Frequently asked questions
FAQ's
As a parent, what can I expect from the nursery?
Your child and their learning, development and welfare are our number one priority. Your child will be assigned a key-person; this person will be responsible for their care on a day-to-day basis. Each day you will be given verbal feedback and updates through the FAMLY app, which works on all mobile devices. The nursery office and your child’s team, will also send regular updates about events and updates to make sure you know what is going on in the nursery. Staff will carry out daily and weekly observations of your child and will use these as a basis for planning activities based upon their interests and their stage of development. Your child’s journey will be tracked through the app. This is a two-way process, which means that you can also make comments and add pictures alongside us. This really helps to build a beautiful log of your child’s learning and development through their first and most important years. Twice a year you will be invited to an informal meeting with your child’s key person. This is a chance to review their development and celebrate the progress they have made over time.
What makes Ready Generations Nursery in Belong unique?
Ready Generations Nursery in Belong is a pioneering concept on a number of levels. It is one of very few settings fully integrated into a care village. Most importantly, it is the first nursery set up to be fully integrated so that intergenerational living and thinking features throughout the shared spaces in the village. This is the result of years of careful planning and research between the Ready Generations and Belong teams, as well as collaboration with partners from universities and childcare specialists. The Ready Generations Nursery in Belong is at the forefront of intergenerational practice, and as a result, we have the opportunity to work alongside many other innovative and leading edge experts in the Early Years sector. This includes outstanding educational suppliers and our expert team contribute regularly to the design of innovative high quality and award-winning educational resources for children.
What are the intergenerational experiences and opportunities?
Our intergenerational model aims to encourage children and older adults to enjoy time together and to learn from each other. We believe that this is a means to build a culture of caring relationships where children enjoy all the many benefits of a nurturing community around them. We are completely led by the shared motivations of children and older people and will follow their interests and skills. Our commitment is to always offer authentic and meaningful opportunities and experiences that are purposeful and engage, stimulate and extend everyone involved. This helps children to become self-aware and to understand the value of sustained and caring friendships with people of all ages. This often involves storytelling, art and craft, gardening, cooking, songs, music, trips and outings. The list is endless and is always shaped by the interests of those taking part, especially the children.
What qualifications do staff have?
Our staff have a range of professional qualifications. We have a full-time qualified teacher with Early Years Professional status, an additional graduate, NNEB and NVQ level 3 staff. Our co-founders also have Master’s Degrees in Early Years Leadership and Practice. We aim that over 90% of our staff hold a professional qualification. Colleagues who are still working towards their qualification do not have any key person responsibilities and are not left alone with the children at any time. We work very closely with local colleges to support trainees and new entrants to the profession. All staff hold a current paediatric first aid certificate. This ensures that your child will be in safe hands in the event of an accident. In the wider care village, there is also a fully qualified nurse on site at all times. In addition, staff hold certificates in health and safety, food hygiene, equal opportunities, safeguarding and child protection and special educational needs and disabilities. The training and ongoing professional development of all colleagues is a priority for us. We want to be future thinkers, ensuring that we are leading the way in our staff development and the quality of what we offer our children and their families.
How do you ensure that adults working with children are safe to do so?
Nothing is more important than the safety and welfare of the children in our care and, as such, we consider safeguarding and child protection to be the highest priority and everybody’s responsibility. All staff working directly with the children hold an enhanced certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service which is reviewed annually. Additionally, staff receive intensive training on how to spot and act upon and safeguarding or child protection concerns, such as signs of abuse. No adult works alone with a child for any reason and intergenerational activities are always fully supervised and take place with the full support of both nursery and Belong staff. We operate a fully child-centred approach which is central to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every child. A child-centred approach means keeping the child in focus when making decisions about their lives, listening carefully to them and working in genuine partnership with them and their families.
Do you provide any advice for parents struggling with financial difficulties?
We are aware of the huge financial burden that childcare costs can present. Staff have a good knowledge of what support is available to help you and what you may be entitled to. Help with childcare costs is available from a range of different sources. The following examples cover parents who are very young, those who are students, those who are lone parents, those who are entering training or work, and those already in work who want to use childcare. Child tax credit and the childcare element of working tax credits N.E.G funding for 2, 3 and 4 year olds Universal credits Student finance England Care to learn We aim to cater for parents’ lifestyles as far as possible and are as flexible as we can be. A unique feature of the nursery is that we are open for six days each week to accommodate working and shift patterns. Please call us if you have questions or need more information. We are always happy to help.
How do pre-admission visits work?
Once your child is registered with us and a start date has been agreed, we encourage you to visit us as many times as you feel is necessary. You will always be welcome. We like you to spend some time with us before your child starts so that you can meet staff and they can get to know you and your child. After that we invite you to leave your child for short periods of time so that they can become familiar with the nursery environment. We find that it really helps if you can invest this time into settling your child before they begin.
Will I be notified if any adults or children are diagnosed with an infecious disease?
Yes, you will be notified through the app. We follow guidance from the Health Protection Agency which guides our exclusion period. We also have an Outbreak Management Plan in place, which is carefully aligned with the plans of the care village. This ensures that we can respond quickly and appropriately if this is necessary. Both the nursery and care village also have strict Infection Control Policies and Procedures. All staff are trained in infection control and follow strict hygiene procedures at all times. The nursery and the care village can continue to operate independently in the event of infections in one or the other.
How do you cater for children with special dietary needs?
All our meals are cooked on-site using fresh ingredients. There is always a vegetarian option available. We ensure that the vegetarian option always looks similar to the main meal available; in that way children do not notice the difference. If your child has special dietary requirements, please let us know. We can cater for most individual needs effortlessly.
How often will children be taken on outings?
We are ideally placed in the heart of the city centre. With parents’ consent we try to take the children out as much as possible. Typical visits include libraries, museums, art galleries, festivals, shows, activity centres and parks. Our main form of transport are our 2 four seater prams and larger 6 seater pram-bus which means that the children are safe as they travel to and from locations.
Do I have to pay when my child is off with sickness/bank holidays?
Unfortunately, in common with most nurseries in the area we charge full rate, as we still have to pay staff and keep your place open. We offer two weeks at 50% discount to cover sickness or holidays. This is already calculated into your fees which is worked out a weekly rate x 51weeks ÷ 12 month.
Do you have another question?