Leechpool Caterpillar Nursery & After-School Club

We want your child to feel happy and safe with us. Staff will work with you to decide on how to help your child settle into nursery. We hold a “Welcome Morning” in September and January for our new intake where new children and their families can come along and meet each other and nursery staff in a relaxed manner.

Our sessions run Monday – Friday (term-time only) as follows:

Morning Sessions: 08:50am – 11:50am

Afternoon Sessions: 11:50am – 14:50pm

All-Day Sessions: 08:50am – 14:50pm

We offer a relaxed drop off time between 08:45am – 09:00am and collection time between 14:40pm – 14:50pm

Details can be found below. Please click on the title of each section to expand it.

Please send your child with clearly marked bag containing the following items:

• Labelled filled water bottle (no juice or squash please)
• Weather appropriate clothing – sun hats, raincoats, winter coats etc.
• Nappies, wipes and nappy bags (where appropiate)
• Change of clothing (all items clearly labelled)]
• Lunchbox for afternoon sessions. (See “Snacks & Meals” for details on ordering hot lunches.)

We organise our sessions so that the children can choose from a range of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task to its completion. The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in adult-led small and large group activities which introduce them to new experiences and help them to gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others.

Outdoor activities contribute to children’s health, their physical development, and their knowledge of the world around them. The children have the opportunity and are encouraged to take part in outdoor child-chosen and adult-led play, as well as those provided indoors.

Our nursery believes that care and education are equally important in the experience which we offer children. The routines and activities that make up the day in the nursery are provided in the ways that:

• Help each child to feel a valued member of the nursery.
• Ensure the safety of each child.
• Help children to gain from the social and emotional experience of being part of a group.
• Provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning.
• Provide opportunities for children to take risks in a safe environment.

We accept nursery educational funding for three- and four-year olds, two-year olds (where applicable) and 30-hour extending funding. Further information can be found here.

Where funding is not available, fees apply.

Our fees are £17.00 per three-hour session and are sent via email on the Monday before the end of the current half term. This payment will be requested in advance of sessions.

Payment will need to clear into Leechpool Caterpillar Nursery & After-School Club’s bank account within 20 working days. Payment due date is clearly visible on the invoice.

Accepted forms of payment are:

• Cash
• Bank Transfer
• Registered Voucher Scheme
• Tax-Free Childcare Vouchers

Late fees are subject to a £30 Late Payment Fee. Your child’s nursery place is at risk if you do not pay by the date stated on your invoice.

If your child is absent, you will still be charged for the session.

1 month’s written notice is required when removing your child from our care with fees still payable for this period.

If Leechpool Caterpillar Nursery is forced to close, sessions that have already been paid for will be fully refunded with an option of donating a percentage to Leechpool Caterpillar Nursery & After-School Club at the family’s discretion.

Please put your child’s name on all their possessions, including their polo shirts and sweatshirts, coat, lunchbox, bag, water bottle etc. We cannot be responsible for items that are not named.

The nursery makes snacks and meals a social time at which children and adults eat together. We provide a healthy snack to be eaten mid-morning along with milk and water. This could be fruit, vegetables, cheese, breadsticks, and cereals. We ask for a voluntary cash donation each half term towards this.

If children are attending all day or for an afternoon session, they will need a healthy lunch including no more that one “treat”. This can be in a lunch box sent in from home or a hot meal ordered through the nursery. The children will all sit together and eat their packed lunch or hot meal at midday with the staff.

Please note, we are a nut-free school so please don’t send any products that contain nuts (Nutella, peanut putter, chocolate spread, breakfast bars, any nut-based products etc.)

The key person is a named practitioner who has responsibilities for a small group of children. They are there to help each child feel safe and secure.

The role is important for both the child and their families.

The key person will respond to children’s needs and help them to settle into a new environment. The key person will keep a record of the child’s Learning Journey and update regularly; this is shared with parents and carers.

Communication is paramount between parents, carers and key person as these discussions hold key information about the child.

Your key person will be a point of contact with the nursery if you wish to discuss any aspects of the nursery or your child.

