Opening times
The nursery is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Sessions
- A full day session is from 8.30 to 5.30pm
- The morning session is from 8.30 to 1.30pm (including lunch)
- The afternoon session is from 1.30pm to 5.30pm
Arrival and collection
The earliest children can enter the nursery is 8.30am.
Please allow at least 10 minutes to collect your child before the nursery closes at 5.30pm. We are not insured to have children on the premises after this time or before 8.30am.
A late collection charge of £20 per quarter hour (or part of) will be applied after 5.30pm.
Unless you tell us in advance, your child will not be permitted to leave with anyone other than a parent or an adult who has been previously met by staff and approved.
Preparing for your child's first day
The following is a guide to starting your child at the nursery and can be flexible. Your child will be assigned a key person who will help you both with this process.
- Your child will be invited for an initial one hour induction where you will stay with your child and meet their key person.
- Your child will be invited for a subsequent one hour session where we encourage you to leave them if you feel ready. Other sessions will be booked at this stage if required, to ensure your child is ready to start. Often parents find this transition harder than the children do, so sessions are flexible to ensure you are both ready to start your journey with us.
Home visits
This is an optional service we offer to all new children during the settling in process. If you feel that a home visit would benefit your child, two members of the team will arrange to visit you and your child at home.
The benefits of a home visit are:
- you will have time to ask questions
- the staff will see your child in familiar comfortable surroundings and get a better understanding of them
- the staff will be able to see what sort of things your child likes to play with, in order to replicate this at the nursery
- your child will see our staff as trusted adults as you have invited us into their home
- your child will recognise the staff members as a familiar faces when they attend the nursery
Home visits take up to an hour. We’ve had feedback from parents that these have really helped with the settling in process.
Leaving your child for the first time
When the time comes to leave your child at the nursery, it's important to be honest with them and tell them when you are leaving. Please try and return at the right time – no child wants to be the last to leave, especially when they are new.
You can call us at any time to check your child has settled.
Leaving your child in the care of others is never easy – but the team at Westwood make it about as easy as it can be. It really feels like a little family. The way that so many of the children run to greet their caregivers in the morning speaks volumes. I’ve never met a member of staff who didn’t greet my daughter by name, they all even know the name of her favourite toy. It’s a fun, vibrant and diverse community that has been so enriching for my daughter. We noticed a huge difference in her language and social development after just a couple of months. The most important thing to me is that she is happy, which she clearly is! Kathryn
What your child will need
If your child is in nappies, you will need to provide nappies and wipes for the nursery team to use throughout the day.
If your child is here for the afternoon session, you will need to provide them with tea. Tea is served around 4pm each day and we ask that you provide a cold tea such as a sandwich and fruit. Staff can support with healthy meal options. For the baby room we have facilities to reheat food but this isn't an option as the children move through the nursery into the older age groups.
At your child's first hour session we will give you an induction pack which has a list of the other items you will need to bring.
Talking about your child's day
Learning doesn’t only happen at nursery – you can support your child's development by encouraging them to talk about their day. This can help children:
- reflect on what they’ve learned
- build their memory and language skills
- feel valued and understood