FAQs

Why should I choose Little Peanuts for my child?

Little Peanuts is a safe, nurturing and exciting environment. We treat every child as an individual and value everyone who walks through our doors. We strive for the best in our staff, children and families, and always put our children first. We provide a rich and stimulating environment, that invites children to broaden their imagination and tune into their own curiosity, awe and wonder. They are able to access provisions that reflect the home and make them feel comfortable and safe. We have an amazing, large outdoor area and forest school, which will help to develop social skills, as well as build your child’s confidence and self-esteem. We have a team of qualified staff, who are eager to learn and continuously improve their professional development. We strongly believe that the early years of a child’s life are the most important, and that’s why we make sure that we make these first few years of their lives fun, educational but more importantly - happy!

I am worried about leaving my child. What if they are upset?

We provide settling in sessions to ensure that your child is comfortable, happy and feels safe and secure whilst at our setting. These sessions vary in times, length and frequency, depending on how your child adjusts. Settling in sessions are an opportunity for you, and your child, to really get to know their key person, the staff, and the other children within the setting. We will encourage lots of fun activities, considering your child’s personal interests and preferences, to ensure that they feel right at home here at Little Peanuts.

Our staff will never let your child be upset for too long, we will always do our best to comfort and settle them, but we are also more than happy to contact you with updates if you wish. We also encourage you to contact us if, and when, you would like that little bit of reassurance that your child is ok!

What is a key person?

A key person is a member of staff who will work closely with your child and form a relationship that will aid in settling your child into nursery life. Although they will not be the sole carer for your child, they will be the person your child will feel safest with and will most likely want to spend most of their time with! They key person will track your child’s development and will be there for you as well as your child. A key person will be assigned at the first settling in session, but your child may wish to change this! The decision is based on the relationships built through spending time with one another.

What is the average day like at Little Peanuts?

Our children will arrive in the morning, to rooms set up with lots of interesting and fun things, inviting them to come and play. Staff will encourage learning, through the children’s choice of activity and interests. A healthy snack will be offered throughout most of the morning, and water is readily available for every child. Lunch time will begin at around 12:00pm, and will consist of lovely, nutritional food. (Our kitchen manager takes extra care when catering for children with allergies!) Then after lunch children can either carry on having fun or choose to take a nap in our cosy sleep areas. Afternoons at Little Peanuts are just as exciting as the mornings! We offer snack in the late afternoon, with more activities taking place throughout. We encourage lots and LOTS of outdoor play, and Forest Schools will take place at least once a week. Dinner time is at 4:30pm, where we offer a light meal option, before the end of the day at 6pm.

What if I am unable to pick up my child on time, or I am late when dropping them off?

Whilst we understand that there are sometimes circumstances that arise that mean you will not be able to collect your child on time, this is something that we do not encourage, therefore we have a late collection charge of £10 per 15 minutes, which gets added on to your monthly bill. We ask that you can inform us as soon as possible, so that we can make arrangements for members of staff to stay behind. We do offer a late session, until 6:30pm if you wish, but this must be booked in advance, and is subject to availability.

If you wish to drop your child off later than usual, we ask is that you give us a quick call to let us know what time to expect them, and so that we are not worried about your welfare. You are still required to pay for the full session. The same rules apply when collecting your child early.

What happens if my child has an accident whilst at nursery?

We do our upmost to prevent any child from having an accident whilst at nursery, but unfortunately, they do sometimes happen. In the event of a child having an accident, we always have a qualified paediatric first aider on site and plenty of well stocked first aid kits. The accident will be dealt with accordingly, ensuring that your child is comforted and calm, and the report will be documented on the Famly app, which will get sent directly to you. If you ever have any questions or concerns regarding an accident report, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us directly.

What if I am unable to collect my child? Can I send someone else?

During the settling in sessions when filling out paperwork, you will be asked to provide details of anyone else who will have permission to collect/drop off your child. We ask that you inform a member of staff beforehand, where possible, when someone else will be collecting your child. If the named individual is not listed on your enrolment forms, then we will require a password, and some photo ID to clarify. If we have not been previously informed of the change in circumstance, then we will need to call you to verify.

Is my child allowed to bring in toys from home?

Although we understand that children love bringing in their prized possessions from home, and enjoy showing their friends their new toys, we must discourage it during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, we ask that you only bring in comforters that your child may need while sleeping, and if possible, that it is kept here at nursery to avoid any cross-contamination. If this is not possible, then we ask that you leave it in their bag upon entering nursery, for staff to only get it out for sleep times, or if absolutely necessary.

