Frequently asked questions

Q: What are your opening hours?

A: We open between the hours of 08.00am – 18.00pm, 48 weeks per year.

Q: Do you have facilities for the disabled?

A: Yes – the Nursery has been built on one level, with easy wheelchair access and disabled facilities.

Q: How do you cater for my child’s dietary needs?

A: The Nursery food is freshly prepared and cooked on our own premises.  We cater for all dietary requirements i.e. Halal, Kosher, Vegetarian and allergies. See our Nutrition policy and menus for further information.

Q: How can I pay for my childcare fees?

A: Nursery fees are payable at the beginning of each month, in advance, by standing order, BACS or cash.

For further information see our terms and conditions here.

Q: Do you registered for tax free childcare?

A: Yes – we are registered and accept tax free childcare payments. We are also registered with the university to accept childcare grant payments. Please contact us for more information.

Q: When should I apply for a Government Funded place?

A: We recommend you put your child’s name on our waiting list as soon as possible. The the waiting lists for 15 hour / 30 hour funded places are always busy. Waiting list applications are processed by date of registration so the earlier you register the more chance you have of securing a space.

Daycare and baby room places can be reserved when available by placing a deposit. Contact us to find out our next availbility.

Q: What documents do I need to register for full day care?

A: You will need to complete an application form and also provide your child’s original birth certificate, red health record book, Child Benefit letter and a proof of address.

For free government funded care an expression of interest slip is completed.

Q: Do I need to pay a deposit for child care?

A: A £100 deposit is required at admission for full time child care.  This deposit is refunded with your first months invoice.

A £20 holding fee will need to be placed when accepting a 15 hour funded space. This will be returned to you within 6 weeks of your child starting nursery.

Q: What is your Admissions Policy?

A:

It is our intention to make our Nursery accessible to children in families from all sections of the local community. To accomplish this, we will ensure that the existence of the Nursery is widely known in the Saints community.

 

Each nursery class has an agreed annual admission limit and offers Nursery Education Grant places and a limited number of full day care places. A child may only hold one nursery place at a time, except where one of these places includes moving up from the baby room.

The legal definition of a nursery-aged child contained in the 1994 Education Act is any child who has not yet reached statutory school age, i.e. five years old. In Luton, a child is deemed to be of NEG nursery age from the beginning of the term following their 3^rd birthday. For this purpose, the terms are as follows (these are in line with the Early Years Education Funding term dates):

Autumn term                    1^st September to 31^st December

Spring term                        1^st January to 31^st March

Summer term                    1^st April to 31^st August

 

We arrange our waiting list in the following order:

• First come first served basis (date of registration)
• In the case of 2 children registering on the same date, priority will be given to children living in the Saints ward, closest to the nursery.

 

If financially viable, we will keep a place vacant to accommodate emergency admissions and SEN referrals.

We will describe the Nursery and its practices in terms which may be clear and welcoming to fathers, mothers, carers, childminders, other relations and people from all cultural, ethnic, religious and social groups, with and without disabilities.

We will make a range of policies available to all parents, particularly our Equal Opportunity Policy.

 

Methods

At Greenside Nursery, we aim to work with parents in ensuring your child’s individual care needs are met, in conjunction will all Greenside Nursery policies. We also aim to make your child’s admission to Greenside Nursery a happy experience for both your child and you as a parent/guardian.

To ensure you have all relevant knowledge of how your child’s time with us will be, we will hold an introduction meeting. This will give you information about the routines, policies and procedures of the Nursery.

 

Parents will also attend a six-week settling program to give your child the opportunity to explore the Nursery and get to know us and the other children.

Our Nursery offers full day care for babies, toddlers and pre-school children.

How to apply

Information and Application forms are available from the reception office. Filling in an ‘expression of interest form’ places your child on our waiting list. Online application are treated the same, and will be added to the waiting list on the date received.

Phone calls to families, either offering or refusing NEG places for their children will be made as follows:

• For September intake: March – April ( 3 year olds) May – June (2 year olds)
• For January intake: October – November (all spaces)
• Full day care places are not subject to annual admission – offers are as and when available and can be reserved with a deposit.

For full day care children, we operate a fair payment system. For fees and charges go to our website: www.greensidenursery.co.uk

 

Offering spaces

Every reasonable effort will be made to contact parents of children on the waiting list to offer them a space when it becomes available. This is usually by either letter or phone call. It remains parent’s responsibility to update the nursery of any changes to contact details, or to give any information that may affect the application.

Parents of children who do not respond to an offer of a place, for any reason, who then subsequently contact the nursery at a later date will have the option to add their child back on the waiting list from the most recent date of contact.