We assess how young children are learning and developing by observing them frequently and document their progress and where this may be leading them. We believe that parents know their children best and we ask them to contribute to assessment by sharing information about what their children like to do at home and how parents and carers are supporting development. We collect this information from you when you first start with us, and then termly plus more frequently with “WOW Moments” slips which are sent home for you to complete and return to us. 

We make periodic assessment summaries of children’s achievement based on our ongoing developmental records. These form part of the children’s achievement. We undertake these assessment summaries at regular intervals as well as times of transition. 

The nursery keeps a learning journal for each child. We digitally record observations and achievements using SeeSaw; information about this can be viewed at this link.

Staff and parents working together on the children’s learning journal is one of the ways in which the key person and parents work in partnership. Your child’s learning journal helps is to celebrate their achievements together and to work together to provide what your child needs for their well-being and to make progress.

Our nursery recognises parents as the first and most important educators of their children. All of the staff see themselves as partners with parents and families in providing care and education for their child. There are many ways in which parents and families take part in making the nursery a welcoming and stimulating place for children and parents, such as:  

• Exchanging knowledge about their children’s needs, activities, interests and progress with the staff;
• Sharing their own special interests, careers and cultures with all the children; 
• Being invited to Maths and Literacy sessions;  
• Taking part in events such as Celebration picnics, fayres and outings; 
• Building friendships with other parents in the nursery;  

Parents and families are always made to feel welcome and can speak with the staff at any time or make an appointment if necessary.

The nursery’s policies help us to make sure that the service provided by the nursery is a high quality one and that being part of the nursery is an enjoyable and beneficial experience for each child and their family.

You can view the nursery’s policies and procedures by following this link.

Our nursery has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected or actual ‘significant harm’.   

Our employment practices ensure children are protected against the likelihood of abuse in our nursery, and we have a procedure for managing complaints or allegations against a member of staff.  

Our way of working with children and their parents and carers helps to ensure we are aware of any problems that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when necessary, to help families in difficulty. 

Further information and support can be found on this link.

As part of the nursery’s policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each individual child, we take account of any additional needs a child may have. The nursery works to the requirements of the 1993 Education Act and The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice [2014].  

Our Special Educational Needs Coordinator will always be happy to liaise with staff, parents and outside agencies on behalf of the child to ensure they receive appropriate care and education to suit their individual needs. Our Local Offer is available to view here website or can be emailed to you. 

Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is Mrs John. 

At Leechpool Caterpillar Nursery we operate an equal opportunities policy, we believe that ALL individuals are of equal worth and should therefore be given every opportunity to fulfil their potential. We endeavour to foster attitudes and relations which promote an understanding and respect for others. 

We will not refuse a child who isn’t toilet trained. Please make sure that they have nappies or pull-ups in their bag along with wipes and nappy sacks, also a set of clean clothing. 

We will work with parents and carers to support toilet training when appropriate. 

Follow this link for additional advice around toilet training.

If your child is under the weather, please do not send them to nursery. If they require medicine to get through the day, they are generally not well enough to come into nursery.  

 Children should not be at nursery if:- 

• They have a temperature.  
• They have a heavy cold or persistent cough. 
• They have been sick or have had a tummy upset in the last 48 hours. 
• They have spots or a rash and have not been seen by a doctor. 

Please tell us about any accidents or incidents which may affect your child while they are in our care so that we can always provide the best care. E.g. Banging their head before a session etc. You may be asked to sign the accident or incident book. Any information given will remain confidential.  

Although we do our utmost to ensure that nursery is always a safe environment, accidents do happen. All of our staff are first aid trained and will administer the care needed to ensure your child receives the best care. We will communicate the details of any accidents to you, along with what care was given, and may ask you to sign the accident and incident book. If the accident or event is more serious, an ambulance will be called first, followed by a call to you. 

Please let the management team know if your child is taking prescribed medicine. If your child needs to take the medicine whilst at the nursery you will need to complete a Permission to Administer Medication Form in advance. 

Please let us know when home, mobile, work or emergency contact numbers change so that we are always able to contact you in the case of an emergency.   

We have a larger notice board at the front of our garden. Please read notices regularly.