Frequently asked questions

There is no fee to join our waiting list. Once a place is offered to you in writing (via email) a deposit of one month’s fee will be requested, together with a completed registration form, to secure the place. The deposit is held for the duration of your nursery place and is used as your last month’s fee or returned when you leave, providing the correct notice period is given.

Around a month before joining the nursery, your child’s allocated Key Person will call you to organise your settling in visits. This is also a great opportunity to discuss your child’s interests and routine and for you to ask any questions you may have. 

For a great start to your child’s adventure at Seymour House, we recommend that you stay for your child’s first session and then book a few more visits where you will have the opportunity to leave your child for a short while.

You will receive a monthly invoice around the 21^st of the month, which will need to be paid to Seymour House in advance of the 1^st of each month. If paying by Tax-Free Childcare, please note these payments take a little longer to reach us, so we advise you make payment from your Tax-Free Childcare account by the 25^th of the month.

Included in your nursery fees are all of the amazing activities that your child will take part in whilst at nursery. These child centred activities are facilitated by our skilled Early Years Educators and includes resources such as malleable items, craft resources, paint and writing materials. We take pride in our enriched learning environment which we maintain to achieve our outstanding early years care and education. 

Also included in your fees are your child’s tasty and nutritious meals and snacks whilst they are at nursery. These are prepared by our Nursery Kitchen, who carefully plan nutritionally balanced meals to reflect what a child needs in their daily diet.

For more information about fees you can access the fee calculator on our website where you can input your desired attendance pattern to find the best fit for you. 

To find out more about Tax-Free Childcare and other benefits available to you, visit www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

Every day at Seymour House will be unique for each child because we structure the day around their individual needs and interests. To support their learning and development, your child will have the opportunity to take part in a range of fun and engaging adult and child-led activities. These can take place indoors and within our fantastic outdoor learning environment all year round, where we continue to enhance the children’s learning with an array of activities and the very best resources on offer.

At regular points throughout the day your child will enjoy a variety of tasty and nutritious meals and snacks together with their peers. All our meals are freshly prepared by our Nursery Kitchen, using only the best ingredients. 

There are just a few essential things you will need to pack into a small bag for nursery (for health and safety reasons please do not bring drawstring bags or plastic carrier bags).

For young children, please bring nappies, wipes, and nappy cream. You are welcome to bring these items in your child’s bag each day or bring some in bulk to store at the nursery – we’ll let you know when we’re running low. For children who are bottle fed, please provide formula milk (ideally ready-made) or breast milk. Please ensure that the bottle/carton/box is sealed when brought into nursery and that breast milk it is dated appropriately. We provide cow’s milk and can provide bottles, unless you prefer to bring your own.

All children will need appropriate clothing for the weather as they will access the outdoor classroom all year round, whatever the weather. A warm coat, hat, gloves and wellie boots means your child can explore the outdoor classroom comfortably. From April you will need to provide a sunhat and suncream (please ensure creams do not contain nuts as we are a nut-free nursery). Please also provide a set of spare clothes each day, especially when your child is toilet training. This is so we can make sure your child is always in clean clothes throughout the day. 

During your settling in visit your Key Person will let you know if there is anything else you need to bring.

To gain an insight into your child’s time at nursery, you will be able to follow their timeline/learning journey by using the Parent Zone App. 

For example, your child’s Key Person will post short observations of an activity, event or learning opportunity that sparked your child’s interest and that they enjoyed. For younger children, we will post information about their meals, snacks, nappy changes and sleeps (please note this is not always posted in real time as we always put caring for your child first). At the end of the day, a member of the team will discuss your child’s day with you, highlighting what your child has particularly enjoyed, the learning opportunities offered and any notable information.

We work in close partnership with parents to deliver tailored learning and development experiences, and use bespoke educational resources to help give your child the best start in life. While your child is at nursery, you will be able to follow their timeline/learning journey and any activities your child has taken part in, by using the Parent Zone App. Here we’ll also provide ideas on how you can continue to support learning at home.

We also encourage parents to share home experiences with us via the App, so that we can share these with your child at nursery and use this to help inform our assessments of your child. Twice yearly, you will be invited into nursery to meet with your child’s Key Person, at a convenient time, to discuss your child’s development and achievements. We also hold termly ‘stay and play’ workshops, where you are invited to join in with the learning opportunities your child is offered at nursery. These sessions are a great opportunity to learn more about our 5Cs curriculum and how we support children, including how you can continue learning at home.

We assess your child’s needs and development on a regular basis and initiate a move into another homebase room when we feel they will benefit from this change. However, it is also dependent upon the size of the nursery, when we have a place, and your child’s pattern of attendance. Children may not spend time in every homebase room. 

Our teaching is delivered according to the cohort of children in the homebase room, ensuring that we meet the individual needs of each child. 

To ensure that the transition from room to room is as smooth as possible for your child, visits to your child’s new homebase will be arranged ahead of the move. Your child and their current Key Person will visit the new homebase room together, so they can familiarise themselves with the new play space. As your child’s confidence grows, they will be encouraged to explore the new surroundings and begin to form a bond with their new Key Person and peers. 

Your child’s Key Person will also provide you with transitional resources that you can explore together with your child at home. This may include pictures of the new homebase room and the key adults who will be there to support them. Your child’s current Key Person will complete a ‘Transitional All About Me’, which will provide key information about your child and their routine, that will be shared with their new Key Person. 

Children often become upset if their routine is changed, which means it’s really important to collect your child on time. On the rare occasion that you may be running late, please make the nursery aware and seek an authorised person to collect your child on your behalf. Where there is persistent lateness a review can be made and session times amended to better suit your needs.

Typically we cannot accommodate additional days as our nurseries are full. However, if you require an extra day on a one-off basis please speak to your Nursery Manager, who will assess whether we can accommodate your request. You will be invoiced for this day in addition to your monthly invoice. If you are looking for extra days on a regular basis, we would ask you to apply to increase your child’s days of attendance as, unfortunately, we cannot always accommodate requests.