Tigger's Nurseries FAQs

Yes, we require a booking for a nursery tour with a member of staff to accompany you, (usually the Manager or Deputy). We welcome visitors both existing and prospective parents. We avoid tours at drop off and collections times and between 12pm and 2pm, when it is our busy lunchtime.

Our staff hold various childcare qualifications such as NNEB, Level 3 Childcare and Education, Level 2 or 3 in Children’s Learning & Development and in Playwork, BTEC in Nursery Nursing, First Aid, Child Protection, Designated Safeguarding, Equal Opportunities, Additional Educational Needs, Management training, Early Years Education degrees and graduate level Early Years Teacher qualifications. All staff have to carry out a DBS check and these are regularly checked and updated.

Yes, we have a comprehensive settling in process to ensure your child is fully relaxed and happy in their new environment. Our nursery registration fee entitles you to a programme of 2 visits. 

The current Ofsted recommended ratio in the baby room (under 2’s) is 1:3, the toddler room (2-3 years) 1:5. The pre-school room is 1:8 or 1:13 with an Early Years Teacher. Our out of school clubs are 1:12. However, in all settings, we often operate with a higher ratio of adults to children, which enables us to maintain our reputation of providing high-quality early years provision.

Nappies, wipes, formula milk [if required], daily water beaker, spare clothes, sun or winter hat, sun cream (weather dependent), slippers or a pair of indoor shoes, toothpaste and toothbrush and any suitable clothing required.

Due to the high health & safety risk of bottle making for both the staff and children we do not prepare bottled feeds on site and require all parents/carers to bring in readymade bottle feeds. The nursery follows the “Food Standards Agency” Department for Health guidelines with regards to storing readymade bottles within the setting. Parents will be required to make their feeds up in advance for the nursery. The “Food Standards Agency” guidance recommends that all feeds are prepared on the same day that the child attends their setting (not the night before) to minimise any risk.

The NHS guidelines state that you do not store the feed for more than 24 hours; therefore, all bottles brought into nursery will be discarded at the end of each day. It is the parent/carers’ responsibility to ensure that feeds are prepared fresh on the day or at the earliest after 6.00pm the evening prior to nursery attendance, keeping within the correct safe time frames. On arrival to nursery please make staff aware that there are bottles in the child’s bag so that these can immediately be placed in the refrigerators. The staff member will put labels on all bottles for identification before storing them.

Children with a specific allergy will require a doctors note confirming their allergy, along with any recommended medical advice or supportive documentation, this is then used to form a Health Care Plan. Our children’s Health Care Plans are shared with all carers caring for the child and our nursery chef (if it is a dietary requirement). The Health Care Plans are updated every 3 months to ensure they are still relevant and hold the correct details.

Children with dietary requirements will be provided with a red placemat at meals times, detailing their allergies as a visual reminder for staff. 

Please request, complete, and return the Registration Form along with the £95.00 registration fee and appropriate deposit. Currently £250.00 for a part-time space (2-3 day) and £500.00 for a full-time space (4-5 days).

This is a very upsetting time for all involved and nurseries will work with families to offer support, with their main focus on supporting the emotional well-being of your child. If your spouse has ‘parental responsibility’ then a nursery cannot legally stop a parent from collecting/picking up their child, nor can they be prevented from sharing information about the child, such as development progress records. The nursery will need a court injunction before they can stop a spouse with parental responsibility from any of the above.

If your spouse does not have parental responsibility then you can instruct them according to your wishes.

Some 2 year olds and all 3 and 4 year old children are eligible for the 15 hours of Nursery Education Funding (NEF), sometimes known as Nursery Education Grant (NEG) or Early Years Free Entitlement (EYFE), the school term after their 2nd or 3rd birthday. They can claim up to 570 hours per academic year (38 weeks) or if attending all year round can have it spread over 50 weeks.

Some 3 and 4 year olds are also entitled to 30 hours. 

Please call us to speak to the Nursery Manager for further information.

The process for claiming the additional 15 hours of childcare is different than the first Universal 15 hours. You can register for both the Tax Free Childcare scheme and the 30 hours on the government website. The eligibility criteria is similar for both and it is all explained on their page.

England – Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS):
All nurseries registered with Ofsted must follow the EYFS. The EYFS covers children from 0-5 years and children complete the EYFS at the end of their reception year at school. The EYFS is a play-based curriculum as research tells us that this is the best way for children to learn. Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mixture of adult-led and child-initiated activity.

Each child must be assigned a key person. Their role is to help ensure that every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs, to help the child become familiar with the setting.

We aim to provide a safe, secure, and happy environment for children to prosper and develop. It is also our intention to give a high standard of care and nursery education in both our nurseries. We accept that despite our best endeavours, there may be occasions when you feel we have been less than perfect, and we will always adopt a sympathetic but fair approach in dealing with your concerns. Should you have any concerns regarding the care or any other aspect of the nursery, please in the first instance raise them with the nursery manager. If you feel that the nursery manager has not fully addressed your queries and/or concerns, then please e-mail levistevens.tiggers@gmail.com or call 01666 503142.

We do also like to hear when you are really happy so please tell us all the positives too!

Ofsted deals only with complaints and queries in relation to welfare requirements and the quality of care children receive. Ofsted’s role is to regulate standards of care. Contracts are seen as a legal matter between the nursery and parent and are therefore not a matter for the organisation.

Fees are billed monthly, and fees are due by the 1st of each month, in advance. Your invoice will be emailed to you each month, usually 5-10 days before they are due. 

Yes, we only close on bank holidays, two staff training days a year and for two weeks at Christmas.

Please refer to our meals section to see our current menu’s.

All meals are freshly prepared by a full-time and qualified chef. We cater for all allergies, dietary requirements, vegetarians, vegan’s and cultural preferences

Yes, provided you give the appropriate notice, your child has attended the nursery for a minimum of six months and your account is up to date with no outstanding balance.

Monthly fees are based on the ‘daily fee rate’ multiplied by ‘number of days attended per week’ multiplied by 50 weeks and then divided by 12 months, thus making the monthly fee the same each month, for easier budgeting and planning. If in the month of joining or leaving, your child does not attend for a full month, then the fees will be based on the number of days attended in the month.

Unfortunately, this is not possible. We need to plan staffing needs according to children’s booking patterns and hence need to know in advance how many children will be attending each day.

We accept payments by BACS transfers, childcare vouchers and via the government’s tax-free childcare scheme.

Yes, a healthy morning and afternoon snack is provided with milk, along with a two-course hot meal for lunch and a light high tea around 4pm.

If your child is on Government funding your meals come under the consumables charge for the hours claimed.

Extra sessions can be booked with the Nursery Manager, up to 4-weeks in advance. We will always try and accommodate extra session requests, but this will of course depend on how many children are already booked in for the required day. Payment for extra sessions is required in advance. They are slightly more expensive than regular sessions, as we may need to use agency staff to cover the unplanned sessions and they are available on a flexible basis. Flexis can be transferred with 48 hours’ notice but are not refundable once booked.

Booking pattern changes can be made with the Nursery Manager. We will always try and accommodate such requests, but this will of course depend on availability. This may impact your monthly fees. Any reduction to sessions requires the same notice periods as termination of a place.  

In the event of any absences from the nursery, fees will still be charged as usual.

Our nurseries are open 50 weeks a year, during which time full fees are payable. On Bank Holidays and over the Christmas period we are closed. We also close for our staff Training Days. Fees are still payable during closures as we charge on a 50-week basis to compensate for closures. 

Unfortunately we only accept the Tax Free Childcare scheme from the HMRC, which started in 2017. Employer Voucher Schemes have started to be phased out for new entrants (since April 2018).

Your fees have to cover a wide range of expenses including staff wages, utilities, food, rates, rent or mortgage and the cost of updating equipment. A large percentage of fees go directly to staff salaries. The vast majority of nurseries work on very low margins, so when costs go up, most face little choice but to reflect this in fees. Most try to restrict how often they raise fees and give you advance warning.

Please read the full nursery Terms & Conditions for all notice periods, as these differ for funded and non-funded children. Funded children have specific cut off dates as the funding and payments are calculated per term.

A contract is a legally binding document. Nurseries still have to pay staff if your child doesn’t attend. If you are unhappy with any element of your contract, you should discuss it with your nursery to receive a full explanation. If you have signed a contract and no longer agree with its conditions, you should seek advice from a suitably qualified solicitor.