Sense of wonder at £200k nursery

Under the warm glow of LED lighting, children at a new £200,000 nursery will have their senses bombarded with the sights and sounds of the jungle, the ocean – or whatever else their hearts desire.
Decster Holmes, three, enjoys the new state-of-the-art sensory roomDecster Holmes, three, enjoys the new state-of-the-art sensory room
Decster Holmes, three, enjoys the new state-of-the-art sensory room

It is inside Unity Academy’s state-of-the-art multi-sensory room where the white walls are simply blank canvases for their imaginations to run wild.

As youngsters hunker down to read about The Gruffalo, images of the deep, dark woods can be projected around them while wireless speakers spill out the sounds of twigs breaking and owls hooting.

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Elsewhere in the North Shore school’s new £200,000 nursery, which was shown off to expectant mums and pram-pushing dads at an open day on Saturday, a dedicated wet room complete with blue jets of water and a host of funnels and spouts will both thrill youngsters and help them to learn about the world around them.

One of the rooms after the revampOne of the rooms after the revamp
One of the rooms after the revamp

A ‘nurture room’ has also been created for babies aged from just a few weeks old and includes soft ramps, tunnels, parapets, an array of puzzles, and mirrors.

The revamped nursery, officially opened on Saturday by Felicity Greeves, the boss of the academy’s sponsor, the Fylde Coast Academy Trust, aims to help youngsters prepare for life at big school and, ultimately, in the world of work.

Nursery manager Jenny Burgeen said: “Transitions are the biggest stages in a child’s life. You can stop them developmentally when their well-being drops.

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“If you have a positive transition it’s important for their well-being and if children are happy and comfortable, they will learn quicker and settle in quicker.”

Unity Academy showed off its new £200,000 nursery to the public, including a state-of-the-art multi-sensory room and wet play area.Unity Academy showed off its new £200,000 nursery to the public, including a state-of-the-art multi-sensory room and wet play area.
Unity Academy showed off its new £200,000 nursery to the public, including a state-of-the-art multi-sensory room and wet play area.

Unity’s principal, Chris Lickiss, said the primary and secondary school departments could learn from the nursery, which was rated outstanding by Ofsted last year.

He said: “It’s not a nursery stuck on a primary school, it’s completely integrated.”

Also at the open day, students put on an array of demonstrations as they showed off the Warbreck Hill Road school’s dance studio, refurbished gym, shared canteen, and sports hall.

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Free food and ice cream was given out, characters from hit Disney flick Frozen painted faces, youngsters leapt on two bouncy castles and braved a vertical climbing wall, and felt their way around a fire engine.

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