STAFF at Corwen Day Nursery say they have many plans in place to improve facilities in 2021.

After surviving a challenging year during 2020, the nursery now plans to improve the building and the surrounding area.

Projects for Corwen Day Nursery include; new flooring and new furniture in both the pre-school rooms, an all-weather canopy for the main outdoor area and a complete refurbishment for all bathrooms.

Staff hope these improvements will have a positive impact on the children’s wellbeing and provide a rich environment for their play and learning.

Carmen Roberts Davenport, Owner of Corwen Day Nursery told us: “We are very proud of the environment within our nursery and it is very important to us.

"The way our rooms and outdoor areas are set up has a positive impact on the children’s play, learning and wellbeing. Our nursery has a home from home environment and is very warm and cosy.

"We received a silent rating of excellent in our last CIW inspection for our environment and it is an area that I am extremely passionate about.”

The preschool room is the largest area downstairs at the nursery and was approved by Denbighshire County Council to deliver 10 hours of education to three-year old’s following the nursery receiving a green score in their Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) assessment from the Council. This means that parents of three-year old’s could receive up to 30 hours of funded childcare per week.

“We decided that the preschool room needed a more calming environment, as is the case in the baby room and the toddler room,” continued Carmen.

“So, we have ordered Karndean flooring with a very plain pattern in a neutral colour for the main room and conservatory to replace the existing, busy, herringboned patterned cushion floor. We have also purchased new neutral wooden tables and chairs from Community Playthings which will replace the bright coloured ones that are currently in use.”

“We are hoping that the new flooring and furniture will bring a sense of calm to the room and the bigger tables will give more space at lunch time which will make self-serving easier,” she said.

The nursery was successful in their application to Denbighshire County Council for the COVID-19 grant and has been awarded some funds for an all-weather canopy to enhance their outdoor area.

The canopy is to be fitted next to the conservatory and seats will be placed there so that children have a dry, comfortable area to change into their wellies independently. Some mealtimes are taken outside, and this canopy would allow the children to enjoy more of their meals outside in the dry.

Nia Lloyd Jones, Manager at Corwen Day Nursery said: “This canopy will be such an asset to our outdoor area and will allow the team to set up activities and tasks in the morning without worrying about the elements. It will also provide shelter for the children when it is raining and shade in the summer months and allow us to spend even more time outside than what we currently do which is more important than ever due to the pandemic.”

The nursery’s bathrooms are also having a complete refurbishment which has been partly funded by Denbighshire County council following the nursery being successful in their Childcare Offer Capital Grant Small Grant Scheme application.