Children who are on the 2 year old waiting list are waiting for a 2 year funded space. If when they are contacted the child is not eligible for 2 year old funding, the space will be offered to the next child on the waiting list who is eligible for funding. This allows the nursery to meet its intention of prioritising disadvantaged and vulnerable children to access this small number of spaces.

Children not eligible for funding at 2 years old are automatically added to our 3 year old waiting list from the original date of application.

Absences

Your child’s attendance is monitored regularly. If unexplained absences occur and are frequent, the Nursery will arrange a home visit to establish the reasons for these. Should there be no legitimate explanation, and the situation persists, your child’s place could be at risk due to Local Authority funding being withdrawn.

 

 

Definition and Additional Information

A pupil may be refused admission if the Nursery is full to the admissions limit, if the admission list is closed to further applications, or if the child is not of the appropriate age. There is no right of appeal against the Company’s refusal to award a place at the nursery, since there are statutory criteria governing adult: pupil ratios that cannot be over-ridden.

Siblings are defined as two or more children, or offspring having one or both parents in common (including half, fostered, step and adopted children). This does not include blood-related brothers or sisters who live in separate homes.

Parents are required to provide proof of their child’s date of birth and home address. Evidence may be submitted in the form of the child’s birth certificate or passport and the child benefit letter or a utility bill (showing the parent’s name). Where a family is expecting to move to a new house, confirmation of the new address will be required before the application can be considered. Confirmation should be by way of a copy of the signed lease agreement or a letter confirming contracts have been exchanged.

A child’s home address is defined as the address where he or she resides with an adult with parental responsibility for most of week-day nights. In cases where a child spends equal time living in two different homes, the address that is most favourable to the application will be considered as the home address.

 

What happens if my child is attending another setting?

At Greenside Nursery we never forget that parents have the right to choose. When offering a place, we respectfully advise that where a child is settled and happy at another setting, it may be detrimental to their overall well-being to move them. Families, who have not registered for admission by completing an application form or expression of interest form, are not technically on our waiting list. In these cases, we reserve the right to offer the place to a community child who has not yet accessed a nursery place at any setting. This aids the “Hard to Reach” families or those who may have fallen under the radar of not knowing where to go and what to do next. The exception to this is full day care places, which are determined by availability. Parents can reserve a full day care place in advance. The place availability is determined by those moving onto school or up in class range, this facility aids working parents and those preparing to return to work. A holding deposit is required.

The Company reserves the right to refuse admissions. The Company does, however, endeavour to act fairly and to consider circumstances. The right of refusal may be enforced in the instance of a parent/family who upset the ethos and harmony of the setting.

 

Change of address

Parents are obliged to inform the Nursery of any change of address following an application, as this may affect the allocation of a place. Failure to do this could result in an offered place being withdrawn.

Contact Us

If you require any further information regarding Greenside Nursery, please contact:

Greenside Nursery Ltd,

Culverhouse Road

Luton LU3 1PZ

01582 594632

Email: admin@greensidenursery.co.uk

www.greensidenursery.co.uk

Q: Are you OFSTED registered?

A: Yes – The nursery recently changed ownership and was re-registered in August 2017. Our ofsted registration number is EY547390

Q: Where can I view the OFSTED report?

A: On Ofsteds website here:

https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/16/EY547390

or please ask on site and we will be happy to print you a copy.

Q: Do you have qualified staff?

A: Yes – we have;

The nursery manager holds a BA hons degree in early years, with early years professional status.

We have 18 staff who work directly with the children:

2 with relevant degree level qualifications

10 with level 3 qualifications

4 with a level 2 qualification.

2 modern apprentices, working towards their level 2 and 3 qualifications.

Q: What are your staff ratios?

A:

0 – 2 year old children :  3 children – 1 adult
2 – 3 year old children :  4 children – 1 adult
3 – 5 year old children :  8 children – 1 adult

Q: How am I updated on my child’s progress?

A: Formal consultations will take place twice a year. Informally, you may discuss your child’s progress or view their folder at any time. A written report is given at the end of every year. All parents are encouraged to register with our secure online observation system (Iconnect) that updates parents about children’s observations, artwork and progress.

Q: What are Greenside’s Results?
A:Analysis of data provided by the local authority shows that children who left us in 2018, and have just completed their reception year at school, performed above the Luton average with 79% achieving a ‘good level of development’ compared to the Luton average of 68% and the national average of 72%.

The above results show the head start children get at Greenside, our children become independent and positive learners, prepared for the next step in their education.