Frequently Asked Questions

Staff turnover: We believe that continuity of care is very important to your child. Seeing the same faces everyday fosters a sense of security and allows them to develop strong, healthy relationships with the people who care for them during their time at nursery. To this end, we have built in incentives to our employment contracts to encourage and reward longevity of service. We also maintain an ‘open door’ policy to funded further training to allow staff to develop their skills and their careers.

However, you will see staff changes during your time with us. The three main reasons for this are:

Firstly, we have a 6-12 month, rigorous probation period for new recruits which some do not come through due to the high standards we expect from our carers. Secondly, the majority of our staff are young women of child-bearing age. As such, we regularly have some staff away on maternity leave, whilst others give up paid work altogether to raise their family. Lastly, we sometimes lose staff to take up more senior roles at other nurseries. We understand that people want to develop their career and it is always our hope that they will carry the good practice they have learnt with us on to their new setting.

Carer/Children ratios: These are as follows – Under 2’s 1:3, age 2-3 1:4 and age 3+ 1:8 or QTS (qualified teacher status) 1:13. We always hire and rota to make sure your child is within these ratios. We also regularly have super-numerary carers on-site to assist at busier times of the day and to provide a buffer in case of staff absence. Please be aware though that the staff do not stand over your child all day waiting on them. They are also engaged in subsidiary activities related to the care of your child, such as preparing or tidying-up from an activity, nappy changing, setting or clearing-up from a meal, checking on sleepers etc.

Discipline: We consider discipline to be an important part of our care, especially as it helps the child develop self-discipline. We focus on achieving this by using “let’s do this instead…” rather than “don’t do that!” - positive reinforcement. In practice, this includes techniques such as diverting a child’s attention towards a more appropriate activity, explaining the effects of inappropriate behaviour to the child, praise for good behaviour etc. Our 'Behaviour Management' policy will give you more detail if you are interested, it is always available at the nursery – please ask.

Education: We have a section in this prospectus covering this in more depth (c.f. Curriculum) but to sum it up, our fundamental principle is to learn through play. We incorporate teaching elements into our games and activities, so the children acquire skills, knowledge and understanding whilst having fun. In our view, ‘peer pressure’ is the most effective and benign motivating factor for many children.

We do however discreetly monitor your child’s progress. To this end, your child’s keyworker will make observations about your child’s development and at our Parent/Carer evenings or, if you wish, at any appropriate time, will discuss with you their strengths and any concerns you or they may have.

Fees: Our first priority with fees is to keep them at an affordable level for the average person. We want inclusive childcare which makes it possible for people to work and not hand all of their salary over to their mortgage company and nursery. We have kept the fee structure simple (c.f. Rates) to minimise confusion. As our rates have a thin profit margin we do need to raise them with inflation on an annual basis to keep in line with our costs. These increases are for new children joining the nursery or joining a new age group. We will not raise your current fees.

There are several ways of making nursery care far more easily affordable:

-        Tax Credits: You maybe eligible to receive up to 80% of your fees from the Working Family Tax Credits system. Please see www.direct.gov.uk/workingtaxcredits.

-        Tax-Free Vouchers: You can pay £243/month for childcare tax free. Your employer can arrange for this either via a childcare voucher system or they, or yourself if you’re self employed, can simply deduct the amount pre-tax from your income. Please ask if you would like further details.

-        Nursery Education Grant: The first school term after your child is 3 they will receive a grant from the government (NEG). We pass this onto you at the end of that term or you can use it as part payment of your fees. When this grant is combined with our already reduced prices for 3+ children, it means that care for this age range is extremely affordable.

Payment for absence:  Your child’s fees are not dependent on their attendance. Please understand that when you register your child you are booking a place at the nursery, not paying ad hoc for care. Because we staff and stock according to our register, if you go on holiday for a period or your child is absent for any other reason, then the place is still charged at full cost. Please think of it like renting a flat. You pay rent even if you go on holiday or don’t live there. The landlord cannot get another tenant whilst you are away.

Complaints: We welcome constructive and reasonable observations and complaints. We are always looking at ways to improve our care and our service and the best way is via feedback from you, the parents. Our 'Complaints Procedure' is always available on the main notice board but, in summary, the Proprietors and the Manager are on-site much of the time and they are also always available by ‘phone, letter or email. Please do not hesitate to come to us if you are unhappy or concerned about any aspect of our care or service. Please remember, we are parents ourselves and our children attend the nursery. We want absolutely the best for all the children in our care and if you don’t point out a possible problem, we can’t fix it.