The nursery is closed Christmas Eve and New Years and all English Bank Holidays. All bank holidays are non-refundable.

Tiny Tots operates under strict policies and procedures which all staff are trained on and must follow. Copies are available to view at nursery for all attending families.

Sometimes children may go on walks to the local park, library for story time or around the local area. These trips will help extend children's learning. You will be asked to give permission for your child to attend when you register.

You can talk to any of our staff at the nursery on 01285 885570 or e-mail tinytots@rugratsandhalfpints.com and we will be delighted to help. 

Our fees are reviewed annually in May through a structured process to look at the costs of operating the nursery. If we feel that the operating costs have risen we will then increase the fees. You will receive notice in June of any increase, with the first month of the increase being September.

We design a wide variety of experiences and activities for the children that encourage them to make decisions and become independent learners. When they arrive they will be asked to self-register – looking for their name card and placing it on the ‘who’s here today’ board. They will learn about the letters of the alphabets, how to write their name, counting numbers from 1-20 and beyond, the days of the week, the weather and key events in the calendar. Mark making is key and is encouraged through the use of pencils, crayons, paints, in the sand tray and on the chalkboards. They will learn about mathematical concepts such as big and small, full and empty, big, bigger and biggest, as well as shapes, colours, animals and opposites. They will have the opportunity to use a variety of resources for exploration including sand, water, construction materials, paint, glue, chalks, scissors, measuring jugs and magnifying glasses, as well as being able to make believe in the role play area. More or less everything we do can be taken outside, and children will have regular dance sessions and physical activities outdoors. Our interactive whiteboard will be used to teach the children all sorts of concepts interactively through fun games and characters. There is also a reading corner where the children can help themselves to books, a large chalk board on the wall for practising writing and group sessions held on the big rug; listening and telling stories, identifying words and signs and regular show and share sessions. Through our monthly topics they will learn about themselves, the world around them, the seasons and other topics designed to engage them. Craft and creative activities are then linked to the current topic and the children’s work will be displayed on the walls and from the ceilings, giving them a sense of achievement and pride. The children also cook, do yoga, participate in rugby tots or Monkey Music sessions with an external company that comes in, learn about planting and growing vegetables and participate in food tasting and dressing up. We encourage independent play, listening and concentrating, making friends, sharing and socialising. Our "school week" sessions can have varying numbers of participants and focus on key skills: Greeting Others Taking Turns – listening and talking Taking Turns at Play Sharing Asking for Help Identifying Feelings Empathy Overcoming Fear and Anxiety Managing Frustration Calming Down Speaking up Overarching everything, your child’s key person is there to identify their learning and development needs and to plan activities and experiences that will assist them starting school.

When you complete the All About Me, we ask you to tell us if your child has any allergies. We have a specific operating policy for dealing with allergic reactions which we follow once you have made us aware of the allergy. It includes: Assessing children’s needs prior to commencement of attendance: Discuss with parents of the relevant child what signs and symptoms to look out for. Obtain written permission to administer medication. Request parents to enter details into medication log. Ensure that parents provide an adequate, in-date supply of the required medication. This must be kept at the setting all the time that the child is present and all staff must know where to find it. All staff will be made aware of your child’s allergy. Details of the allergy will be detailed on the allergy chart in the kitchen so that all food prepared for your child avoids the allergens identified. Every staff member must read and re-sign this chart every two months or whenever it is updated. Arrange additional training for staff, if required. If your child has a severe allergy and requires an Autoinjector, we have staff onsite who are trained to administer this. Please ask to see a copy of our policy on this subject.

Tax Free Childcare is a way of claiming a top-up benefit from the government for childcare costs. The HMRC website describes this benefit as follows: ​ Parents will be able to open a new childcare account. For every £8 a parent pays into their childcare account, the government will pay in an extra £2. Parents can get up to £2000 government support per child per year towards their childcare costs. They can then use this money to pay their childcare provider. The government has started inviting parents to apply for Tax-Free Childcare beginning with parents of the youngest children first. Check whether Tax-Free Childcare is the best offer for you using the childcare calculator. Parents will only be able to pay their childcare provider from their childcare account if their childcare provider is signed up to Tax-Free Childcare. While parents cannot make payments using both Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers, childcare providers who are signed up to Tax-Free Childcare can receive payments from both schemes.

There are a range of ways you can make savings on your childcare costs. The three main ways are: Salary Sacrifice and pay with voucher payments Tax-free childcare Government Funding – 15 or 30 hours free childcare

We accept vouchers from the following companies: ​ Accor Services  Edenred Care-4  Sodexho PASS Mid-Counties Cooperative Allsave Faircare Childcare Plus Computershare Kids Unlimited Kiddivouchers

If your employer operates a childcare voucher scheme, you can save National Insurance and Income Tax. By registering for your employer's scheme, up to £55 a week can be deducted from your salary and used to provide childcare vouchers for the same amount. This amount, which is deducted from your gross salary, is then exempt from National Insurance and Income Tax.

Tiny Tots offers both the Universal 15 hours funding for all children from the term after their third birthday, and the Extended funding, which was introduced in August 2017 and offers a further 15 hours for eligible families. Access to the Extended funding has certain conditions. The term before your child turns three, we will provide a full handout which explains how both types of funding work and how to access them.

Tiny Tots is open all year round, 51 weeks a year from 8am – 6pm. We are closed on christmas eve and then not reopen until after new years day. We do offer a limited number of term-time only spaces which need to be requested on registration.