Frequently Asked Questions

We are still accepting bookings for all of our nurseries. If you would like to book a place at one of our nurseries please email [email protected] with your request and we will be happy to send you registration forms to your email inbox to complete to secure your place.

We understand that life can be unpredictable, and that people’s circumstances may change suddenly. Here at Thrive Childcare & Education, we will only request a registration fee from you once you are certain you would like to book with us. Once we have agreed upon a session plan and start date which works for you, and that we can accommodate, a non-refundable registration fee will signify the start of your child’s enrolment. Once this registration fee has been paid, we ask that you give us as much notice as possible should you wish to withdraw your child(ren) from any of our settings. One month’s written notice is required to be provided directly to your nursery’s manager, or you can email [email protected]. For more information, please refer to the Terms & Conditions outlined in our Child Registration Form.

We are delighted to hear that you are interested in a place at one of our nurseries for your little one. It can be a daunting process finding childcare but we are here to help you every step of the way.

 

The first step would be to discover which of our nurseries you are interested in. It may be we have more than one close to you. The best way to find your closest nursery is by using our handy postcode checker.

When you have found a nursery close to you, you can download a brochure or book in a viewing to see it for yourself!

 

If you still are not sure, please send an email to [email protected] and one of our friendly team will be able to assist you.

We would advise to get in touch as soon as possible. Many of our nurseries operate waiting lists therefore we advise to put your little one’s name down as early as you can. However, we will always do our upmost to help secure your place. The best thing to do is get in touch with our friendly teams who will be more than happy to help.

We love to answer your questions! Our friendly teams are on hand to support you every step of the way, please ask as many questions as you have at any point of your nursery search. You can email us at [email protected] or give us a call on 0800-111-4954.

It is completely natural to feel anxious, whether it is your first baby or your fourth – the worry doesn’t go away! We completely understand and are here to support you. Many of our teams are parents themselves and have first-hand experience of how scary the thought of leaving your child in a nursery can be. To help alleviate some of the worry we offer free settling-in sessions for as long as you and your little one needs. We can also put you in touch with other parents who have already been through the process to give you first-hand, honest advice and support. Our teams are here on-hand to discuss any worries or concerns and will work with you and your little one for as long as you both need to feel comfortable, settled and secure.

The latest scientific evidence indicates that COVID-19 appears to affect young children less often and with less severity. The role of children in transmission is unclear, but it seems likely that they do not play a significant role. The Department for Education has published detailed guidance which enables nurseries to care for children safely and minimise the risk of transmission of the coronavirus. The design of nurseries as relatively small communities with further subdivided rooms, greatly assists our ability to create distance between groups. The Government has recognised the vital role that nurseries play in education, wellbeing, preparing children for school and supporting families to work.

Please click here to read our Safe Operating Procedures (SOP) in full. These are based on Public Health England and Scotland, and the Department of Education guidance for nursery schools and their key workers.

England: All nurseries are open and all children are able to attend
Scotland: All nurseries are open and all children are able to attend

We understand that working, and living, with children can be unpredictable and their routines and requirements can change at any time. We encourage you to communicate with our staff members to let them know of any changes in your little one’s home life that you would like us to incorporate into their time at nursery. We will always try our best to accommodate your needs and our staff will keep ongoing and open discussions about your child where necessary to ensure that the transition between home and nursery is seamless.

We will continue to work very hard to avoid any significant changes. Whilst we would like to say that there will be ‘no changes’, given that we are operating under a very different set of guiding principles, this will not always be possible across all our sites. We will however, continue to ensure as best we can, that the relationships, and therefore the care routines your children are used to, will remain largely unchanged.

We want to ensure we keep all children safe under the new measures that we have put in place, and so it is vital that we carry out a risk assessment for children where additional support is required. Where we feel the risk is too high under these new measures, it is possible that some children will not be able to return until the risk is reduced. Where this is the case, the nursery will liaise with the local authority to seek further advice and support.

England: All nurseries are open and all children are able to attend
Scotland: All nurseries are open and all children are able to attend

If you wish to make changes to your agreed session plan, please contact the manager of your setting or email [email protected] stating which nursery your child attends. Where possible our manager will try to accommodate any changes made within reason, however, please be aware that any additional sessions requested are subject to availability. To avoid disappointment, we highly recommend speaking to your nursery’s manager as soon as you are aware of any necessary updates to your session plan. For more information, please refer to the Terms & Conditions outlined in our Child Registration Form.

Please make sure you are certain you wish to decrease your sessions before making any changes to your session plan. It is much easier for us to reduce the number of sessions your child attends and should you wish to increase your sessions again in the future, it may not be possible to do so. If you are certain you want to reduce your session plan, please contact the manager of your childcare setting directly or email [email protected] stating which nursery your child attends. For more information, please refer to the Terms & Conditions outlined in our Child Registration Form.

Given that testing for Covid-19 is now available, those persons with symptoms should access tests immediately and, where Covid-19 is not detected, they may return to the nursery. However, where Covid-19 has been detected, the other people present within the room your child usually attends (both staff & children) may be asked to self-isolate according to government advice. We hope to avoid this, but like any other period of sickness or for events outside our control, we will still need to charge a portion of your fees to have the nursery ready for your return. If your child has to self-isolate and you are therefore unable to use your childcare space, we will reduce fees by 75%, only charging a 25% retainer. This retainer will enable us to support our teams better and ensure the nursery can be ready for your return. For any prolonged periods of isolation over and above 14 days, we advise you to contact your nursery manager. We will endeavour to look at individual cases where possible.

Thrive Childcare and Education were pleased to be able to suspend fees where the Government restricted attendance at nursery. Should ‘local lockdown’ be enforced we will need to follow government advice. For any future significant period of non-attendance, we would review this based on the individual circumstance situation whilst following government guidance and support.

Fees can be paid for all nurseries at ParentZone app.