_630_465_int_s_c1.png "Munchkins Nursery – “It’s like a second family”")
From a focus on pedagogy and the needs of parents to exceptional CPD, manager Katie Gallagher explains what makes the outstanding Munchkins Nursery tick…
I know that many, if not most, nurseries pride themselves on a “family feel”. But for me and my staff, not to mention the children we look after, Munchkins Nursery really is like a second family.
Perhaps a lot of that comes from the fact that Munchkins Nursery as a business was actually set up by two sisters – Jo Callaghan and Liz Makin.
They have seven children between them, not to mention decades of experience as an early years practitioner and a primary school Reception teacher respectively.
They were able to feed their deep understanding of both parental priorities and pedagogical strategies into the design and development of each of the six Munchkins Nursery settings they own today.
There are now settings nestled by the woods in Wivenhoe, near the seashore at Brightlingsea and at the heart of the Dunton Fields estate in Laindon. This is the nursery it’s my privilege to manage.
I love the fact that our setting was built from scratch with the explicit purpose of supporting early childhood education. This means everything is laid out exactly as you’d want it to be.
As you sign in from the door, you walk into our reception area, with the office directly opposite. Every entry and exit of the nursery is secure, of course. There is CCTV throughout the inside and outside of the setting.
Once you are all signed in, there are two more doors, locked with a keypad. These lead into a wide hallway, with every room clearly labelled: “The Nest”, “The Burrows” and “The Den”.
Like all the Munchkins Nurseries, we follow a forest school learning approach. Because every room has direct access to the outdoor areas, we are able to have full free flow at all times.
Each Munchkins Nursery setting has a different personality, depending on its management team as well as the demographic it serves.
At Dunton Park, we are based in a very residential area. This means being a part of the community is very important to us.
We understand the challenges of working with a young family. We’re here to support parents and carers as much as their children through important transition. This includes starting nursery, moving rooms and preparing for school.
From that very first inquiry to the moment we open our doors for the showaround visit, we are building a relationship.
We pride ourselves on transparent communication. We have a genuine interest in our Munchkins’ lives. The team also wants to get to know every family as a unit.
Our website has a parent portal. This is an exclusive area where they have access to over 50 business discounts and offers. Plus there’s lots of free guides, tips and tricks and information.
On top of this, we work to make sure our families feel comfortable calling up whenever they have a question or if they just want to check in.
We follow our own curriculum, with the needs of our children at the heart of everything we do. For example, we use ITMP, which is short for “In the Moment Planning”.
This means we follow what the children’s interests are, extend them, offer teachable moments and extend further. We continue until our Munchkins are interested in something else or, as we say, “find a new spark”.
In our forest school context, this might look like mud painting, firepit snacks or perhaps even branch whittling, using real, age-appropriate tools.
Led by their own interests, the children are able to take calculated risks in a completely safe and supervised environment.
To ensure our Munchkins with additional needs thrive alongside their peers, we have Layla, our wonderful area SENDCo. She is there to support each setting’s own SENDCo.
As a SEND parent herself who has worked in the sector for many years, Layla has boundless personal and professional experience.
She uses this to make sure that children who need enhanced support are actively receiving it in a way that best suits the little one in question.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, when our nurseries closed for three months, all Munchkins Nursery staff used the time to qualify in Makaton. We began implementing it across all our settings as soon as our doors opened again.
We expected a surge in speech and language delays and wanted to be ready to support children and their families through this as best we could.
Makaton doesn’t replace language. It enhances vocabulary and tunes in to different learning styles by creating that visual element, which most children benefit from.
For some youngsters, it is their sole or main form of communication. But by ensuring we use it daily across all our settings, we ensure that there are no communication barriers for anyone.
Children who mainly use Makaton are not limited or restricted in terms of whom they can sign with, because we all understand.
In this way, the introduction of Makaton has supported us in creating an environment full of equal opportunities.
Munchkins Nursery is a wonderful company to work for as an early years professional. The senior management team all care deeply about everyone’s interests and goals. They’re always ready to support individual staff members as well as the teams in each setting.
The CPD on offer is exceptional. Linsie, our director, and Libby, our operations manager, have designed a programme of induction training which covers:
The training incorporates the full range of learning styles, to make sure it’s accessible for everyone. And the support doesn’t stop there – the door to the SLT is always open. Everyone makes full use of that.
All of the Munchkins Nursery settings are special, but I must admit to being particularly proud of Dunton Park.
Towards the end of November 2024, Ofsted inspected us for the first time. It graded us Outstanding in all areas – a massive achievement for the whole team.
I was so pleased to see everyone’s hard work and dedication recognised, and to give the Munchkins family something else to celebrate!
