Jimbo's Community Nursery

Leeds Mencap runs Jimbo’s Community Nursery, a purpose-built nursery in LS9, offering high quality care and early years education, an after-school club and holiday childcare.

About Us

Jimbo’s Community Nursery is unique in Leeds, as the mainstream nursery includes a specialist playroom for children with a range of learning disabilities/additional needs. The nursery is bright, airy and well-resourced throughout including access to soft play and sensory rooms.

We believe that children learn best when they feel safe, happy and stimulated. Our aim is to help all children to develop a wide range of skills through play. We follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which sets the standard for the learning, development and care of young children – from birth to five years. The EYFS helps us to explore seven important learning areas with your child, whilst taking in to account their individual abilities, interests and needs. We recognise that each child will learn in different ways and develop at their own unique pace.

We want all our children to start their early years with the best inclusive learning and development experience, which also gives them the specialist support they may need to get the best start possible to move into the next stage of their education.

Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) provides early years advice and support to any of our families whose child/ren have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND). Children with SEND have a ‘base’ place in either the specialist playroom or the mainstream nursery. They will spend most of their time in their ‘base’ but will also spend time in other rooms in the nursery to take part in particular activities, be with other children the same age, which helps with transitions to other nurseries, primary schools or specialist schools and provisions (SILCS).

Mealtimes

Mealtimes at Jimbo’s are very important. We are committed to providing well-balanced and nutritious meals and snacks. We make mealtimes enjoyable and encourage children to learn how to be sociable, well-mannered and independent. Our nursery cook prepares fresh and healthy meals and snacks every day, on site at Jimbo’s. Our three weekly rotating menus have been carefully planned, so that your child will enjoy our tasty home cooking for both lunch and tea.

Our menu sometimes changes, as we receive a weekly food delivery from FareShare on a Monday and making changes to our menu cuts down on food waste and costs. If there is anything nursery cannot use from the FareShare delivery, we put this out for our families to take home and use.

We can cater to any specific dietary requirements that your child may have, please feel free to discuss this with us at any time. Parents must let us know if there are any changes to their child’s dietary requirements or their child has developed an allergy. To promote good oral hygiene, we only offer children water or milk to drink throughout the day. Children that attend also take part in the NHS toothbrushing scheme.

Download our nursery menu (PDF)

Outdoor Play, Appropriate Clothing and Suncream

The children access outdoor play all year round at nursery, therefore, provided it is safe to do so, we play outside in most weather conditions. Please make sure that your child is appropriately dressed for nursery, for example, when the weather is cold, please make sure that they have a warm coat, hat and gloves. When the weather is warmer. please remember to send your child to nursery with a sun hat. During the summer months, parents must apply sun cream to their child before they leave them at nursery. If your child is here for a full day, you will also need to provide additional sun cream to be used at regular intervals during the day.
Illness, Infections and Medications

All children must not attend if they are ill or infectious and parents must let us know if there are any changes to their child’s health. Parents should inform us if their child is unwell or suffering from a contagious illness. Parents must abide by the strict policy and procedures for infection control (as we follow Public Health England’s guidance).

Parent must also follow any procedures and guidance relating to administration of medication and complete any relevant paperwork as requested. Prescription medication prescribed by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist will only be administered to the named child and must be in the original container with the child’s name and prescription details of administration. For instance, we will only administer medicine in line with the instructions e.g., dose, frequency, duration and expiry date on the bottle. Children who have been prescribed antibiotics must have had it in their system for at least two days (48 hours) before returning to the nursery. Children must have been given a medicine before we administer, as we will not administer a new medicine for the first ever time. This is to minimise the risk of an allergic reaction while at nursery.

Pushchairs and Bikes

We have very limited space in the nursery corridor, therefore, only young children under the age of two years and children with additional needs should be bringing and leaving their pushchairs at nursery. If parents leave pushchairs and children’s bikes outside the nursery entrance or in the pram store, they do so at their own risk and we accept no liability for loss or damage.
Messy and Creative Play

While at nursery, the children take part in lots of sensory, messy and creative play. Please send your child to nursery in clothes that you are okay with getting dirty and covered in paint etc.
Nappies, Wipes and Spare Clothes

If you child wears nappies, you will need to provide nappies and wipes for them while they are at nursery. Please bring your child with a bag (not a carrier bag) and spare clothes, so that we can change them if they have an accident.