Is my child allowed to bring food to nursery?

Food is not permitted to be brought onto the nursery premises, this is to ensure the safety of those with allergies and intolerances. Meals are cooked freshly on site and are included in the daily rates.

What sort of meals will you be providing for my child?

Here at Little Peanuts, we provide only healthy and nutritious meals and snacks. An example of our menu is available in the parent handbook. It is made following guidelines from the ‘Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings’, and all meals are made fresh on-site by our qualified chef. Any allergies or intolerances your child may have, will be documented and all staff made aware, and the chef will ensure that extra care is taken over the preparation of the meals, to avoid any cross-contamination.

I am worried about my child moving to the next room/going to school. What is the process for this?

Children will only be moved into the next room when they are ready. This may be through physical development, or emotional development. The process works the same as the settling in visits when they first start nursery- their key person will take them to their new room and stay with them for a while. These visits will be as frequent as they need to be. Some children may take one visit, some may take five, but that is ok, we want to ensure that they are happy, comfortable and secure in their new surroundings. Staff will communicate with you throughout the process, and let you know how their visits went. An introduction to the new staff members will be done at your convenience, and any information that needs to be passed on, will be passed on prior to the child starting in the new room.

When your child is ready to move on to ‘big’ school, we will do everything we can to make it as smooth, and pleasant as possible. We will have a transition meeting with the school to pass on information about your child, and discuss their likes, dislikes, their development and any other information that is deemed necessary. Here at nursery we will encourage a positive outlook on the change by discussing the new school, looking at photographs of it online, reading stories about starting school, and any other suggestions you may have. We will be here with you throughout the process.

What do I do if my child is ill?

If your child is too ill to come to nursery, we ask that you contact us as soon as possible to let us know that they will not be attending, and also to let us know what the illness is. If it is something that has an exclusion period, then you are expected to follow these guidelines and keep your child away from nursery for the stated period of time. If you are unsure of the exclusion periods they can be found on the Government website or ask a member of staff.

If you believe your child is ill with symptoms of Coronavirus, then please follow the latest government guidelines.

What is famly?

famly is an online care management software, which allows us to communicate easily and sufficiently between staff and parents. The app is available to download to your mobile phones, tablets or computers, and documents your child’s day at nursery. It allows you to see what they have been up to, what they have eaten, when they have slept, any accidents they have had and track their learning development. The app also allows you to share any information or photos with us, for example what you have been up to at the weekend.

All financial information is sent to you via the famly app, and you are also able to make payments through it. If you have any issues or difficulties using the famly app, please do not hesitate to speak to a member of staff who will be happy to guide you through it.

There are lots of small parts in the rooms. Are they safe for the children to be playing with?

Here at Little Peanuts we follow the Curiosity Approach, which involves using household objects, every day items and lots of loose parts. Sometimes this will include items that are small and delicate. We teach the children to take care of these objects, and how to play with them appropriately. The rooms are set up age appropriately, so you will not find any tiny items such as buttons and beads in the younger rooms, nor will you find any glass objects. The staff closely supervise the children as they play, and if they feel anything is unsafe or could pose a danger to a child, they would remove it and risk assess the situation immediately.

How do I pay using childcare vouchers?

If you wish to pay via childcare vouchers, please email finance@littlepeanutsdaynursery.co.uk to let us know. Please ensure that if you are paying through childcare vouchers, that you order the vouchers to come to the nursery account by the 20th of the month previous, so that they payment is accounted for on your invoice.

What happens when the nursery is closed for bank holidays and Christmas?

The nursery is closed on the working days between Christmas day and New Years day and all public bank holidays. Although no deductions shall be made to monthly fees for these days, we instead offer the option to ‘swap’ those sessions at no extra cost, subject to availability. If your child attends full time, the fees have already been adjusted to take account of these closures.

Do I have to pay if my child is ill or on holiday?

Fees are based on the reservation of a place for your child, not on actual attendance. Therefore, all fees are payable even if your child does not attend nursery for all their booked sessions.

What happens if my child changes their sessions or leaves nursery part-way through the month?

The fee for that particular month will be calculated based on actual sessions booked in the month, then a new monthly average would resume the following month. This is the case even if the number of sessions per week is the same, e.g., a child changing from full days Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays to full days Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Question not answered here?

Please contact us with any questions you have.