La Petite Nursery

We always advise you to come and visit us before registering, to have a feel for our nursery, see the children in action and meet our team. Once you have visited La Petite Nursery, our managers will give you a registration pack and explain the steps you need to follow. Please note that in order to secure your child space, together with filling up the registration documents, we will require a deposit equivalent to one month’s fee

We are always happy to have grandparents or any other relatives in the nursery. We celebrate family as a core value. Hence, please let us know in advance, in order for us to arrange for your child to be Ima or Abba Shabbat for that week, celebrate their birthday in the nursery or arrange for your relative to read a story, cook with the children or engage in any other activity.

Please note that we do not encourage these visits during the settling-in period, as separation from them can be very difficult for the child.

At La Petite Nursery, we understand that arranging childcare on short notice is sometimes difficult. That is why we are here to support you. You are able to add some extra sessions if needed; please contact us if you need to.

For contract changes, we require at least one month notice as we want to ensure we have the appropriate space and staff ratios in order to offer the best education for your child. Please inform the nursery manager, and she will be more than happy to help you.

If you require one-off extra days/hours, please email our nursery manager at @lapetitenursery.co.uk We will try our best to accommodate your request, but this will be subject to availability.

You can send your request on the day and, if we have space available, we will be more than happy to help. However, we appreciate as much notice as possible so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Please note that we reserve the right to decline your request when too little notice is given, if space is not available, or if we cannot ensure we have the appropriate staff ratio.

La Petite Nursery is dedicated to provide the best possible care and learning environment. The safety and safeguarding of our children are of paramount importance. We are vigilant in our recruitment procedures, and aim to ensure that all people working with children are qualified and suitable to do so. We recognise that passionate people support the well-being of our children; therefore, it is important for us to attract, recruit and retain staff who will share our commitment. In recruiting our staff, we use childcare agencies and referrals. All new members of staff will undergo a four-week induction process given by a member of the management team. During the induction period, all new members of our team will receive awareness training on safeguarding, health and safety and all the nursery policies. The new member of staff also takes part in our Mentoring Program. There will be regular meetings with the manager and the mentor to track their personal progress.

Are all your staff DBS checked?

All our members of staff, volunteers, students, extracurricular activity teachers, agency teachers, contracted personnel (security guards, chef, cleaner, etc.) or any other person who will be on the premises on a regular basis are DBS-checked. Prior to their start in the nursery, all new members of staff are DBS-checked and their references followed. We ask all our members of staff to sign with the Update Service and regularly check for any updates on their criminal record.

Do you have qualified first aiders?

At La Petite Nursery, members of staff are able to take immediate action to apply paediatric first-aid treatment in the event of an accident. The qualification includes first-aid training for infants and young children. Every two years, all members of staff participate in first-aid training, held on our premises. This training is approved by the relevant authorities. To keep us updated, and in order to refresh our first-aid skills, we discuss different scenarios and answer first-aid questions during our monthly in-house trainings.

Is your staff qualified?

The majority of our staff is qualified to work in childcare or education (NVQ level 2 and 3). All members of staff have Paediatric First Aid, Safeguarding, Food Hygiene and Health and Safety training. The staff also receives specific-ages courses to help them with the day-to-day care of the children. In addition, we run in-house training once a month, and have two full inset days twice a year.

A mixture of mentoring and coaching is offered to support the staff’s personal growth.

Please visit our team page to find out more about the qualifications and hobbies of our members of staff.

What is a key person?

At La Petite Nursery, we implement a key person system. The key person is the point of contact for your child. She will give you feedback about your child’s day, how much he/she eats, sleeps, and what activities he/she is specifically engaged in. The key person is here to comfort your child when he/she is distressed or upset, but also to keep you updated with his/her progress.

What is the ratio in my child class?

The number of staff working with La Petite Nursery depends also on how many children are attending on that particular day. Following the Ofsted ratios, we always ensure that we have a minimum of:

• 1:3 ratio for children under 2 years

• 1:4 ratio for children between 2 and 3 years

• 1:8 ratio for children between 3 and 5 years

La Petite Nursery aims to ensure that all premises, indoor and outdoor activities, outings, materials and equipment are safe for children to use. We do daily walks to check the building grounds and equipment before children arrive and after they leave. We ensure that any hazard is identified and removed, or minimised. We check all our appliances, toys and equipment. We also have CCTV in and around our premises and security guards constantly checking the surroundings.

Can my friend pick up my child?

If you are unable to collect your child, please let your key person know. She will give you a permission slip to fill out. In case this is an emergency and you did not fill out a permission slip, then please call the nursery and send a photo of your friend. One of the nursery staff will provide you with a password for your friend to use upon their arrival.

How can visitors access the nursery premises?

Visitors must book their visit in advance. On the day of the visit, they must have a valid ID that will be verified by our security guard. All visitors are greeted by a management team member. Visitors are required to sign in and out, and are accompanied at all times. If you would like to visit our nursery, you can book a visit here.

The safety of your child is of paramount importance and every measure we take is to protect your child from hurting him/herself. However, on occasion, accidents might happen. If such a situation occurs, we will comfort and reassure your child, assess the extent of the injury and decide if we need to apply first aid and complete an accident report. Once the child is settled, we will contact you and share the details of the accident.

What do I do if my child has an accident at home?

If the child comes from home with a scratch or a bruise, we will kindly ask you to inform the key person about it. She will fill out a home accident form and will monitor your child throughout the day.

What happens if my child gets sick at nursery?

If your child begins to show signs that he/she is unwell, a member of our team, preferably the key person, will comfort him/her, but also start monitoring their state. If it is deemed to be in the best interest of the child to go home, a member of staff will inform you immediately. They will explain the signs and symptoms of your child’s sickness and ask you to come and collect them.

What happens if my child gets sick at home?

We reserve the right not to accept any child feeling unwell on a given day. We have a duty of care for all children we look after. If you are unsure whether your child can attend the nursery, please call your GP or the nursery management team.

Do you administrate medication to children?

While it is not our policy to care for sick children – who should be at home until they are well enough to return to the nursery – we will administer medication in order to maintain their health and well-being, or when they are recovering from an illness. To ensure the safety of all children, we kindly ask that you make sure your child is well enough to attend the nursery. If you are unsure, please check with your GP.

Prior to administering medication, we will require written permission for the administration of the medication, together with the details of how the medication is to be administered and when. You can print and fill out this document before you arrive, or you can get it from your key person and can fill it out together.

For children who have a long-term medical condition and may require ongoing medication, a healthcare plan is drawn up together with the parent prior to the child joining the nursery. Please speak with your key person or the nursery manager if your child requires ongoing medication in order for us to best support your child.

Teachers at La Petite Nursery will update you daily about your child’s day. We have several ways of communication (face-to-face, phone/Whatsapp, text, Famly app, etc.). You can let your key person know what your preferred way is, and we will do our best to accommodate.

What system do you have in place for sharing information about my child’s development?

We are constantly monitoring your child’s development. We record all our observations using an online system, called Famly. Using the EYFS and our observations, we generate reports. We give you feedback about our findings and, together with you, define the next steps for your child.

What is Famly?

Famly is an online platform meant to support parents in tracking their child’s development and staying in touch with their day at the nursery. It is also a platform where teachers make notes and observations, track where the children stand and what their next steps will be.