Question 1

Do I need to make an appointment to look around?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we require a booking for a nursery tour with a member of staff to accompany you, (usually the Manager or Deputy). We welcome visitors both existing and prospective parents. We avoid tours during drop-off and collection times, and during the lunch preparations between 12:00 and 14:00. Please visit our contact page for our link to enquiries and booking visits.

Question 2

How do I register my child for a place at the Nursery?

Accepted Answer

Please make an enquiry or book a tour via the links on our Contact Us page. You will need to complete, and return the Enrolment Form Form along with the £100.00 registration fee.

Question 3

Do you have a settling in period?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we have a comprehensive settling in process to ensure your child is fully relaxed and happy in their new environment. Our nursery registration fee entitles you to a program of 2 free settle visits.  We schedule these in around the week before your child starts. The first one is for just one parent to stay for an hour and help us accustom your child to their new environment with a familiar adult. This will also be an opportunity to get to know their new Key Person and go through any questions together. The second one is where your child will stay on their own for a couple of hours. This is when you can go for a coffee or quick bit of shopping, whist they get to know their new Key Person. If your child requires more settles than this, we will work with you to ensure your child is fully settled before their start date.  We can even arrange a home visit if required.
You can of course chose after these initial sessions to start on shorter days, but it is important to get your child used to you leaving as soon as possible, in order for them to settle quicker and easier.  There will be separation anxiety for both the parent and the child, but delaying leaving your child will delay how long this  period will last.

Question 4

What qualifications do your nursery staff hold?

Accepted Answer

Our staff hold various childcare qualifications such as Level 5 Leadership for Children and Young Persons Workforce, Level 3 Childcare and Education, Level 5 Childcare and Education, Level 2 or 3 in Children’s Learning & Development and in Playwork, BTEC in Nursery Nursing, First Aid, Child Protection, Designated Safeguarding, Equal Opportunities, Additional Educational Needs, Management training, Early Years Education degrees and graduate level Early Years Teacher qualifications. All staff have to carry out a DBS check and these are regularly checked and updated.

Question 5

What are the ratios of adults to children?

Accepted Answer

The current Ofsted recommended ratio in the baby room (under 2’s) is 1:3, and the toddler room (2-3 years) 1:5. The pre-school room is 1:8 or 1:13 with an Early Years Teacher. However, we often operate with a higher ratio of adults to children, which enables us to maintain our reputation of providing high-quality early years provision.

Question 6

What am I required to provide the nursery whilst my child is with you?

Accepted Answer

Formula milk (if required), a labelled daily water beaker, named spare clothes, a named sun or winter hat, labelled (age appropriate), named slippers or a pair of indoor shoes, toothpaste and toothbrush in a labelled bag and any other suitable clothing that may be required.

Question 7

How do you cater for children with allergies?

Accepted Answer

All of our meals are cooked fresh onsite by Denise, who holds a level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene for Catering and has intensive Food Allergy Awareness Training. To further insure that food items are not cross contaminated, food from home is forbidden as we follow a strict food policy, that also includes any edible items used in messy play.

Children with a specific allergy will require a doctors note confirming their allergy, along with any recommended medical advice or supportive documentation, this is then used to form a Health Care Plan. Our children’s Health Care Plans are shared with all carers caring for the child and our nursery chef (if it is a dietary requirement). The Health Care Plans are updated every 3 months to ensure they are still relevant and hold the correct details.

Children with dietary requirements will be provided with a red place-mat (with the child's photograph) at meal times, detailing their allergies as a visual reminder to all staff members.

Question 8

What is your bottle procedure?

Accepted Answer

Due to the high health & safety risk of bottle making for both the staff and children we do not prepare bottled feeds on site and require all parents/carers to bring in readymade bottle feeds. The nursery follows the “Food Standards Agency” Department for Health guidelines with regards to storing readymade bottles within the setting. Parents will be required to make their feeds up in advance for the nursery. The “Food Standards Agency” guidance recommends that all feeds are prepared on the same day that the child attends their setting (not the night before) to minimise any risk.

The NHS guidelines state that you do not store the feed for more than 24 hours; therefore, all bottles brought into nursery will be discarded at the end of each day. It is the parent/carers’ responsibility to ensure that feeds are prepared fresh on the day or at the earliest after 6.00pm the evening prior to nursery attendance, keeping within the correct safe time frames. On arrival to nursery please make staff aware that there are bottles in the child’s bag so that these can immediately be placed in the refrigerators. The staff member will put labels on all bottles for identification before storing them.

Question 9

What is the early years curriculum that nurseries use?

