Theark is committed to providing a varied curriculum that is accessible to all. Throughout the year, we plan many kinds of stimulating activities that challenge and inspire the children. A tailored programme is delivered to each child to cater for their interests and individual learning needs.

We provide daily opportunities for all children to access the outdoor learning environment whatever the weather and when possible we like to take the children on outings to explore the surrounding areas and local communities.

Starting a new nursery can present lots of new experiences which your child may not have come across before. This might be confusing to start with, especially if your child is accustomed to spending much of their time with you.

To overcome this, we offer free settling in visits before your child starts nursery. To begin with, you can spend time in the nursery with your child. Then you can leave them for short periods of time, till they are familiar with the nursery and its routines. This has the added bonus of giving you a clear idea of what your child will do in nursery.

As a parent, we appreciate that it is important for you have a good understanding of how your child is developing emotionally, physically and socially. At CurioCity Childcare we make a point of keeping you informed of your child’s progress on a daily basis. We use an online system called Famly and update it regularly throughout the day so that you are aware of what your child has been doing throughout the day.

During the day you are welcome to give the nursery a call to see how your child is getting on; you will be able to speak to a member of staff from your child’s room who can give you an update on their day so far. This can be particular reassuring when they first start the nursery or if they have been unwell at home.

When you come to pick your child up at the end of the day, a member of staff from your child’s room will update you on how they got on during the day (Doing our best not to interrupt any fun activities going on). They will tell you what they ate and how much, if they had a sleep and for how long and what they have done during the day. All this information is also available online.

When children are very young, it is important that you know exactly when your child was last fed, slept and changed. For this reason we have communication book in each room which you are able to write any messages, these are also for you to use to pass on any important information that you feel we may require and also communicate via Famly app.

The nursery is able to accommodate all kinds of dietary requirements, so please talk to us if your child needs a particular diet. Any prescribed products which becomes a part of child’s diet such as medicated formula milk etc are to be provided by parents. This ensures the safety and well-being of the child in our care.

Lots of children have a favourite comforter like a dummy, blanket or teddy. If parents wish, the child can have these in the room at all times. Or they can be brought to the nursery and left in the child’s bag for when they need them (At sleep time).

Because of the recent COVID-19 we expect a child to bring in a comforter and anything that calms them down such as noise machine etc and then that will stay here at nursery. This is just to minimise the spread of diseases, viruses and germs.

Children are given the opportunity to sleep during the day. The nursery provides each child with their own sleep mat/bed/cot (depending on age) and a blanket. Children under 12 months have their own cot.

At sleep time a relaxing atmosphere is created using dimmed lights and calm music. Children are not forced to sleep. Those that are awake are offered peaceful activities to give them time to rest.

During the summertime to maximise the opportunity for children to enjoy the nice sunny weather children are encouraged to sleep outside. This helps children to understand their immediate environments and help build resilience in children.

Children are supervised at all times whilst sleeping. Our nurseries record the amount of time each child sleeps and regular checks are carried out by staff on the children.

The nursery has a policies folder for you to view at any time, please ask a member of the team if you would like to see this. Some of them are also available online.

Each child in the nursery is assigned a key person. Your child’s key person is responsible for keeping records of your child’s progress on a day to day basis. They will also consider your child’s holistic developmental needs and ensure the activity plans and care routines reflect these needs.

The key person will informally observe your child throughout the day and record their achievements. This is available for you to see on request.

We welcome children with special needs in our nursery and are happy to work with you to make nursery a great experience for your child.

Sometimes special needs can become apparent as a child progresses through nursery. If this happens, discussions will take place between parents and members of staff in order to look at ways to support you and your child. We have access to many different professionals who have expertise in many different areas to ensure we are meeting the individual needs of your child.

If your child has been identified as having special needs, their requirements will be identified through discussions between the key worker and you. If necessary, a special development programme will be put together for your child. Each term, the key worker in partnership with you will set your child a learning focus and will identify methods to meet this through play and care routines. The leaning focus is then used on a weekly basis to inform the educational and care programme for your child.

Where necessary we can help parents to get advice from external agencies. We can also support parents with processes like gaining a statement from the Local Education Authority that will support your child’s education with our setting our in any future school / setting they may attend.

If your child becomes sick when in nursery we will telephone you straight away to let you know. If you are unavailable, we will call the emergency contacts provided on your enrolment form. If it is a minor problem, we may advise you to make an appointment at the doctors or to pop in to take a look or just inform you of the situation so you are aware.

The nursery follows rigorous cleaning and hygiene procedures to keep exposure to infectious diseases at bay. If a child in the nursery shows signs of having an infectious disease, or is not coping with the day, we will send them home straight away. This will help us to ensure that it does not spread throughout the nursery. This includes children vomiting or suffering from diarrhoea.

If your child is absent for any reason, and unable to attend nursery, please inform the nursery on all occasions.

If your child has shown symptoms of any infectious disease, including vomiting and diarrhoea, the Health Standards state that a child cannot attend nursery for 48 hours after the symptoms have subsided. This helps us to stop infection being passed on to other children in the nursery.

Any absences due to sickness must be paid in full.

The service is closed for Christmas and New Year as well as on all bank holidays.  The Nursery can also close a maximum of 3 days per year for training / maintenance etc.

If you are going on holiday or your child will not be attending their booked session, please could you inform us as soon as possible so this can be recorded on the register. If we are not aware of any absence then a courtesy call will be made to check on your child’s well being.

Any absences due to Holiday must be paid in full.

Once you have days when your child attends nursery, you are guaranteed them throughout your time here until you wish to change them.

If you want to make a change to your booking, write it in a letter and drop it in to the office as soon as possible. If you are reducing the number of days you do, or finishing in the nursery, you will need to give us at least a month’s notice. This will give us enough time to refill the space.

If you want to add days to your booking pop into the office and tell us what you are looking for. We will do our best to give you the days you need. Sometimes it may take sometime for a place to become available because we also need to ensure there is space for your child when the time comes for them to move up to the next room.

We do offer the 15 hours and 30 hours funded places, however as it is a 51 week all year-round nursery there is always a top up to pay towards the sessions that you will choose for your child. We only offer a stretched offer therefore your child will receive less funded hours each week (e.g 11 instead of 15) but will be able to attend for 51 week instead of term time only (38weeks). Please speak to a member of management when you visit the setting or request a broacher about the prices and process and they will be more than happy to talk you through.