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Child Development & Early Education vocabulary · Nursery Practice and Routines

Nursery

Meaning in child development & early education, with examples

/ˈnɜːsəri/nounCore term

In child development & early education, nursery means: A place where children under school age are cared for and learn during the day, sometimes from a few months old; also a baby's bedroom at home.

In Turkish: kreş, anaokulu, gündüz bakımevi

How it is used

In the UK a day nursery offers full-day childcare from babyhood, while a nursery class or nursery school is usually for three- and four-year-olds. Americans more often say daycare or preschool. Staff are nursery practitioners or nursery nurses.

Example sentences

  1. She goes to nursery three days a week while her parents work.

  2. The nursery has a baby room, a toddler room and a preschool room.

Common collocations

  • day nursery
  • nursery class
  • nursery school
  • go to nursery
  • nursery practitioner
  • early yearsThe first years of a child's life, usually from birth to about five, and the services and profession that care for and educate children of this age.
  • key personThe member of nursery staff who has special responsibility for a small group of children, builds a close bond with each child and is the main contact for the family.
  • staff-to-child ratioThe number of adults required for a certain number of children in a group, usually set by law and stricter for babies than for older children.
  • drop-offThe time when a parent or carer brings a child to the nursery and leaves them with staff; the end-of-day equivalent is pick-up or collection.

More terms: Nursery Practice and Routines

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