It’s Island Time in the baby room at Brookhill Nursery School in Barnet, north London. Seven infants aged 12 to 14 months old are clambering into the centre of a circular mound of cushions with a blanket placed on top. ‘We created this safe space, which we call our “island of intimacy”, for babies to connect with educators during transition times,’ explains family support and outreach officer Sandie Jeetoo. ‘They love crawling into it and playing with the treasure baskets while having high-quality interactions with the practitioners.’
Brookhill Nursery School and Children’s Centre opened its nine-place baby room in 2019 after several members of staff became pregnant at the same time. ‘We wanted to retain our staff, while also offering parents a truly nurturing environment,’ says Kelly Brooker, executive head teacher of Barnet Early Years Alliance (BEYA), a federation of three Outstanding nursery schools: Brookhill, Hampden Way and St Margaret’s.
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