The children at Rainbow are divided into 5 units. The division of children across these units varies from year to year in terms of age group boundaries.

Within each unit, there are two classes; and within each class, there are between 2 and 4 colour groups.

The children in each class are sub-divided into key groups, or as we call them Colour Groups.

The Red group is always the youngest in the unit, then the Blue, the Green is next, and the Yellow is always the oldest set of children in the unit.

You can think of the colour groups as smaller ‘nurture’ groups within the class or unit.

Each colour group has one or two staff that are specifically designated to these children. The key worker, develops a special bond with the children in his or her group, and are also responsible for tracking their development over the year. The Key worker, with support of the team leader, will plan for your child’s next steps, and ensure that the class plans have targeted adult-initiated activities to support your child’s development.

The key worker also leads on care and care routines for your child, so for example would plan with the team when your child is ready to come out of nappies and move towards being toilet independent. They will ensure that the rest of the team are fully aware and briefed on discussion s that have taken place with parents.

The key worker is of course not the only person your child will see or get to know, in fact it is likely they will spend equal amounts of time with all the practitioners in their room, and get to know everybody. The aim of the key worker is to support an ‘extra special’ care!

Whilst there are some things that the children will do in their key groups, they will also spend time with all the children in their unit, and sometimes, in the garden and on Fridays, get to know children from the other units also.

The colour group designations are displayed in each unit, and also sent out via the newsletter. If you have any queries, please refer to your team leader.

You can also download the Keyworker designations by clicking here