Accepted Answer

England – Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS):
All nurseries registered with Ofsted must follow the EYFS. The EYFS covers children from 0-5 years and children complete the EYFS at the end of their reception year at school. The EYFS is a play-based curriculum as research tells us that this is the best way for children to learn. Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated activity.

Question 10

How do I raise a concern that I might have about the Nursery?

Accepted Answer

We aim to provide a safe, secure, and happy environment for children to prosper and develop. It is also our intention to give a high standard of care and nursery education in both our nurseries. We accept that despite our best endeavours, there may be occasions when you feel we have been less than perfect, and we will always adopt a sympathetic but fair approach in dealing with your concerns.

Should you have any concerns regarding the care or any other aspect of the nursery, please in the first instance raise them with the nursery manager. If you feel that the nursery manager has not fully addressed your queries and/or concerns, then please e-mail edwardbears@happydaysnurseries.com (mailto:edwardbears@happydaysnurseries.com)or call a member of our management team on 01285 654000.

We do also like to hear when you are really happy so please tell us all the positives too!

Question 11

What is a Key Person and what is their role?

Accepted Answer

Each child must be assigned a key person. Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs, to help the child become familiar with the setting.

Question 12

Do you have a healthy menu?

Accepted Answer

All meals are freshly prepared by a full-time and qualified chef. We cater for all allergies, dietary requirements, vegetarians, vegan’s and cultural preferences. More information can be found on our meals page.

We have received 5 stars at EVERY inspection for Food Safety and Hygiene

See Menu file attached

Question 13

Is the nursery open all year?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we operate 51-weeks a year, only closing on public bank holidays, two staff training days a year and for one week at Christmas.

Question 14

Can I swap the days that my child / children attend Edward Bears?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, this is not possible. We need to plan staffing needs according to children’s booking patterns and hence need to know in advance how many children will be attending each day. It is also not fair to parents who have paid for a flexi sessions to attend on a different day.

Question 15

Can I book extra sessions?

Accepted Answer

Extra sessions can be booked with the Nursery Manager, up to 4-weeks in advance. We will always try and accommodate extra session requests, but this will of course depend on how many children are already booked in for the required day. Payment for extra sessions is required in advance. They are slightly more expensive than regular sessions, as we may need to use agency staff to cover the unplanned sessions and they are available on a flexible basis. Flexis can be transferred with 48 hours’ notice but are not refundable once booked.

Question 16

Can I change my booking pattern after my child has started attending the nursery?

Accepted Answer

Booking pattern changes can be made with the Nursery Manager. We will always try and accommodate such requests, but this will of course depend on availability. This may impact your monthly fees. Any reduction to sessions requires the same notice periods as termination of a place. Please see the Nursey's full Terms & Conditions for notice periods.

Question 17

Do you open for Bank Holidays and holidays?

Accepted Answer

Our nurseries are open 51 weeks a year, during which time full fees are payable. On Bank Holidays and over the Christmas period we are closed. We also close for our two staff Training Days. Fees are still payable during closures as we charge on a 51-week basis to compensate for closures.

Question 18

What is the nursery's notice period?

Accepted Answer

Please read our full nursery Terms & Conditions for all notice periods, as these differ for funded and non-funded children.

Question 19

What are your Infection Control Exclusion Periods?

Accepted Answer

When children attend a nursery they are surrounded by new germs, which takes time for the children to get used to. They may be ill more frequently as they settle into nursery life, but what this is actually doing, in most cases of common childhood illnesses, is strengthening your child's immune system to help fight off future, possibly more serious germs and infections.

Of course there are some illnesses and infections that we have specific exclusion periods for, as we need to protect all of the children from battering their immune systems and some childhood diseases that may affect others, such as pregnant mothers. This means that we follow the Government requirements for certain infectious diseases to protect everyone that comes to or works at the setting.

Below is our Edward Bears' Infection Control and Exclusion Periods and also the Government Poster with exclusion periods for Schools and Nurseries.

Please see attached, "Guidance on infection control in schools and other childcare settings"

Question 20

My spouse and I have separated, I do not want them picking up my child, what can I do?

Accepted Answer

This is a very upsetting time for all involved and we will work with you to offer support, with our main focus on supporting the emotional well-being of your child. If your spouse has ‘parental responsibility’ then we cannot legally stop a parent from collecting/picking up their child, nor can we be prevented from sharing information about the child, such as development progress records with the other parent.

We would need a court injunction before we could stop a spouse with parental responsibility from any of the above.

If your spouse does not have parental responsibility then you can instruct us according to your wishes.

About Us

Key Facts

Registration Fee

Nursery Fees

Nursery Sessions

Notice Periods