursery. We have measures in place for the safety of your children whilst in our care.
Children Develop Into Fabulous Individuals
Everything that we do in our day nurseries is based around the children. Each child in the Nurseries has a designated Key Person and they will be responsible for ensuring that your child is happy, and engaged. Also, we celebrate every child’s achievement and successes equally. We display all children’s creations and recognise that they are unique.
Delicious Meals To Encourage
Healthy Eating Habits
We cater for all special dietary requirements and all our food is prepared on the premises. Our aim is always to create interesting and nutritious meals for children of all ages on a daily basis.
Hi, my name is Helen Selby and I am the Nursery Manager at Small Wonders Nursery. I have worked for the First For Childcare for seven years and at two of the Nurseries owned by the Group. I have worked in Childcare for over 20 years both in the UK and overseas. I have two children of my own as well.
I have an amazing team who are all working towards the same goal which is to make sure that every child feels valued, safe and confident. We work hard to understand each individual child and their current interests and likes. This means that we can develop an environment that supports all children and at their current develop milestone. We praise all achievements equally.
Our parents are an enormous part of our Nursery Community. We value all input and we are always available to talk to parents. Our online journal system, Tapestry, really supports this interaction between our parents and our team.
We focus on open ended play with a big emphasis on supporting children into developing and using their imaginations and encourage, always, learning through play. Whether this is a fairy garden in the rooms or a Gruffalo stomp it is so lovely to see children really bring these things to life by using their imaginations.
Finally, we like to have lots of fun, sing, (mainly out of tune), dance, create and play.
Helen Selby
Manager
Key Contacts
Nursery Manager – Helen Selby
Deputy Manager – Nicole Hadley
Early Years Teachers – Isabel Kivlin and Laura Shumba
Operations Manager – Nicole Hadley
